Huddersfield Town vs. Arsenal
Venue: Kirklees Stadium
Kick off: 4PM
Inconsistent Arsenal will be aiming to return to winning ways this afternoon when they travel to Premier League basement boys Huddersfield Town.
The Gunners have lost two and won two of their last four top-flight matches to fall three points adrift of Chelsea in the race for a top-four finish, while Huddersfield have been cast adrift at the bottom.
Arsenal showed good consistency earlier in the campaign by going 22 matches without defeat in all competitions, leading to supporters’ expectations growing somewhat, but their form since that run ended with defeat at Southampton in mid-December has been mixed to say the least.
The Gunners have won five, drawn one and lost six of their last 12 matches in all competitions.
A 2-0 win over Chelsea in the Premier League three weeks ago, followed by a 2-1 home win against Cardiff City, revived their top-four hopes, only for a 3-1 loss to Manchester City last time out to set them back.
With Manchester United hitting peak form and Chelsea doing just about enough to stay in the final Champions League qualification spot, Arsenal know that they cannot afford to drop too many more points between now and the end of the season.
Finishing fourth and winning some silverware will be the target for Unai Emery in his first campaign at the Emirates Stadium and, following defeat to Man United in the last-16 stage of the FA Cup, the Europa League remains the best avenue for the Spaniard to tick both of those boxes.
Arsenal’s European campaign resumes next week with a trip to BATE in the first leg of the first knockout round.
Before then, Emery will be keen to keep pace with Chelsea and Man United in the Premier League, with the latter three points better off following last weekend’s results.
The Gunners will also be going in search of their first away clean sheet of the Premier League campaign – their last shutout on the road coming at Huddersfield on the final day of the 2017-18 campaign, which doubled up as Arsene Wenger’s final match in charge.
Keeping out the division’s lowest scorers will help Arsenal to end their six-match winless run on their travels, the last three of which have ended in defeat to Liverpool, West Ham United and Man City.
Having scored at least twice in their first eight away games this season, the North London outfit have not netted more than once in their last four.
Meanwhile, the picture is looking particularly bleak for Huddersfield on the back of their resounding 5-0 loss to Chelsea last weekend, which leaves them rooted to the foot of the table and now 13 points from safety.
Relegation appears a certainty for the Terriers, but they will be keen to avoid going down as the Premier League’s joint-worst ever side.
Having collected just one point from the last 36 on offer, they are level with the infamous Derby County side of 2007-08.
Huddersfield will fancy their chances of adding at least one more point to their tally over their remaining 13 matches, with fellow strugglers Newcastle United, Brighton & Hove Albion, Crystal Palace and Southampton still to face, but there is no doubt that they are stuck in a deep rut.
Jan Siewert was brought in as David Wagner’s successor last month and is tasked with steadying the ship ahead of next season, when Town will be expected to challenge for an instant return to the Premier League.
Five matches without a goal in all competitions, a run that includes a 1-0 loss to Championship side Bristol City in the FA Cup third round, goes a long way to highlighting Huddersfield’s biggest problem this season.
Huddersfield Town possible XI: Lossl, Smith, Zanka, Schindler, Kongolo, Billing, Bacuna, Mooy, Diakhaby, Mounie, Mbenza.
Arsenal possible XI: Leno, Jenkinson, Koscielny, Mavropanos, Monreal, Suarez, Torreira, Guendouzi, Ramsey, Lacazette, Aubameyang.