Arsenal Face Wolves in Pivotal English Top Division Encounter
All eyes turn for a fascinating top-flight matchup as league leaders Arsenal entertain struggling Wolverhampton Wanderers to the their home ground.
Starting Lineups
Arsenal have made a trio of alterations from the XI that endured a narrow defeat at Villa Park in their previous outing. The French defender, Viktor Gyökeres and the Brazilian winger all start in the starting eleven. Martin Ødegaard and the Spanish midfielder are named on the substitutes' bench, while Riccardo Calafiori is absent. Saliba is back after sitting out five matches through injury.
The visitors also have made three adjustments to their starting XI following being heavily defeated 4-1 at Molineux by United last time out. Matt Doherty, João Gomes and the South Korean forward start. Ki-Jana Hoever and Jhon Arias drop to the substitutes, while Bellegarde misses out altogether.
The Teams in Full
Arsenal: Raya, White, Saliba, Hincapie, Timber, Eze, Zubimendi, Rice, Saka, Gyokeres, Martinelli.
Subs: Arrizabalaga, Odegaard, Gabriel Jesus, Norgaard, Trossard, Madueke, Nwaneri, Merino, Lewis-Skelly.
Wolverhampton Wanderers: Johnstone, Mosquera, Agbadou, Toti Gomes, Doherty, Joao Gomes, Andre Trindade, Krejci, Wolfe, Larsen, Hwang.
Bench: Tchatchoua, Mane, Lopez, Hoever, Chirewa, Arokodare, Arias, Santiago Bueno, Jose Sa.
Referee: Robert Jones
VAR Official: John Brooks
The Setup
Welcome! Because, look at this …
The standings tells a stark story. Arsenal sit proudly at the summit of the table, while Wolves prop up the division.
… yet while this will be the 42nd time the top side have played the team propping up the division – winning 30 out of 41, with seven tied games – who are responsible for two of the four historical shocks? Why, Wolves, of course! Therefore, although the Arsenal manager will undoubtedly be anticipating another three points, the Wolves boss must know that long shots sometimes find the target, and anything is possible. Kick-off is at 8 o'clock in the evening GMT. It’s on!
(The other two last-over-first victories in the Premier League era are Oldham Athletic's 1-0 win over United in March 1993, and Tottenham Hotspur – yeah, this one sounds a bit weird - beating Liverpool in November 2008.)
