Arsenal vs Bournemouth: Prediction, kick-off time, TV, live stream, team news, h2h results, odds

Chester Standard
 
Arsenal vs Bournemouth: Prediction, kick-off time, TV, live stream, team news, h2h results, odds

rsenal will look to maintain or increase their title lead over Manchester City as they host Bournemouth this weekend.

The Gunners laid down another key marker in the heated race for Premier League glory on Wednesday night, drubbing struggling Everton 4-0 in their game in hand to open up a five-point gap at the summit.

City may well have reduced that back down to two points by the time Arsenal play again on Saturday afternoon, though their lunchtime clash with Newcastle is far from straightforward.

Mikel Arteta’s side would be well-placed to take advantage of any further slip-ups at the Etihad as they search for a fourth consecutive top-flight win, their little early February wobble now seemingly firmly consigned to the past.

Relegation-threatened Bournemouth have won just twice on the road all season, though one of those victories came in their last away outing at Wolves. The Cherries were then thumped 4-1 by City to leave them sitting 19th and one point adrift of safety ahead of the weekend.

Date, kick-off time and venue

Arsenal vs Bournemouth is scheduled for a 3pm GMT kick-off on Saturday March 4, 2023.

The match will take place at Emirates Stadium in north London.

Where to watch Arsenal vs Bournemouth

TV channel: Due to ongoing 3pm blackout restrictions in English football, the match will not be televised live in the UK. However, highlights are available on Match of the Day at 10:20pm on BBC One on Saturday night.

Live stream: Fans can also catch those highlights online via the BBC Sport website or BBC iPlayer.

Live blog: You can follow all the action on matchday via Standard Sport’s live blog, with expert analysis from Simon Collings at the Emirates.

Arsenal vs Bournemouth team news

Gabriel Jesus remains sidelined for Arsenal, though is steadily stepping up his workload after recovering from post-World Cup knee surgery.

Mohamed Elneny is expected to miss the rest of the season with a serious knee injury of his own, while Jorginho could be a doubt after suffering from illness this week.

Arteta also revealed after the win over Everton that Eddie Nketiah has been carrying a knock of late.

Bournemouth have a number of injury absentees at present, with the likes of Lewis Cook, David Brooks, Marcus Tavernier, Junior Stanislas and Matias Vina all sidelined.

Lloyd Kelly and Illia Zabarnyi are closer to returning, but it seems unlikely that either will be fit to feature on Saturday.

Arsenal vs Bournemouth prediction

Arsenal - who have the second-best home record in the division - are well and truly back in the groove after that three-match wobble last month that briefly opened the door for City and have hit four goals twice in three games.

The confidence is flowing and they should have little trouble in dispatching of a struggling Bournemouth side that have shipped by far the most amount in the league so far this term.

Gary O’Neil’s Cherries have been largely dismal away from home, suffering eight defeats in 12 matches and conceding a whopping 32 goals in the process.

All signs point to a comfortable home win and another step towards a first title since 2004 for the Gunners.

Arsenal to win, 3-0.

Head to head (h2h) history and results

Arsenal won 3-0 at the Vitality Stadium back in August, thanks to a Martin Odegaard brace and William Saliba goal.

They have won 10 of the previous 13 meetings between the sides, the only blots on the copybook coming with away draws in 2017 and 2019 and a 2-1 loss under Arsene Wenger on the south coast in 2018.

Arsenal wins: 10

Bournemouth wins: 1