Arsenal will visit Stoke City this Saturday as Arsene Wenger aims to find a win in their opening two games in a Premier League season for the first time since their 2009-10 campaign. The Gunners had a thrilling encounter with Leicester City last week as they emerged victorious with a slim 4-3 win at the Emirates.
Stoke City have always been a difficult opponent for the Gunners to play away from home as the Potters have lost just once in their last seven home games against the North London side. However, Arsenal had won 4-1 the last time and Stoke manager Mark Hughes has lost more league matches against Wenger (13) than to any other in this competition.
Team News
Stoke City- Hughes is expected to field a side replete with their new arrivals this summer, hence we expect to see the likes of Bruno Martins Indi, Jese Rodriguez, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, Josh Tymon and Kurt Zouma.
On the injury front, Hughes will be without forward Julien Ngoy, who is expected to miss up to six weeks with a thigh problem. Long-term absentees Ibrahim Afellay and Stephen Ireland continue to recover from their long-term knee injury and a broken leg respectively.
Arsenal- Arsenal will continue to miss Alexis Sanchez as the Chilean recovers from an abdominal strain. Laurent Koscielny will finish his three-game ban with this game that he had incurred during last season’s last game against Everton. Gabriel Paulista seems to have left for Valencia after first team chances looked dim for the Brazilian. Apart from them, Santiago Cazorla and Jack Wilshere continue to recover from their injuries.
On a positive note, Arsene Wenger sees centre halves Per Mertesacker and Shkodran Mustafi return to the squad for a first eleven contention. Francis Coquelin also joins the squad giving Arsenal more options to choose from his two-midfield setup.
Predicted Lineup
Stoke City- Butland; Zouma, Shawcross, Cameron; Johnson, Allen, Fletcher, Pieters; Shaqiri, Jese, Choupo-Moting
Arsenal- Cech; Mustafi, Mertesacker, Monreal; Bellerin, Xhaka, Ramsey, Kolasinac; Welbeck, Ozil; Lacazette
Key Players
Stoke City- Jese Rodriguez would definitely garner all the attention as the former Real Madrid star continues to get back his form following his dangerous knee ligament injury. The left winger is expected to fill in the void left by Marko Arnautovic. Xherdan Shaqiri and Joe Allen remains dangerous threats for the Arsenal defence as well.
Arsenal- Alexandre Lacazette would aim to be the first player score two goals in the opening two games, while Olivier Giroud would become the 19th Gunner to score 100 goals for the club if he gets another on Saturday. Both remain highly likely to score.
Odds
Stoke City @ 3/1
Draw @ 11/4
Arsenal @ 17/20
