Will Arsenal secure top spot in the table for Christmas?

This weekend in the motherland of football may be the final fixture before the start of the 2022 Winter World Cup in Qatar, but it is by no means the last Premier League fixture of the year.

The British will not let Boxing Day be taken away from them this year. First, however, there is still matchday 16 on the agenda. The Saturday evening match at the Molineux Stadium can be seen as a duel of opposites, so the betting between Wolverhampton and Arsenal is clearly favoured on the visitors.

Wolves are looking back on a completely disappointing autumn 2022 and are in acute relegation trouble. The team was not known as particularly goal-threatening since promotion anyway, but this season Wolves lack any efficiency in front of the opponent’s goal. Arsenal, on the other hand, can convince all along the line after a few difficult years and have a great chance to be number one in the Premier League at Christmas for the first time since the 2007/08 season. The prerequisite for this between Wolverhampton and Arsenal is the successful prediction on the away win.

The home side have certainly been one of the very big disappointments of the season so far, falling far short of expectations. As a Wolves fan or sympathiser, one must be starting to get scared. It’s hard to imagine a turnaround before the break, with the game kicking off at 8:45pm on Saturday.

Wolverhampton – Statistics & current form

Football at the highest technical level without taking many risks has characterised Wolves’ football since their Premier League return. Despite the enormous playing class, Wolves were not a team for friends of modern football with pressing & Co. Few goals are therefore no surprise, but this season things are absolutely not going according to plan. Compared to the last three years, the Wolves are currently down eleven and ten points respectively. Both the eight goals scored and the 22 goals conceded are a negative since the PL return (2018/19).

Defensive stability lost

With Wolves, bets on an Under 2.5 are very likely to succeed. Last year, this was the case in 24 of the 38 league games as the team conceded very few goals. That stability has been completely lost, with Portuguese goalkeeper Jose Sa conceding at least three times in four of the last eight league games. This compares with three games in 49 league matches in which Wolverhampton conceded three goals.

22 goals conceded is not a good figure, but not the weakest in the league. This is the team’s offensive record, with only eight goals scored in the season, the lowest of any PL team in 2022/23. One reason for this extremely poor performance is certainly the personnel problems. The Wolves have not been able to field their best players at any point during the season. At the moment, four top-class attacking players are not available: Sasa Kalajdzic, Raul Jimenez, Pedro Neto (all injured) and Diego Costa (suspended). King transfer Matheus Nunes is also missing.

These absences can by no means be adequately compensated for and the relegation candidates are accordingly hungry for the premature winter break. Therefore, betting on a surprise in the duel between Wolverhampton and Arsenal is not advisable. The form and the personnel problems clearly speak against the home side.

Predicted Wolverhampton line-up:
Sa – Bueno, Kilman, Collins, Ait-Nouri – Traore, Neves, Moutinho – Podence, Hwang, Guedes

Last matches played by Wolverhampton:

Carabao Cup
10/11/2022 – Wolverhampton 1 – 0 Leeds

Premier League
05/11/2022 – Wolverhampton 2 – 3 Brighton

29/10/2022 – Brentford 1 – 1 Wolverhampton

23/10/2022 – Wolverhampton 0 – 4 Leicester

19/10/2022 – Crystal Palace 2 – 1 Wolverhampton

Arsenal – Statistics & current form

In the 2013/14 season, Arsene Wenger was still in charge of the Gunners. This was the season in which the team last completed a similarly strong autumn, as in this season. Back then, Arsenal had 31 points after 13 league games, and this year, under head coach Mikel Arteta, the team has 34 points to show for its efforts. The team has also impressively proven that they can hold their own against the absolute top teams. Last weekend, they won the derby against Chelsea thanks to a goal from centre-back Gabriel Magalhaes.

Christmas top of the table beckons

The current matchday will be opened by defending champions Manchester City early on Saturday lunchtime. The Skyblues can reclaim top spot in the table with a home win over Brentford, but Arsenal can lock up first place for Christmas at Molineux Stadium. The last time Arsenal fans enjoyed first place at Christmas was in the 2007/08 season. However, for statisticians hoping for a championship for the Gunners, this would not be a good omen. The last five times Arsenal were number one at Christmas, they failed to win a title. The last time the London team was number one at Christmas and at the end of the season was in 1947/48.

It took a long time, but the players have now completely internalised Mikel Arteta’s philosophy. The league leaders are top of the league both in terms of goals conceded (only eleven) and in attack. The Gunners are the only PL club to have scored at least once in every game this season.

The statistics in the first half hour are also outstanding, with the team showing a goal ratio of 11:0. From this, the interesting tip between Wolverhampton and Arsenal is HT/FT 2/2. An early lead for the visitors, who are in top form, would definitely not be a surprise.

Predicted Arsenal line-up:
Ramsdale – Zinchenko, Magalhaes, Saliba, White – Thomas Partey – Martinelli, Odegaard, Xhaka, Saka – Gabriel Jesus

Last matches played by Arsenal:

Carabao Cup
10/11/2022 – Arsenal FC 1 – 3 Brighton

Premier League
06/11/2022 – Chelsea FC 0 – 1 Arsenal FC

Europa League Grp. A
04/11/2022 – FC Arsenal 1 – 0 FC Zurich

Premier League
30/10/2022 – Arsenal FC 5 – 0 Nottingham Forest

Europa League Grp. A
27/10/2022 – PSV Eindhoven 2 – 0 FC Arsenal

Wolverhampton – Arsenal Direct comparison / H2H balance

The last time Arsenal missed a goal of their own in a competitive match against Wolverhampton, none of the players had been born yet. That was in fact in 1979, and since then there have been 29 duels in which the Gunners have scored at least once on each occasion.

The Wolves can certainly be described as a kind of favourite opponent for the Arteta eleven. Arsenal not only celebrated two league victories last season, but have also won six of their most recent eight guest appearances at the Molineux Stadium. Almost all the statistics underline the tip between Wolverhampton and Arsenal on the visitors.

Wolverhampton – Arsenal Tip

Regardless of the outcome of this match, the conclusion of the two teams this season could hardly be more different. While the home side are not even close to living up to expectations, Arsenal are delivering far better performances than the boldest optimists might have dreamed of. Between Wolverhampton and Arsenal, betting on the away win is not too much of a gamble.

The visitors from the capital could win three league games in a row without conceding a goal for the first time since July 2020 (most recently 5-0 against Nottingham and 1-0 against Chelsea). Given Wolves’ weak attack (eight goals), this is no surprise. Arsenal’s powerful attack also justifies the prediction on the handicap -1.5 in the duel between Wolverhampton and Arsenal. The best betting odds can be found at Bet365, the provider offers a 2.42, which is recommended with five units bet.