Arsenal will look to bounce back from last weekend’s stumble in the Premier League title race when they host Everton at the Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners missed the opportunity to move within four points of league leaders Liverpool when they travelled to Craven Cottage last Sunday, only managing to draw with Fulham. The midweek win over Monaco in the Champions League will have lifted spirits, however, with Arsenal not reliant on set pieces to overcome their European foes.
Everton have had ten days to recover from their 4-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers following the postponement of last weekend’s Merseyside derby. Sean Dyche will have had plenty of time to work out a plan of action on the training ground but even the most well engineered plans can fall short at the Emirates.
Here is 90min’s guide to the game.
Arsenal vs Everton H2H Results (Last Five Games)
Current form (all competitions)
Arsenal
Everton
Arsenal 3-0 Monaco – 11/12/24
Everton 4-0 Wolves – 04/12/24
Fulham 1-1 Arsenal – 08/12/24
Man Utd 4-0 Everton – 01/12/24
Arsenal 2-0 Man Utd – 04/12/24
Everton 0-0 Brentford – 23/11/24
West Ham 2-5 Arsenal – 30/11/24
West Ham 0-0 Everton – 09/11/24
Sporting CP 1-5 Arsenal – 26/11/24
Southampton 1-0 Everton – 02/11/24
Country
TV channel/live stream
United Kingdom
N/A – live radio commentary on talkSPORT 2
United States
Peacock
Canada
fuboTV Canada, Fubo Sports Network 3 Canada
Arsenal have struggled with defensive injuries throughout the season and have a number of absentees from their backline ahead of Everton’s visit.
Takehiro Tomiyasu and Ben White are both sidelined with knee issues and the trio of Oleksandr Zinchenko, Riccardo Calafiori and Gabriel are major doubts after missing recent matches. Mikel Arteta rarely opens up on injuries during press conferences, making it difficult to know the scale of their respective problems.
Arteta is unlikely to make too many changes from the side that beat Monaco comfortably midweek – depending on the development of his injured stars.
Kai Havertz should return to the starting lineup after being replaced by Gabriel Jesus on Wednesday, while Jurrien Timber could come in for impressive 18-year-old Myles Lewis-Skelly at left-back.
Arsenal predicted lineup vs Everton (4-3-3): Raya; Partey, Saliba, Kiwior, Timber; Odegaard, Merino, Rice; Saka, Havertz, Martinelli.
Everton’s injury list is not particularly lengthy and generally includes the squad’s more peripheral figures. In midfield, James Garner and Tim Iroegbunam are missing, while Youssef Chermiti is still unavailable up front.
Michael Keane is a major doubt for Saturday’s clash after suffering a knee injury that has kept him out of the Toffees’ last two matches. The centre-back is unlikely to start in place of either James Tarkowski or Jarrad Branthwaite even if passed fit.
Everton predicted lineup vs Arsenal (4-4-1-1): Pickford; Coleman, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Mykolenko; Ndiaye, Gueye, Mangala, McNeil; Doucoure; Calvert-Lewin.
Arsenal may have faltered at Fulham last weekend but the Gunners have been almost perfect since returning from the November international break. Struggles from open play disappeared during the midweek victory over Monaco and that should offer huge belief to Arteta, the Arsenal players and supporters ahead of Saturday’s clash.
Everton will sit in a stubborn low block and try to force Arsenal to be direct, squeezing space in the final third and pushing the Gunners into wide areas. Dyche’s side have the ability to make life problematic for Arsenal but will find it difficult to keep concentration for the entire match in north London.
