Sheffield United v Arsenal – Preview, Predictions and Best Bets

Sheffield United host Arsenal in the English Premier League on Monday. The Blades sit bottom of the table and are leaking goals at an alarming rate. The Gunners have won six league matches in a row with 25 goals scored.

Sheffield Form

The Blades have won just once in 10 league matches. They have lost 19 of their 26 league matches and are 11 points from safety. Their last six matches in all competitions have seen 20 goals leaked. They scored in the last minute to draw 2-2 at home to West Ham before a 5-2 home loss to Brighton in the FA Cup.

After losing 3-2 at Crystal Palace and 5-0 at home to Aston Villa, they picked up a surprise 3-1 win at Luton. They had just 25% possession and were outshot 20-7 in that victory. With ten men for 77 minutes, they were thumped 5-0 at Bramall Lane by Brighton. In their last match, they lost 1-0 at Wolves despite a strong second half.

Sheffield Team News

Fullback Max Lowe is out for the rest of the season after surgery. Mason Holgate (suspended), John Egan, and Chris Basham are all unavailable in defence.

Cameron Archer remains out for another month and both Ben Brereton Diaz and Rhian Brewster need late fitness tests.

Sheffield Motivation

Realistically, Chris Wilder will want to avoid a heavy defeat. Even the ambition to take a draw feels fanciful.

A defensive approach is predicted throughout the match. Even if losing 2-0, they won’t want to open up and ship five goals yet again.

Arsenal Form

After a run of three league losses in five rounds and an FA Cup exit, the Gunners have won six successive EPL fixtures. They thrashed Crystal Palace 5-0 and won 2-1 at Nottingham Forest. A crucial 3-1 home win over Liverpool was followed by a resounding 6-0 home thrashing of West Ham.

Their prolific scoring form continued in a 5-0 win away at Burnley. In the UEFA Champions League, they had an off night with no shots on target in losing 1-0 to Porto. That away loss came in the 94th minute. Last weekend, they beat Newcastle 4-1 at home as they outshot the Magpies 18-3.

Arsenal Team News

Mikel Arteta has Gabriel Jesus fit again and he is pushing for a start. Jurrien Timber is back in full training, but this match comes too soon. Thomas Partey is set to return to the squad amongst the substitutes.

Takehiro Tomiyasu and Oleksandr Zinchenko need late checks over their involvement. Jakub Kiwior has excelled at left-back and is set to keep his place.

Arsenal Motivation

The Gunners absolutely have to win this match after Liverpool’s late winner on Saturday. A draw would be a terrible result.

Arteta’s side will not only look to win but they will want to drive home the advantage with no midweek match to worry about.

Key Stats

Sheff Utd have won 1 of their last 10 EPL matches

Sheffield United have conceded 20 goals in their last 6 matches

Arsenal have won their last 6 EPL matches (25 goals scored)

Arsenal’s Saka has scored 7 goals in his last 7 matches

Verdict

You can only see one winner in this match and a big win is likely. You will have to enter the handicap market to get any sort of value here.

Best Bet: Arsenal win (-2 handicap) at 2.25

Value Bet: Arsenal win (-3 handicap) at 3.90

Build-a-bet: Saka anytime scorer + Arsenal to score 2-4 team goals at 2.95

James O'Connor

James is a football analyst who writes about the tactics of the PSL and English Premier League. He holds the UEFA A coaching licence and has previously worked for several clubs in analysis roles.Twitter: https://twitter.com/footy_analysis