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WBA are full of confidence after winning in an away game against United

Arsenal and Wenger are looking for their 11th consecutive win and a place at the top of the Premier League

Although West Bromwich Albion lost two out of three home matches, that doesn't mean that Arsenal will today take a stroll through Hawthorns. Some ten days ago Steve Clark's team played a League Cup match against today's opponent. In the regular part they scored 1-1, only for the Gunners to be the winners after the penalties. Although those were mixed line-ups, we should note that the hosts provided a high-quality resistance to the visitors. Now they're up for another rematch, and WBA are awaiting it full of self-confidence after their victory on Old Trafford against Manchester United with 2-1 in the last round. Each team who beat United on their own stadium deserve respect, but for them it proved to be more than just the three points. The team is brimming with self-confidence, the moral in the locker room is high, and against Arsenal we can expect a 20% better edition of Albion than in the Cup match. It's noticeable that their shape is getting better and better...

- The way they are playing is tremendous. This season they have looked really strong. I watched Arsenal in midweek against Napoli. They were absolutely outstanding and in the first 30 minutes they blew Napoli away, and Napoli are a good team. We have to be ready for that. We have to be on our guard - said WBA's manager Steve Clarke, who practiced his "craft" with Mourinho and will surely present a surprise or two for the Gunners.


It's very possible that WBA will today be left without four forwards: Anelka, Long, Anichebe and Vydra. In case none of them are going to be ready, Saido Berahino could be for the first time start a league match. Midfielder Sinclaire, offense midfielder Gera, first goalkeeper Foster and Thorne are definitely out for today's match.


Arsenal are heading for their 11th consecutive win in all the competitions, and eight win in a row in away games. Those two facts almost leave you breathless. The Gunners have gone wild after Aston Villa defeated them in the first round, and especially since Mesuto Ozil from Real Madrid joined their ranks. Now they're in for a rematch because they've been at this stadium in the League Cup, but in a somewhat different line-up. Today Wegner will send in the game his most strongest line-up in order to reach their sixth championship win. If they succeed in that they will come out at the head of the Premier League as the leading team. They haven't been in that spot for a while, and the motive for that is great.


- I believe we can still do better, that there is more to come from us, but that will depend now on how much we want it and how hungry we are to improve - said Wegner about the current shape of his team.


They are heading into this game with respect because not everyone can beat United at their own home turf like WBA did. Wegner knows that he's in for a tough match because the hosts are full of self-confidence after such a huge win.


- West Brom represents as well a good test for us because, on the back of an outstanding result at Manchester United, their confidence is certainly high as well, so it will be a very interesting test - concluded the Gunners' boss.


Arsenal will today miss their defender Sagne who joined the already long list of injured players, and some of the other names on it include first-team players such as Walcott, Podolski, Cazorla, Oxlade-Chamberlaine and Diyabi. They've been out for some time, but Arsenal has no trouble functioning without them.

As the preview says, these two teams already met about ten days ago. The game ended 1-1, but as that was a Cup match with mostly second line players, it does not tell us much. WBA won vs United after that, which should give them wings, but I believe their win to be more a result of poor Manchester performance than of their real strength. They conceded three goals in their three home games so far, but their next opponent is Arsenal, who has no scoring problems. The WBA defense is not particularly solid, as they've demonstrated on several occasions. If Arsenal's second lineup managed to score a goal vs them in the Cup, I believe they can do much more playing for three points in the Championship. The away team, on the other hand, never conceded more than one goal this season, and they played much stronger teams than their hosts today.