Saturday night's Premier League fixture pits the top team against the one at the very bottom, as table-topping Arsenal faces basement side Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners secured an easy 3-0 victory over Club Brugge in Champions League action mid-week, just a couple of days after the Old Gold suffered a heavy 4-1 home defeat to Manchester United.
A former Arsenal manager, Unai Emery, and a former Arsenal transfer target combined last weekend to put a dent in the Gunners' title ambitions. Aston Villa handed the Premier League leaders their first loss in 18 games across all competitions, and it happened in heartbreaking fashion.
After a desperate scramble in front of the goal, Arsenal fans and players watched as Emiliano Buendia curled in an injury-time winner. The dramatic goal left Mikel Arteta's squad visibly furious.
Both Villa and Manchester City are now close behind Arsenal in the Premier League table. This means the North London team could potentially slip down to third place if results go against them this weekend, although the idea that they might 'bottle' the title has largely been dismissed.
Nevertheless, without the injured Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba, Arsenal’s defense has looked less secure. They have conceded six goals in their last five Premier League games, compared to giving up only three goals in the first ten matches of the season.
Arteta's defense looked solid again in Wednesday's 3-0 Champions League win against Club Brugge. The home side has also won each of its last four Premier League games at the Emirates and remains undefeated there throughout the top-flight campaign.
Arsenal losing that perfect home record on Saturday would be a monumental surprise, as Rob Edwards’s Wolves are struggling severely and are on track to become one of the worst teams in Premier League history.
With a disappointing two points from 15 games so far—an average of just 0.13 per game—the Old Gold are currently on course to finish the season with only five points, which would easily break Derby County’s infamous record of 11 points from the 2007-08 season.
Their ninth consecutive defeat arrived on Monday night. Jean-Ricner Bellegarde's equalizing goal against Man Utd was a false hope, as the Red Devils, inspired by Bruno Fernandes, roared back to win, leaving Edwards’s side 13 points away from safety.
Many Wolves fans filtered in late to the game as protests against the club’s ownership increased. However, there are two small reasons for the visitors to hold onto hope: first, their only away point this season came in North London against Tottenham Hotspur.
Furthermore, there have only been four instances in Premier League history where the bottom-placed team beat the league leaders, and Wolves are responsible for two of those victories, overcoming first-placed Manchester United in 2004 and again in 2011 while sitting 20th.
Despite those historical upsets, the Championship-bound visitors are currently on a miserable eight-match losing streak against Arsenal. The Gunners have also scored in every one of their last 35 games against Wolves in all competitions, so visiting fans could be forgiven for already expecting another loss.
INJURIES & SUSPENSIONS
Arsenal has generally improved their discipline this season and currently leads the Premier League fair play table. However, Riccardo Calafiori is suspended for Saturday's game due to accumulating too many yellow cards.
Calafiori is one of six players expected to be unavailable for the Gunners. The others are Max Dowman (ankle), Cristhian Mosquera (ankle), Leandro Trossard (knock), Gabriel Magalhaes (thigh), and Kai Havertz (knee).
Close assessments will be needed for the doubtful trio of Declan Rice (illness), William Saliba (knock), and Jurrien Timber (knock).
In more positive news, long-term ACL victim Gabriel Jesus returned to action after 11 months on the sidelines in the victory over Club Brugge and looked sharper than Viktor Gyokeres. However, the Swede is expected to keep his starting spot on Saturday.
On the opposite side of the suspension issue, Wolves midfielder Joao Gomes is available again after serving his own yellow-card suspension. His return could see Yerson Mosquera drop out of the team, which would allow Ladislav Krejci to move into a centre-back position.
However, manager Edwards is concerned about the fitness of the in-form Bellegarde, who came off with an unspecified injury during the Man Utd loss. Rodrigo Gomes (groin), Marshall Munetsi (calf), Leon Chiwone (knee), and Daniel Bentley (ankle) are definitely missing.
Fer Lopez is the primary candidate to replace Bellegarde if the latter is ruled out. It wouldn't be surprising, however, to see Edwards decide to start both Jorgen Strand Larsen and Tolo Arokodare up front to give the visitors more physical strength.
POSSIBLE LINE-UPS
Arsenal possible starting lineup:
Raya; White, Timber, Hincapie, Lewis-Skelly; Odegaard, Norgaard, Rice; Saka, Gyokeres, Eze
Wolverhampton Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Johnstone; Krejci, Agbadou, Toti; Tchatchoua, Gomes, Andre, Wolfe; Lopez; Arokodare, Strand Larsen
EXPERT PREDICTION
Arsenal 5-0 Wolves
