Arsenal vs. Swansea
Venue: Emirates Stadium
Kick off: 8:45pm
Arsenal will attempt to respond from their 3-2 defeat at Manchester United on Sunday when the Gunners welcome relegation-threatened Swansea City to the English capital on Wednesday night (today).
Defeat at Old Trafford has left Arsene Wenger’s side in third spot in the Premier League table, now five points off the leaders, Leicester City.
Swansea, however, are also in desperate need of the points as they look to move clear of the relegation zone.
It has been a difficult week for Arsenal, whose character has once again been called into question following back-to-back defeats.
A 2-0 home reverse to Barcelona in the Champions League last Tuesday was not all that surprising, but defeat against an injury-hit and youthful Man United team at the weekend led to a whole host of criticism.
A 2-1 victory over Leicester on February 14 put Arsenal in a strong position in the table, but they are now winless in their last three matches, which is a run that stretches across three competitions.
Indeed, even their FA Cup spot is in doubt ahead of a fifth-round replay against Hull City on March 8, which has further increased a crowded fixture list.
Wenger’s side have won eight and lost just one of their last 12 league matches at the Emirates, but have incredibly failed to score in four of their last six in all competitions on home soil.
Not since April 2010 have Arsenal lost three games in a row in all competitions, but that possibility is staring them in the face ahead of the visit from Swansea.
Swansea will enter today’s match as the underdogs, but the Welsh outfit can take heart from their performance in North London at the weekend.
Francesco Guidolin’s side took the lead at Tottenham on Sunday afternoon, but were ultimately beaten 2-1 at White Hart Lane.
Failure to hold on for at least a point will be seen as a disappointment, but the Swans can take heart from their performance as they prepare for another match in the capital.
Just six wins have arrived in Swansea’s 27 league matches this season, while they have only scored 25 goals, which is the second-worst record in the league behind Villa. Swansea did record a 1-0 victory at the Emirates last season, however, and have actually won four of the last nine Premier League meetings between the two teams.
Back-to-back games against Spurs and Arsenal are not what Swansea needed at this stage of the season.
However, their next three are against Norwich City, Bournemouth and Villa and it is those type of matches that will determine whether the Welsh outfit have enough to stay in the league this season.
Arsenal possible starting lineup: Cech, Bellerin, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal, Coquelin, Ramsey, Welbeck, Ozil, Sanchez, Giroud.
Swansea possible starting lineup: Fabianski, Rangel, Fernandez, Williams, Taylor, Cork, Fer, Ki, Sigurdsson, Ayew, Paloschi.
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