Predicted Arsenal line-up vs Fulham, 5 changes

Ed Davison | 12 March 2023 | Arsenal, Arsenal News, Matchdays | No Comments

Arsenal will be aiming to return to winning ways when they face Fulham on the road in the Premier League.

The north London giants have won their last four league games but they recently drew 2-2 against Sporting Lisbon in the first leg of their Europa League round of 16 tie.

There was obviously a lack of cohesion with the vast number of player changes and manager Mikel Arteta should revert to his strongest XI against the Cottagers this afternoon.

Ahead of the game, the Gunners have been handed a triple injury boost. Martin Odegaard was back in training on Saturday after missing the Sporting trip with an illness.

According to Goal’s Charles Watts, Gabriel Jesus and Leandro Trossard are also in contention to make the matchday squad for today’s crucial London derby at Craven Cottage.

Formation: 4-2-3-1

Predicted Line-up:

Matt Turner had a difficult outing against Sporting in Europe and he made a number of errors with his decision-making. Aaron Ramsdale, who has been ever-present in goal in the Premier League, should return between the sticks. The Englishman is just one clean sheet behind Newcastle United’s Nick Pope in the Golden Glove race.

In defence, Arteta should go with the familiar back four of Ben White, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes and Oleksandr Zinchenko. Jakub Kiwior had a tough debut in Lisbon on Thursday night. His misunderstanding with Turner saw him duck for Sporting’s first half equaliser scored by Goncalo Inacio. He is set to drop to the bench.

In the centre of the park, it should be the familiar duo in Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka. Jorginho should drop to the bench. Fabio Vieira was lively on his return to Portugal in midweek but he is likely to make way for Odegaard, who is an undisputed starter in the number 10 position when fit and available for selection.

The Norwegian has been outstanding in the league this term with 16 goal contributions. Elsewhere, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli are nailed-on starters but Reiss Nelson could be replaced by Emile Smith Rowe. While Saka will start on the right wing, we could see Smith Rowe and Martinelli swap between the left wing and centre-forward roles.

Arteta is unlikely to take the risk with Jesus from the starting XI after his long-term absence due to a knee injury. In our opinion, he could feature in the final 30 minutes and the same could be the case with Trossard, who may not be fully fit to start following a groin injury sustained early on against Bournemouth last weekend.