Arsenal aim for must-win against Leeds

Arsenal have gone through various phases this season. Now, with four matchdays to go, the Gunners are hoping for Champions League football. A win at home against Leeds would be extremely helpful in that regard.

Ahead of the Arsenal vs Leeds game, the odds indicate a clear favourite for the hosts. Arsenal have recovered from an interim low and played convincingly recently. Leeds, however, still have something to look forward to this season and are fighting against relegation.

Therefore, the hosts have to show a concentrated performance and focus on the game. The match kicks off at 3pm on Sunday at the Emirates Stadium in London.

Arsenal – Statistics & current form

Arsenal will be hoping to end the season on a positive note. With four matchdays to go, the lead over Tottenham is two points, but both still play each other in a direct duel. After three defeats against teams from the bottom of the table, the top flight dreams seemed to be over, but victories against Manchester United, Chelsea and West Ham provided a boost. Fourth place is realistic!

Given that Arsenal are the youngest team in the league, this series does look relatively mature. The Gunners have clearly improved in many phases this season, and the development under Arteta is going upwards. Especially defensively, the team is difficult to overcome, if you exclude the early phase of the season. Moreover, Arsenal did not lose any of the last eleven games against this opponent, that is also added.

Despite everything, it won’t be easy to reach the top flight. The remaining programme: Leeds and Everton are still fighting to stay in the league, Tottenham is a top team and a direct competitor, and Newcastle is one of the best teams in the second half of the season. Arsenal will have to continue to play on the limit and that despite missing two absolutely key players with Partey and Tierney.

Arsenal must take the lead

It is important for the Gunners’ game and for the security of their own runs to take a lead. Arsenal have only managed to turn around one game after falling behind this season; once the team is behind, it often lacks the necessary power. Given the good form the hosts are currently in, our value tip ahead of the Arsenal vs Leeds game is that the Gunners will take a start-to-finish win.

The opponent, meanwhile, is really a team that seems to suit Arsenal. Leeds have never won at the Emirates, and the Gunners have always scored at least once in their last twelve home games against this opponent. So confidence should be high ahead of this game that they will come away victorious against Leeds once again.

Coach Mikel Arteta will hardly change the team after the good series. One or the other player had a slight injury, for example Bukayo Saka, but it became apparent early on that these players will be available.

Predicted Arsenal line-up:
Ramsdale – Tomiyasu, White, Gabriel, Cedric – Xhaka, Elneny, Smith Rowe, Ödegaard, Saka – Nketiah

Last matches played by Arsenal:

Premier League
01/05/2022 – West Ham 1 – 2 Arsenal FC

23/04/2022 – Arsenal FC 3 – 1 Manchester United

21/04/2022 – Chelsea FC 2 – 4 Arsenal FC

16/04/2022 – Southampton 1 – 0 Arsenal FC

09/04/2022 – Arsenal FC 1 – 2 Brighton

Leeds – Statistics & current form

Leeds United are struggling against relegation in the Premier League. The team, which is now coached by Jesse Marsch, is only just above the line and hopes that this will also be the case at the end of the season. Their most recent defeat was a 4-0 loss to Manchester City in which they lacked confidence offensively and made too many mistakes defensively. This mixture must be avoided against Arsenal.

Under Marsch, there was no extreme improvement, but in some respects the team stabilised a little. Marsch, too, had to cope with the absence of key players, but his team lost only one of the last six games and picked up eleven points in this period. That alone shows that the beginnings are not bad.

Relegation would still be a disaster. Raphinha, the club’s best player, could then move for around 25 million pounds, so financially there would also be major restrictions. This must be prevented.

Leeds: every point counts

Not much needs to be said about the record against Arsenal in recent years, especially away from home. Leeds have not fared well against this opponent recently. Still, that doesn’t automatically mean it will go wrong this time too, because virtues like commitment, will and willingness to run have been there in recent weeks. Not for nothing are Leeds the team with the most yellow cards in the Premier League.

Meanwhile, Leeds’ away record this season is no different to their home record. In each case, the points average is one point per game. The programme could become problematic in the fight against relegation, because Arsenal, Chelsea, Brighton and Brentford are all teams that want to play good football. Because something is often missing, especially against the top teams in the league, our tip at good odds ahead of the Arsenal vs Leeds game is that not both teams will score.

Predicted Leeds line-up:
Meslier – Dallas, Cook, Ayling, Llorente, Firpo – Phillips, Klich, Harrison, Raphinha – Jam

Last matches played by Leeds:

Premier League
30/04/2022 – Leeds 0 – 4 Manchester City

26/04/2022 – Crystal Palace 0 – 0 Leeds

09/04/2022 – Watford 0 – 3 Leeds

02/04/2022 – Leeds 1 – 1 Southampton

19/03/2022 – Wolverhampton 2 – 3 Leeds

Arsenal – Leeds Direct Comparison / H2H Record

In recent years, Leeds have always been a grateful opponent for Arsenal, but in the overall balance it doesn’t look so clear-cut. For the Gunners do lead, with 50 wins compared to 41 but not completely clear-cut. The first leg went 4-1 to Arsenal, in the pre-season there was a 4-2 for the Arteta eleven, as well as a 0-0 in the first leg. With 195:157 goals, the Gunners have also scored more often than Leeds.

Arsenal – Leeds Tip

Arsenal are playing a good seasonand will be looking to cap it off with a top-4 finish, and they also come up against an opponent they’ve loved in recent years. Leeds must try to perform as unpleasantly as possible in the relegation battle.

Much is in favour of the hosts, who offered a little too much recently, despite winning three in a row. Arteta will set his team up well. That’s why, ahead of the Arsenal vs Leeds game, our prediction at betting odds of 1.75 is that both teams won’t score.