Arsenal vs Bournemouth

Arsenal’s pursuit of a first Premier League title in almost two decades continues at the Emirates Stadium against hot relegation candidates Bournemouth.

High-flying Arsenal avenged a 1-0 away loss to Everton with a thumping 4-0 home triumph in the return fixture in midweek Premier League action, making it three league wins in a row and re-establishing a five-point cushion at the summit. Mikel Arteta’s men have weathered the storm after a three-game winless league run in early February (D1, L2). They will be looking to maintain their 100% win ratio in competitive home meetings with Bournemouth (W6) by an aggregate score of 17-2. Adding to Arteta’s confidence, the ‘Gunners’ have been ruthless against newly-promoted sides lately, winning eight consecutive such match-ups since a 2-0 loss at Brentford on last season’s matchday one.

In the meantime, visiting Bournemouth followed a stunning 1-0 win at out-of-sorts Chelsea with a wasteful 4-1 home defeat to Manchester City last weekend, sliding back into the drop zone. But with only one point separating them from safety at the start of this round, the ‘Cherries’ can still secure survival, though they’re unlikely to collect points here. That unexpected triumph at Stamford Bridge was Bournemouth’s first league win on the road after six straight losses, five of which had come ‘to nil.’ Indeed, scoring has been a genuine problem for Gary O’Neil’s team as they’ve netted a league-low four goals since the Premier League resumption on boxing day.