Arsenal can’t dwell on their defeat to Liverpool for too long, as they have a game against Fulham at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday to kick off 2019.
Chelsea pulled further ahead after Arsenal dropped points at Liverpool, though Tottenham Hotspur wasted their opportunity to do the same. Nonetheless, they’re still seven points ahead of the Gunners, so Unai Emery’s side really needs to start putting some wins together now.
Up against them are relegation-battlers Fulham, who Arsenal beat 5-1 back in October. Since then Claudio Ranieri has taken over as manager, and most recently he’s won them five points from their last three games, so they’re on a much better run of form.
With an FA Cup game against lower league opposition at the weekend, there’s no reason for Emery not to go full strength for this one. Let’s have a look at our predicted lineup for the clash.
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Lucas Torreira had a rare off-day at Anfield, making a couple of mistakes as Liverpool came from behind to lead in a matter of minutes in the early stages on Saturday. Hopefully, he can bounce back in this game, and it seems almost certain he’ll start regardless of his weekend performance.
Granit Xhaka wasn’t as bad as some others against Liverpool, and when he’s available he almost always starts in the league. The Fulham match should be no exception, so it’s just about who the third man in midfield is.
Matteo Guendouzi has been preferred for the most part recently. He certainly seems to be ahead of Mohamed Elneny, who only started his first league game of the season on the 22nd December to give Torreira a break. The Egyptian midfielder then returned to the bench for Brighton and Liverpool.
Aaron Ramsey and Mesut Özil are both more likely to feature in the front three if they’re part of the starting lineup at all. Joe Willock made the bench against Liverpool, but he’s more likely to get a game against Blackpool at the weekend.
Click ‘Next’ for Forwards and the full Predicted Starting XI