The Scout: EPL Week 32 Preview

Posted on April 19, 2023April 19, 2023 | Posted by The Scout

Arsenal v Southampton

On paper, this looks like a walk in the park for Arsenal, despite their recent stutters. Although with Manchester City on the near horizon, the Gunners could be excused for getting the jitters again against struggling Southampton.

But Arsenal have too much depth and too many good players to be bothered by a Southampton side that has spent all but one of the past 15 matches propping up the rest of the competition.

Arteta’s side had won seven Premier League games in a row before blowing two-goal leads against Liverpool and West Ham United. A point from each of those games extended their unbeaten stretch to nine matches.

There is no issue with Arsenal’s front third, with 27 goals scored during that nine-game period, and the prospect of more to come from Gabriel Jesus, Bukayo Saka, Leandro Trossard, Gabriel Martinelli and Martin Odegaard.

But injuries to William Saliba and Takehiro Tomiyasu have left defensive holes that have been difficult to plug.

Unfortunately for Southampton, they offer little in the way of a threat. They have won just three of their past 19 games, although a 1-1 draw against Arsenal back in October, when Stuart Armstrong scored an equaliser, hints at a vague possibility that the Saints could add to Arsenal’s wobbles.

But it’s far more likely that the league leading Gunners will warm up for their April 26 match against second-placed Manchester City by cruising to victory against Southampton.

Suggested Bet: Arsenal lead at Half Time + Arsenal to win + Over 3.5 total goals (Same Game Multi) @ $2.70*

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Brentford v Aston Villa

For all their good work at times during the season, Brentford have gone off the boil recently while Aston Villa have gone from strength to strength under Unai Emery.

Since the former Gunners boss took the reigns at Villa, only two teams have performed better, with Arsenal (42 points) and Manchester City (38 points) accumulating more than the 35 points picked up by Villa.

This has been no slow-burn process either, with Villa ending a 27-year wait for a Premier League win over Manchester United at Villa Park in Emery’s first game.

Scalps since then have included Brighton, Tottenham, Chelsea and, most recently, Newcastle United.

Villa have become more organised with John McGinn playing a key role, are defensively better and have found a way to goal, particularly through a rejuvenated Ollie Watkins.

After reaching the giddy heights of second place, when they beat Manchester United 4-0 in just the second game of the season, Brentford quickly put to bed any suggestion they might find themselves in a relegation dog fight.

But just one win in their past seven games, which has included defeats in their past three, has left The Bees in ninth place. Last weekend’s 2-0 defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers was particularly hard to take for manager Thomas Frank, who will demand a response from his players.

Eleven of those players who lost to Wolves also featured the last time Brentford played Aston Villa back in October. Steven Gerrard had only recently departed as Villa manager and interim boss Aaron Danks saw his side win 4-0.

That should be motivation enough for those who were stung by that defeat, which is up there with the 5-1 loss to Newcastle United as Brentford’s worst of the season.

There are goals in this team, most notably through Ivan Toney, who has 18 this season, Mathias Jensen and Bryan Mbeumo, great potential in the likes of Kevin Schade and a usually solid defence marshalled by Ethan Pinnock.

But on current form, it’s difficult to look past Villa.

Suggested Bet: Aston Villa to win + Under 2.5 total goals (Same Game Multi) @ $5.75*

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Bournemouth v West Ham

Bournemouth have gone from dead and buried to full resurrection mode in what seems like the blink of an eye. Four wins from their past six games have taken the Cherries to the dizzy heights of 14th place after they had spent a third of the season in the relegation zone.

It remains tight at the bottom with just six points separating Bournemouth from third-bottom Nottingham Forest, but a home win against the Hammers could take the Cherries to the cusp of Premier League safety.

And Gary O’Neil’s side have proven they can get the job done regardless of the opposition. It’s not entirely surprising that the likes of Wolves and Leicester have been put to the sword since February, but wins over Liverpool and Tottenham were unexpected.

The Hammers, who have lost just one of their past five Premier League games, are only two points behind Bournemouth as the Premier League enters the final stretch.

Last weekend’s draw with London rivals Arsenal, in which West Ham came back from two goals down, showed both sides of David Moyes’ hit-and-miss side.

Said Benrahma and Jarrod Bowen, who got the goals against the Gunners, have been the main source for West Ham this season with five goals each. The low return is not surprising given the Hammers’ have scored less than a goal a game this season.

Bournemouth have performed only slightly better in the goalscoring stakes, although Philip Billing has seven to his name with Dominic Solanke on five goals for the season.

Moyes won’t want to take his eye of Bournemouth given the importance of Premier League survival. But West Ham are also chasing silverware with a mid-week Europa Conference League quarter-final against Belgian side Gent at the London Stadium before the Cherries clash.

Suggested Bet: Draw @ $3.25*

*Odds correct as at 2pm, 19th April 2023.

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