Arsenal face Cardiff on the back of an unbeaten Premier League (PL) run of 11 home games (W9, D2). That sequence includes a straight run of five home PL wins directly preceding this match, all of which have seen the ‘Gunners’ open the scoring.
A majority (three) of those five have seen Unai Emery’s men score inside the first 15 minutes, and the last three in that sequence of five have seen them go on to score the second match goal. The second half has also been Arsenal’s strong suit at the Emirates lately, with four of their last five home PL games seeing them ‘win’ the second half.
Given Arsenal’s odds-on status, Cardiff will certainly make a clean sheet their first objective, especially since they have gone on to lose each of the seven PL away games in which they have conceded first this season.
There seems to be a good chance of a clean sheet either way, as (across all competitions) none of Cardiff’s last four away games have seen both teams score. Furthermore, each one of the last three games in that sequence has seen a goal scored (either way) beyond the 80th minute mark.
Players to watch: The reverse fixture brought Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette their first PL goals of the season.
Cardiff would be significantly worse off without Callum Paterson (four PL goals), but he has his work cut out in this one!
Stat attack: Across all competitions, only one of the last five H2H meetings has seen both teams score.
No comeback? August 2016 remains the last time Arsenal lost at home in a PL match after scoring first.
Cardiff have lost by a margin of over 1.5 goals in a majority (four) of the seven away PL matches where they have conceded first.
LIVE STREAMING ARSENAL VS CARDIFF CITY 2019
Will not play
Bellerin H.
(Knee Injury)
Morrison S.
(Injury)
Holding R.
(Knee Injury)
Koscielny L.
(Head Injury)
Sokratis
(Ankle Injury)
Welbeck D.
(Ankle Injury)
Questionable
Mkhitaryan H.
(Ankle Injury)
Arter H.
(Groin Injury)
Zohore K.
(Thigh Injury)
Match Information
Referee: Dean M. (Eng),
Venue: Emirates Stadium (London)