Newcastle vs. Arsenal: Match Preview, Odds & Prediction

On Saturday at noon, Arsenal will face Newcastle at St. James' Park in a desperate attempt to gain ground in the championship race.

Previous Matches and Head-to-head

To get things off, the home team, Newcastle, will be looking to build on their recent 2-0 victory against Chelsea, which gave them much-needed retribution and prolonged their EFL Cup journey. Even though Eddie Howe's team may have punched their quarterfinal ticket on Wednesday night, the former Bournemouth manager is feeling the heat.

The Magpies have struggled to find the back of the net in each of their last five Premier League outings, and their lacklustre effort in a 1-0 loss to Brighton at St. James' Park marked their return from the international break in October. Starting the weekend's matches in last place in the league, Newcastle should be worried about their most recent encounter with Saturday's visitors. Newcastle, who were thrashed 4-1 on their February 24th trip to north London, could face another tough test today.

The Gunners haven't been rock solid since returning from the international break in October. Still, they did prolong their EFL Cup adventure earlier in the week with a 3-0 road win against Championship side Preston. Last Saturday, Mikel Arteta's team had their championship aspirations suffer a possible hit after being forced to settle for an exciting 2-2 draw at home against Liverpool. While playing in the Premier League,

Arsenal have shown some concerning defensive struggles, and their return from the two-week break in October was marked by a depressing 2-0 loss to Bournemouth. Despite a tense 4-2 win over Leicester to end September, Arteta's squad has gone five games without a clean sheet in the Premier League. Visiting St. James' Park with a five-point deficit in the championship race, Arsenal encounters an actual must-win encounter.

Newcastle x Arsenal Team News

Influential defender Kieran Trippier is still questionable for Saturday lunchtime after sitting out again earlier in the week at St. James' Park. Equally sidelined due to a long-term knee ailment, Dutch star Sven Botman has not played a single game this season.

Alexander Isak, Howe's offensive talisman, scored in consecutive matches against Chelsea last week. The former Everton player will team up with Isak, even though England international Anthony Gordon has only scored once since the end of August.

The captain, Martin Odegaard, is still in question here since he hasn't played since hurting his ankle while playing away with Norway in October during the international break. Similarly, summer signing Riccardo Calafiori will likely sit this one out after taking a knock in last week's Champions League match against Shakhtar.

William Saliba will be allowed to play in all aspects of Saturday's Premier League encounter after his one-match ban against Liverpool last weekend. While Arteta battles for a starting position, England international Bukayo Saka will lead the attack for Preston away in midweek.

Our Predictions

Arsenal to win @ 2.05 on Sky247.ng

Arsenal will be under much pressure heading into their match at St. James' Park, as they are now five points behind in the championship race. The Gunners haven't won a Premier League match since returning from the international break in October, so they'll be looking to gain momentum and maybe leave a marker this weekend. Following a sensational 4-1 thrashing of Newcastle in north London on February 24th, we are projecting a win on Saturday lunchtime away.

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