Southampton vs Arsenal preview: How to watch, prediction, lineups, live stream

Arsenal have to recover from the darkest spell of their season since the opening fixtures as they travel to Southampton on Saturday in the Premier League. Here is the match preview.

It really is do or die territory now. As much as that was the atmosphere in the aftermath of the Crystal Palace defeat, now more than ever after losing at home to Brighton is that the case.

What’s effectively been the week from hell with the back-to-back defeats, injuries to Tierney and Partey and the hammerings that Tottenham keep dishing out needs some reprieve. It needs a win on Saturday.

With it feeling like the life has been sucked out of Arsenal’s top four bid they can no longer afford any slip-ups against sides in Southampton’s position, or indeed against near enough any side they have left to face.

Southampton vs Arsenal preview: Premier League match analysis, how to watch, prediction, lineups, live stream, injury news & more

These three matches prior to the trip to Stamford Bridge were seen as three of the more winnable fixtures on the calendar, with some supporters allowing themselves to be sucked into the idea of a nine-point haul, or even a seven-point haul. Two down and there is nothing to show for it other than a weaker goal difference.

Tottenham will kick off before Arsenal on the weekend and while Brighton showed they can spring a surprise in north London, nobody expects them to do so twice within a week.

Arsenal have to do what they’ve been doing all along, which is focussing on themselves. But the results they’ve suffered will make that even harder. No player in the squad can’t go into the weekend with an eye on results elsewhere, especially since it could be that European football on the whole could be under threat.

Given the level of performance seen recently and the injuries that Mikel Arteta has (failed) to contend with, fear is growing that Arsenal may slip out of the top six entirely.

Therefore it’s a good thing that Southampton have lost all of their last four home league matches and got pumped 6-0 by Chelsea last time out, right? Yeah, right. Try saying that with a straight face after seeing what this team produced against Everton and Brighton under the same circumstances.

The rot must stop on Saturday.

How to Watch on TV

When Is Kick Off? Saturday 16 April
What Time Is Kick Off? 15:00 (GMT)
Where Is it Played? St Mary’s Stadium
TV Channel/Live Stream? Not on UK TV (UK) fuboTV (USA)
Referee? Peter Bankes
Who is on VAR? Stuart Atwell

Continued on next page…

Arsenal Team News vs Southampton – Return for Tomiyasu?

Arteta has an excellent core of around 13 or so players, those he trusts unconditionally and whom got Arsenal into top four contention in the first place.

Peel away layers of that and suddenly the dynamic changes drastically. Losing Kieran Tierney for the rest of the season was damaging enough, so losing their best midfielder on top of that was catastrophic.

There is no still set timeline on Partey’s injury with the club remaining worryingly tight-lipped on that, with what we know so far being that it’s the same of his thigh area he aggravated last season. On that occasion he missed 36 days of action. In other words, don’t get your hopes up that he’ll be back this season.

As for Tomiyasu, the word on him was that he’d return to full training after this match. How long it will take him to get up to speed we don’t know, but with Chelsea and Manchester United in quick succession after that it’s another one where patience is urged.

Gabriel Martinelli was withdrawn earlier than most would have liked against Brighton, so hopefully that was just baffling tactics and nothing too serious.

As for the hosts they will welcome back Armando Broja to their side after he was ineligible to face parent club Chelsea, while Lyanco is still missing and Alex McCarthy is nursing a hip problem.

Continued on next page…

Arsenal Predicted Lineup to Face Southampton – Xhaka at Left-Back?

Southampton: Forster; Livramento, Salisu, Bednarek, Walker-Peters; Ward-Prowse, Romeu, Diallo; Armstrong, Adams, Broja

Arsenal: Ramsdale; Cedric, White, Gabriel, Xhaka; Odegaard, Sambi, Smith Rowe; Saka, Lacazette, Martinelli

Southampton vs Arsenal Score Prediction

The overriding emotion is one of dread, not of excitement.

As seen with the wounded animals of this league, all they need to do in their times of need is phone up Arsenal. That usually solves the problem.

Brighton hadn’t won in seven and had only scored one goal during that time before they came the Emirates, and Everton won just once in 15 years, which of course came against Arsenal.

Off the back of an absolute hammering at home to Chelsea, this Saints team will have to react in front of their home support and it’s just set up to be the perfect platform they’re after against an Arsenal side whose confidence has been left splattered on the floor.

So much also hinges on what Arteta does. Will his stubbornness reign supreme and therefore Arsenal line up exactly as they had done against the Seagulls? While everything and everyone is robustly advising him not to, there remains a sinking feeling that he won’t budge.

If he doesn’t, Arsenal will lose.

Score Prediction: Southampton 2-1 Arsenal