England Round 32

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Arsenal vs Brentford Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Arsenal:
Raya; White, Saliba, Kiwior, Tierney; Odegaard, Jorginho, Merino; Nwaneri, Trossard, Sterling

Brentford:
Flekken; Ajer, Collins, Van den Berg, Lewis-Potter; Norgaard, Janelt; Mbeumo, Damsgaard, Schade; Wissa

Arsenal will welcome Brentford to the Emirates on Saturday knowing a win here will cut the difference to leaders Liverpool. Nevertheless, this game is sandwiched between two UEFA Champions League fixtures against Real Madrid. The Spanish club are the most successful side in the history of the competition, lifting the trophy 15 times. Real were the biggest favorites again this season, particularly after the convincing 6:3 aggregate win against Manchester City. But than happened something nobody was expecting, Arteta's men beat Real Madrid 3:0 in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals. Declan Rice was the hero on that match, he became the first player in Champions League history to score two direct free-kick goals in a knockout stage match. Rice also became just the fourth Gunners player to score from a direct free-kick in the Champions League. The previous three are Alberto Mendez, Thierry Henry and Bukayo Saka. But Arteta has to rotate the players as they go to Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday. Furthermore, Kai Havertz, Gabriel Magalhaes, Riccardo Calafiori, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Gabriel Jesus are out injured.

Brentford are on the 12th position with 42 points and I believe the fans opinions are divided. Some of them are happy they are out of the relegation battle, but many of them are disappointed as their club is far away from the European spots. The Bees were inconsistent in the most important part of the season. Brentford have register just one win in the last five rounds, against Bournemouth a month ago. At the same time they dropped 10 from the possible 15 points. Nevertheless, manager Thomas Frank is loved by the fans and they will like to see him leading the club in the next period. Frank has five injury issues ahead of this match. Fabio Carvalho, Igor Thiago and Josh Dasilva are definitely sidelined, while Gustavo Nunes and Aaron Hickey are rated as doubtful. Left-back Rico Henry has recovered from a hamstring injury and was part of the squad against Chelsea last week. According to the pundits, Frank could start with the same eleven, maybe one change as Yehor Yarmoliuk is likely to drop out for the defensively-minded Vitaly Janelt.

Arsenal vs Brentford Prediction:

Arsenal are clear favorites in this match. It is normal, they are second on the table, they play at home and they are in excellent form. But the timing of the match isn't ideal. Arsenal beat Real Madrid 3:0 in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals. On Wednesday they will play the reverse fixture and Arteta must rest some of the key players. He's already short of strikers as Gebriel Jesus and Kai Havertz are out injured. Brentford, meanwhile, have nothing to play for, except pride. However, the Bees managed to upset Chelsea last week, playing a goalless draw. I expect a similar approach here, so Under 2.5 goals seems a good option.

Arsenal vs Brentford Pick: Under 2.5 goals @ 2.07 with Pinnacle