Sunderland vs Arsenal
Venue: Stadium of Light
Kick off: 12:30pm
Arsenal travel to Sunderland on Saturday (today), as the Gunners look to bounce back after a 0-0 draw with Middlesbrough last weekend.
David Moyes’ side are treading thin ice at the moment, currently without a win since the beginning of the season and will do well to restrict a Gunners side who have been in good form this season.
Sunderland have a host of injury problems to deal with and Moyes will be hoping that Adnan Januzaj and Jason Denayer pass a fitness test before the fixture.
On the other hand, Sebastian Larsson, Vito Mannone, Fabio Borini and Jan Kirchhoff are also out of contention, while Lee Cattermole is a doubt.
The manager is confident that the Black Cats can pull something out of the hat and get a result out of the fixture, having gone close in their last two games.
They have a woeful record against the north London club, having won only once in their last 25 meetings.
Meanwhile, Arsenal have troubles of their own, with Lucas Perez ruled out until December following an injury in their EFL Cup clash against Reading.
Theo Walcott, Nacho Monreal and Santi Cazorla will also face fitness tests ahead of the fixture, However, Olivier Giroud is back in contention for a start, while Aaron Ramsey is also likely to travel with the squad.
The Gunners have gone unbeaten in their last 13 games in all competitions and need a win to keep the pressure going at the top, where they are only behind Manchester City on goal difference.
They are back to winning ways after drawing a blank against Middlesbrough, beating Reading 2-0 in the fourth round of the EFL Cup.
Sunderland Possible XI: Pickford, Manquillo, Kone, O’Shea, Van Aanholt, Rodwell, Ndong, Watmore, Pienaar, Khazri, Defoe.
Arsenal Possible XI: Cech, Bellerin, Mustafi, Koscielny, Monreal, Coquelin, Elneny, Walcott, Ozil, Iwobi, Sanchez.