English Premier League Soccer - Arsenal vs. Norwich City, 7/1/20 - Preview, Prediction & Odds

Sitting at the bottom of the Premier League six points away from safety, Norwich City will be hoping for a miracle while visiting Arsenal, who have not lost a league home outing against the Canaries since 1992. Kick-off - at 13:00 PM ET on Wednesday, July 1.

Arsenal Win Two In Row

After returning to work following the three-month lay-off due to the coronavirus outbreak with two consecutive defeats in the Premier League, dropping back-to-back decisions against Manchester City (3-0) and Brighton & Hove Albion (2-1), Arsenal finally managed to get their act together last week. The team banked a 2-0 road win versus Southampton at St. Mary’s Stadium on Thursday before beating Sheffield United with a last-gasp 2-1 triumph in the quarter-final of the FA Cup away at Bramall Lane three days later. The Gunners will face Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-final on the weekend of 18 and 19 July, and are 10th in the league (W10 D13 L8), just two points below the top-seven.

Having netted 17 times in England’s top-flight this year, Gabon striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang leads Arsenal in scoring. Goalie Emiliano Martinez, meanwhile, sits 32nd in the Premier League with six saves. He has recorded one clean sheet in two appearances this season and gives up a goal every 71 minutes on average. The Gunners have scored the 8th highest number of goals during the current campaign (43), while taking the 14th highest quantity of shots per game (20.9). The team is 6th in ball possession (53.5%) and 4th in passing accuracy (83.8%).



Norwich Extend Losing Run

Norwich City continued to struggle after the restart of English soccer, dropping two decisions in a row in a matter of four days. A 1-0 Premier League defeat against Everton on Wednesday was followed up by a 2-1 loss during extra-time against Manchester United in the quarter-final of the FA Cup three days later, when Todd Cantwell erased the Red Devils’ opener in the second half, only for United to bag the win with two minutes remaining in the bonus session. Both games were played at Norwich’s home ground Carrow Road, extending the team’s domestic losing streak to three contests. The Canaries remain bottom of the Premier League with a W5 D6 L20 record, sitting six points below safety.

Finnish striker Teemu Pukki tops Norwich’s scoring table, having banked 11 league markers this season. Goalie Tim Krul, meanwhile, sits 3rd in the Premier League with 106 saves. He has collected five clean sheets in 29 contests this year and concedes a goal every 53 minutes of play. Norwich has netted the absolute lowest quantity of goals during the ongoing campaign (25) while delivering the 12th highest amount of shots per game (11.4). The team is 9th in both ball possession (50.5%) and passing accuracy (80.3%).

Prediction

London has been quite a difficult destination for Norwich City lately. Since beating Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 in April 2012, the Canaries have failed to win any of their last 21 trips to the capital of England, losing the very last seven in a row. Full of confidence and with their morale sky-high following two important victories last week, Arsenal will be a tough nut to crack for Norwich, who have managed to score just one goal in their last seven Premier League outings and have beaten the Gunners on just one of the last 19 occasions in all competitions overall (W1 D8 L10).

Best bet:

Arsenal to win to nil (+145)

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