English Premier League Soccer - Southampton vs. Arsenal, 6/25/20 - Preview, Prediction & Odds

A two-game losing streak following the Premier League restart takes 10th-placed Arsenal to a difficult road matchup versus 14th-placed Southampton, who returned to action with a victory against Norwich. Kick-off - at 13:00 PM ET on Thursday, June 25.

Southampton Thrash Norwich

A two-game losing run came to an end for Southampton, who jumped back into Premier League action following the enforced coronavirus break with a 3-0 road victory against Norwich City at Carrow Road last Friday. After ringing the crossbar at the end of the first half, Danny Ings finally got on the scoresheet four minutes into the next frame, with Stuart Armstrong and Nathan Redmond following suit later in the game. The Saints have now gone W11 D4 L15 for the ongoing campaign, currently sitting 14th in the league, 10 points above the drop-zone.

English striker Ings leads Southampton with 16 goals, sitting joint-3rd in the Premier League’s goalscorer chart for 2019-20 behind Leicester’s Jamie Vardy (19) and Arsenal’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (17). Goalie Alex McCarthy, meanwhile, is 15th in the league with 59 saves. He has picked up five clean sheets in 20 contests this year and allows a goal every 67 minutes of play. The Saints are 9th in most goals netted this season (38), 7th in most shots taken per game (13.1), 11th in ball possession (48.0%) and 2nd from the bottom in passing accuracy (71.6%).

Arsenal Lose Second In Row

Arsenal continued to struggle on their return from the coronavirus break after following up the 3-0 defeat at the hands of Manchester City on June 17 with a 2-1 loss against Brighton & Hove Albion away at AMEX Stadium on Saturday. The Gunners posted a 59% ball possession and outshot the hosts 13-9, opening the scoring in the 68th minute through Nicolas Pepe, only for the Seagulls to equalize seven minutes later, eventually adding the winner deep into stoppage time. Prior to the current skid, Arsenal was riding an eight-game unbeaten streak (W4 D4). The team is 10th in the league (W9 D13 L8), five points outside the top-seven.

Gabon international Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang tops the Gunners' scoring table with 17 markers for the season, having buried just two strikes less than Premier League’s top marksman Jamie Vardy (Leicester City). With No. 1 goalie Bernd Leno injured, Argentinian back-up Emiliano Martinez is set for his first start of the ongoing campaign. He made three saves in 51 minutes of play against Brighton, allowing both goals. Arsenal are 8th in most strikes scored this year (41), 14th in most shots delivered per game (10.9), 5th in ball possession (53.7%) and 3rd in passing accuracy (84.0%).

Prediction

The return to EPL action has been quite stressful for Arsenal, who have dropped both decisions since the resumption of play and will be facing a difficult test in Southampton, with the local Saints having already collected a point from the reverse fixture in London in November (2-2). Southampton have managed to win just one of their last four home outings (W1 L3), but will be boosted by a positive performance at Norwich last Friday. Besides, the Saints have already picked up points in three of their previous five Premier League contests against Arsenal (W1 D2 L2), who have recorded just two away victories in the league this season, drawing eight of their 15 travels (W2 D8 L5).

Best bet:

Draw (+245)