Idman.biz
Today, February 12th, the 26th round of the English Premier League (EPL) will conclude with the match "Brentford" - "Arsenal".
Idman.Biz reports that the London derby will be held at the "Gtech Community Stadium" and will start at 23:59 Baku time.
"Arsenal" travels as the leader of the championship. After "Manchester City"'s victory over "Fulham", the "Gunners"' advantage has narrowed to three points, but Mikel Arteta's team will play their game in hand today. The match is also of great importance for the home side: "Brentford" is in seventh place and continues its bid for the European Cup zone. The "Bees" have won six of their last nine league games and are second only to "Arsenal" in this indicator. In the first round, the "Gunners" defeated their opponent 2:0.
Kit Andrews' team will enter the match after two consecutive away victories – successes over "Aston Villa" (1:0) and "Newcastle" (3:2). Dango Ouattara scored the decisive goals in those matches. However, problems with the squad remain: Kevin Schade is suspended, Riss Nelson, who is on loan from "Arsenal", will not be able to play, Josh Dasilva is out of the squad, while Fabio Carvalho and Antoni Milambo are out for a long time due to cruciate ligament injuries. Other losses are not considered serious and should not seriously affect the starting lineup.
"Arsenal" has caught a confident series with four consecutive victories in all tournaments. But the tense struggle with "Manchester City" increases the importance of each point. A final decision will be made on the status of Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard at the last moment, Leandro Trossard's participation is questionable, and Kai Havertz may miss the match due to a muscle injury. Before the game, Arteta's open support for Thomas Frank, who left "Tottenham", also attracted attention.
From the point of view of playing style, the match looks interesting. "Brentford" is distinguished by fast counterattacks and is one of the most effective teams in the league in this component, while "Arsenal" has conceded only one goal from such episodes and has the best defense in the championship overall – 17 goals conceded. Standard situations can also play an important role: the "Gunners" are the team that scores the most goals from these episodes, while the home team creates few opportunities for their opponents. For this reason, a game in a more closed and tactical struggle is expected.
