West Brom vs. Arsenal Premier League Betting Odds, Picks & Predictions (Saturday, Jan. 2)

David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images. Pictured: Bukayo Saka, Arsenal

West Brom vs. Arsenal Odds

West Brom Odds +475 [BET NOW]
Arsenal Odds -160 [BET NOW]
Draw +300 [BET NOW]
Over/Under 2.5 (-121/-104) [BET NOW]
Time Saturday, 3:00 p.m. ET
TV Peacock Premium
Odds via DraftKings as of Friday at 1:00 p.m. ET
Arsenal looks to make it three in a row in trot, when they head to the Hawthornes to take on relegation side West Brom.
After one of the worst runs of form in the clubs history, Arsenal has won two matches in a row over Chelsea and Brighton. That said, the Gunners are still closer to a relegation spot than they are to the top-six.
However, is Arsenal in the midst of a season saving run?
Things are really bad at West Brom right now and even Sam Allardyce may not even be able to fix it. The Baggies are in 19th and showing no signs of being competitive after giving up 10 goals in their last three matches. Can they rebound and end Arsenal’s win streak?

West Brom

It’s hard to overstate how bad West Brom has been this season. Every flaw with this team was exposed on Wednesday when Leeds routed the Baggies 5-0 at the Hawthornes.
The biggest issue for West Brom this season is they’ve failed to create, quite frankly, any high quality chances in front of net. Over their last six matches, they’ve averaged only 0.47 xG per match from non-penalty situations, which seems almost impossible.
West Brom’s issues are not reserved for one end of the pitch, because the Baggies are the worst defensive team in the Premier League as well, allowing 2.01 xG per match. Things have gotten a tad better under Allardyce, as they are allowing only 1.85 xG per match, but things are still really bad at West Brom.

Arsenal

Why have the Gunners seemingly turned a corner the last two games? It’s not that they are creating more chances in front of net, they are creating higher quality chances. Against Chelsea and Brighton, the Gunners created a total of 2.8 xG from non-penalty situations. Compare that to the two matches against Southampton and Everton, where they only created 1.23 xG total from non-penalty situations.

The biggest difference the last two matches for Arsenal is their 19-year-old sensation Bukayo Saka has been creating chances left and right. He scored the third goal against Chelsea, which has the potential to be goal of the year:

Defensively, Arsenal haven’t been terrible, allowing 1.23 xG per match, but the Gunners will be without one of their central defenders in Gabriel and Thomas Partey, their best defensive midfielder. However, with how bad West Brom’s offense has been this season, Arsenal could be on their way to a second clean sheet in a row.

Projections and Pick

With how bad West Brom has been on both ends of the pitch, it’s hard to justify a bet on the Baggies. I think Arsenal should be able to keep their win streak going on the road, given how many more high quality chances they’ve created the last two matches.

I’ll back the red hot Gunners spread of -1 at +108 (DraftKings).

Pick: Arsenal -1 (+108)

[Bet Arsenal vs. West Brom now at DraftKings and get a $1,000 sign-up bonus.]

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