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Post by staggerstag on Aug 25, 2021 16:54:10 GMT
Pre-match team news from The Hawthorns is all-important in a competition like this and no punter worth his weight in betting slips will part with a penny until tonight's line-ups are announced.
Obviously the Premier League takes pole position with Arteta but what sort of table will he set out tonight? You get the notion that West Brom will start more regulars than the Londoners but any kind of win for Arsenal has got to a morale-booster, so will we see a strong line-up from them?
Arsenal's two game start to the season has seen them yet to pot, losing both games 0-2. They sit 19th in the table. You could say that WBA are four places behind them because they are perched in 2nd spot in the Championship with 10 points from a possible 12.
Match betting (90 mins) sees Albion a big 11/2 (slightly in from 6/1 earlier this afternoon) with Arsenal unmoved at an anorexic 4/9 (really?)
To qualify : West Brom 3/1, Arsenal 2/9 and, frankly, those odds seem to be off the boil to my eyes. But again, team news is important.
West Brom v Arsenal, kick-off 8pm BST.
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Post by DrKrippen on Aug 25, 2021 17:00:43 GMT
Had no idea this was on today. Guess I'll look in.
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Post by staggerstag on Aug 25, 2021 18:14:09 GMT
The teams are in, and it's a whopping wholesale 11 changes for West Brom, including five players making their debuts. So much for my prediction of a strongish XI.
Arsenal on the other hand line up very strongly indeed, and new keeper Aaron Ramsdale makes his debut.
Here's how Arsenal start play.
Ramsdale
Tavares
Chambers
Holding
Kolasinac
Elneny
Xhaka
Odegaard
Pepe
Saka
Aubameyang
No point giving the Albion line-up because you won't know any of them.
And that announcement has had an effect on the match odds with Arsenal coming in to 2/9 from 4/9 and West Brom going out to 9/1 from 11/2.
There can be no excuses for an Arsenal defeat tonight. In fact, their fans will demand an emphatic victory, surely.
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Post by staggerstag on Aug 25, 2021 18:38:18 GMT
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Post by DrKrippen on Aug 25, 2021 18:58:28 GMT
Arteta not interested in answering any pointed questions in the pre match interview.  |
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Post by staggerstag on Aug 25, 2021 19:03:09 GMT
Serious face ON! We're off after a premature kick-off. Play is called back. They take the knee then re-take the kick-off.
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Post by DrKrippen on Aug 25, 2021 19:04:50 GMT
One minute ten seconds in and we get the first yellow card, on Castro for West Brom.
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Post by staggerstag on Aug 25, 2021 19:08:31 GMT
One minute ten seconds in and we get the first yellow card, on Castro for West Brom. 10 years down the road... Dada, what was your first ever game as a professional like? I got booked, son, after 70 seconds.
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Post by staggerstag on Aug 25, 2021 19:17:08 GMT
West Brom pass it around and inside the Arsenal area on '12. Two attempts are foiled by a stuttering Gunners defence before Ramsdale gets down to save the shot by Gardner-Hickman (who was a late replacement for Tulloch) It goes out for a corner, it's played very short, catching out the Arsenal rear guard, it falls to Reach who fires a shot just wide of the far post. The youthful newbies are eager and are the ones who have so far come closest with that Reach effort.
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Post by staggerstag on Aug 25, 2021 19:20:22 GMT
GOAL
But it's Arsenal that takes the lead! Saka works his way past a row of Albion bodies on the edge of the area and fires on goal, it's batted away by Palmer and pounced upon by Aubameyang for nothing-one on '17.
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Post by staggerstag on Aug 25, 2021 19:26:24 GMT
Well, West Brom, having shown such willing up front, made a real hash of defending for the Arsenal goal. You have to say that it was good work by Saka and that Aubameyang was perfectly positioned for the follow-up. Will that goal destroy the spirit of youth here?
Still 0-1 as the half-hour approaches and the visitors beginning to get a feel for the place.
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Post by sdm3 on Aug 25, 2021 19:33:42 GMT
Great work by Saka for that opener - or awful defending. Both, really. First goal of the season.  |
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Post by staggerstag on Aug 25, 2021 19:49:15 GMT
GOAL
Pepe is away and slices through the home rear guard. He drills a low one from just inside the box - it pings back off the post and guess who's waiting - yes, Aubameyang, who would get charged with poaching if he was in the countryside, is there to net the rebound on '45.
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Post by staggerstag on Aug 25, 2021 19:51:06 GMT
GOAL
The Albion high defensive line pays the price as Saka, Pepe and Aubameyang combine to terrorize it. It's Pepe who gets the goal in added time of the first half.
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Post by staggerstag on Aug 25, 2021 19:52:05 GMT
It's Arsenal leading at the half. Their new keeper Ramsdale has been threatened a couple of times but not seriously. On the plus side for West Brom, at least they've got rid of last season's diabolical 'bar code' jersey and are now sporting something a lot easier on the eye.
Arsenal, as expected, cruising it now at 0-3 up.
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Post by sdm3 on Aug 25, 2021 20:00:07 GMT
Meanwhile, Bayern Munich are winning 10-0 against ten-man Bremer SV in the first round of the DFB Cup.
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Post by sdm3 on Aug 25, 2021 20:01:41 GMT
Meanwhile, Bayern Munich are winning 10-0 against ten-man Bremer SV in the first round of the DFB Cup. Make that 11-0; Choupo-Moting just scored his fifth goal of the game. |
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Post by sdm3 on Aug 25, 2021 20:03:03 GMT
Meanwhile, Bayern Munich are winning 10-0 against ten-man Bremer SV in the first round of the DFB Cup. Make that 11-0; Choupo-Moting just scored his fifth goal of the game. Uh, make that 12-0. And it wasn’t Choupo-Moting on that 11th goal, so he’s only scored four so far. |
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Post by staggerstag on Aug 25, 2021 20:24:22 GMT
GOAL
Yeah Saka combines with Odegaard who one-twos with a delightful back-heel and Saka finishes it off for 0-4 on '50.
Southampton are running riot at Newport and Newcastle and Burnley are playing out a goalless, featureless fiasco at St James' Park.
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Post by staggerstag on Aug 25, 2021 20:27:03 GMT
GOAL
Yeah a hat-trick for Aubameyang who delivers a beautiful curling right-footer which sweeps deliciously past Palmer for nothing-five on '63.
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