English Premier
2025-04-12 - Arsenal vs Brentford
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Saturday 12th April 2025 - Kick Off 5:30pm
This game is live on TV
Arsenal
There have been some famous European nights for Arsenal fans to enjoy, but Tuesday evening is the best for a long, long time. Beating Real Madrid will have given them something to hold onto, but Arsenal crushed the European Champions at the Emirates Stadium and the 3-0 lead may actually not tell the full tale about how dominant the home team were on the night.
Winning the Champions League for the first time has become the focus for Arsenal as they have slipped 11 points behind Liverpool in the Premier League title race. The Gunners actually closed the gap last weekend, but it remains a long shot and Mikel Arteta may choose to rotate his team as Arsenal look to improve the 10-4-1 home record in the top flight.
Arsenal are unbeaten in 7 games in all competitions, but too many draws have held them back in the Premier League. The performance in the 3-0 win over Real Madrid will have given the players a huge amount of confidence and Arsenal have won 3 straight at the Emirates Stadium in all competitions.
Gabriel is out for the season, while Riccardo Calafiori looks like he will miss the next two games at least. Both Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka were hugely influential in the win over Real Madrid, but picked up knocks and may not be risked. The manager could rotate players like Ben White, Jorginho, Ethan Nwaneri and Leandro Trossard into the starting line up.
Brentford
Seven Premier League games are left to play and Thomas Frank may have tasked his players with trying to win as many of those and see if that is enough to guide Brentford into European Football for the first time. It looks unlikely, but fans are motivated to see if Brentford can at least finish above West London rivals Fulham, while the manager may be looking for a top half finish.
A point was earned against Chelsea last Sunday and that leaves Brentford in 12th place in the Premier League table and 6 points behind 8th placed Fulham. The Bees have a 5-2-8 away record in the Premier League this season as they prepare for this latest London derby.
Brentford have won 1 of their last 5 Premier League games and have suffered narrow defeats to Aston Villa and Newcastle United in that run. They had been unbeaten in 6 away League fixtures and had won 5 in a row, but Brentford's positive run was ended at St James' Park earlier this month.
Aaron Hickey and Gustavo Nunes are both doubts.
Head to Head
Brentford scored first, but it was Arsenal who came through with a 1-3 win at the Gtech Community Stadium on New Year's Day.
Arsenal have won 3 of their last 4 home games against Brentford, including a 2-1 win here in March 2024.
Prediction
After watching Arsenal on Tuesday, fans have to be very excited about what is to come in the Champions League having completely dominated Real Madrid and holding a three goal lead following the First Leg of that Quarter Final.
It would also have been a performance that has some fans wondering what may have been in the Premier League if Bukayo Saka had not been injured for a considerable portion of the middle of the schedule. The England international was a huge threat for Arsenal in the win over Real Madrid and that creativity and goal-scoring talent has been severely missed in the Premier League.
Too many draws have proven to be Arsenal's undoing and there is a real feeling that Mikel Arteta will rest some players for this Premier League game.
That feeling is backed up by the drifting price on the home win, and it will be tough if Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka both miss out.
Arsenal are still at home and the fans will give the team considerable support as they look to close the gap to single digits to Premier League leaders Liverpool. Winning the title is a long shot to say the least, but keeping the momentum is important ahead of the Champions League Quarter Final Second Leg and Arsenal will be looking to get on the front foot.
They will need to do that against an awkward Brentford team that have regularly given Arsenal something to think about since returning to the top flight. Thomas Frank's team scored first before losing 1-3 to Arsenal on New Year's Day, while they have played The Gunners tough in recent fixtures at the Emirates Stadium.
Brentford have been in good away form in the top flight prior to the 2-1 loss at Newcastle United and they will have 'nothing to lose'.
If the home team are distracted by Real Madrid, Brentford can hurt them, although defensively there are still issues for Thomas Frank to address. Clean sheets have been easier to find away from home, but it will be tough to earn one here and this looks a fixture that will produce goals.
Attacking returns have been down in the Premier League in recent weeks after a very strong start to the season, but this is a late Saturday kick off which should feature teams that can express themselves. 4 of the last 6 Premier League games between Arsenal and Brentford have finished with at least three goals shared out and this has the look of another, even if the home team is missing some key contributors with a big trip to Spain in mind.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Arsenal 2-1 Brentford
