Wolves vs Arsenal tips and predictions: Back this goalscoring trend to continue at Molineux

Arsenal relinquished their Premier League lead at the weekend and suffered Champions League elimination at the hands of Bayern Munich on Wednesday.

Mikel Arteta’s side have reached a treacherous crossroads in their season, with Saturday’s clash with Wolves looking a must-win.

The Gunners can reclaim the top spot with three points at Molineux due to Man City’s involvement in the FA Cup semi-finals.

At first glance, Gary O’Neil’s side have little to play for, marooned in mid-table and 18 points clear of 18th-placed Luton Town.

However, the midlands club have set their sights on a top-half finish having already surpassed last season’s points tally, and European football isn’t out of the question.

The hosts are amidst a poor run of form, but they’ve provided stiff opposition at home. Man City, Aston Villa, Tottenham and Newcastle have all slipped up at Molineux.

Notably, both teams have scored when they’ve hosted a team above them, with over 2.5 goals in all but one of those matches.

Wolves have been in dire form recently, but that’s unsurprising given the list of absentees. The return of Matheus Cunha and Hwang Hee-Chan makes them a goal threat.

 

Team news

Pedro Neto, Jean Ricner-Bellegarde and Craig Dawson are unavailable due to injury, but Rayan Ait-Nouri and Nelson Semedo should be deemed fit.

Cunha returned to the starting line-up last week while Hwang made the bench. Both are expected to start on Saturday.

Jurrien Timber is the only confirmed absentee for the Gunners, although Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka played with knocks against Bayern Munich.

Arteta may be forced to rotate his tired forward line but the biggest challenge may be handling the emotional toll of elimination.

 

Key stats

- Wolves have avoided defeat in six of nine home matches against top-half teams
- Both teams have scored in 11 of Wolves’ 15 home matches
- Both teams scored when Wolves hosted the other nine sides currently above them
- Arsenal have scored two or more in each of the last four meetings with Wolves
- Arsenal have won 10 and drawn one of their 11 Premier League matches in 2024

 

Suggested bets

Wolves +1.5 Asian handicap

Both teams to score

Over 2.5 goals