The English Premier Season kicks off on Friday night in London as Arsenal hosts Leicester at the Emirates Stadium. Leicester, who had a surprise championship run two seasons ago, fell off the map last year. Can they get back in the running this year?
What To Know About Arsenal
Arsenal finished fifth last season, and this is their first time not playing in the Champions League since 1997-98. It’s a huge season for manager Arsene Wenger and the first thing he has to do is figure out what is going on with Alexis Sanchez. The Chilean has been the speculation of many transfer rumors and even though Arsenal bought Alexandre Lazcazette from Lyon, Sanchez is still their most indispensable player. A lot also depends on Mesut Ozil, the German midfielder who might be Arsenal’s best technical player, but he floats in and out of games for long stretches. Also, keep an eye on Sead Kolasinac, a free transfer who has impressed at left back in preseason action. A major worry for Arsenal coming into this game is injury as they have a slew of players that might miss this game. Sanchez and Francis Coquelin, while captain Per Mertesacker, Ozil and Aaron Ramsey are all going to need to pass late fitness tests.
What To Know About Leicester
It looked bad for Leicester following their historic Premier League title, and it cost Claudio Ranieri his job. However, the team looked much better after replacing Ranieri with Craig Shakespeare, and Leicester finished 12th. The purchase of Kelechi Iheanacho to go with Jamie Vardy up front should lead to a lot of goals, and their pace is going to be a problem for many back lines around the league. They also still have Riyad Mahrez, who was a major disappointment last season as he seemed to give up throughout the season, but he also rebounded. If there is one place where Leicester needs to get better, it is away from home and Friday would be a good time to start. Last season, Leicester had two wins, four draws and 13 losses on the road. They need to make a big improvement there this season. Leicester also had a few injury worries as Robert Huth won’t play, and Danny Drinkwater probably won’t.
Outlook
Arsenal will come into this match as a -200 favorite, while Leicester is rated at +550 and a draw is +320. The two have met six times since Leicester returned to the Premier League, with Arsenal winning four and drawing twice. This will be an interesting match for both teams as both back lines didn’t look great last season, and Arsenal is going to have issues with Leicester’s pace up front. However, Arsenal should be able to deal with the midfield with Drinkwater out, especially if Ozil can play and he is in the mood. Arsenal would like to get back into the Champions League, while Leicester (who performed better than expected in the Champions League last season) would have designs on the Europa League, where Arsenal is right now. As far as opening-week matches go, this is a big one for both Arsenal and Leicester as the Premier League season gets off to a flying start.
EPL Betting Pick: Arsenal
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