Arsenal v Brentford: Back a draw at the Emirates and 3/1 special on fast-starting Wissa | OneFootball

English Premier League

Brentford boss Thomas Frank will provide trickey opposition for Arsenal

Paul Higham fancies a draw at the Emirates when Arsenal host Brentford on the back of their midweek heroics, and has a 3/1 stats special on one of the Bees' forwards who is making a habit of quick starts...

Betfair Saturday Superboost

Aston Villa' January  Transfer Window signing Marco Asensio has enjoyed a fine start at his new club, becoming one of Villa's key goalscoring threats.

The Spaniard has registered 11 shots on target in his last seven games, and on Saturday, against the Premier League's bottom club Southampton you can back him at the super-boosted price of 1/1 (from 2/5) to have at least one shot on target.

To take advantage of this latest Betfair Superboost just click on the odds in the below bet banner to go directly to the pre-loaded betslip.

Watch Football...Only Bettor Saturday preview

Arsenal v BrentfordSaturday 12 April, 17:30 kick-offLive on Sky Sports

There's probably still some Arsenal fans stuck to the roof of the Emirates Stadium after their incredible Champions League victory over Real Madrid, so there'll be a big struggle for both them and the players to get back down to earth for the tricky visit of Brentford.

Mikel Arteta will no doubt make changes, but how many is the big question as they can reduce the gap on Liverpool to eight points, but with a good cushion in the top five and a trip to the Bernabeu coming up they're more likely to save the big guns for the Champions League.

Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka will surely sit this out after coming off with knocks in midweek and elsewhere it'll be a similar line-up to Everton away with Raheem Sterling, Leandro Trossard, Ethan Nwaneri, Kieran Tierney and Ben White all likely starters.

The Gunners are still 4/7 favourites though and given the mood around the Emirates they'll be full of confidence - plus 4/1 shots Brentford have only won one away game against Arsenal, and that came back in 1938!

It could be the Bees' best chance for a while though as you never know how a team like Arsenal will react to that Real Madrid epic, especially with changes, and if their minds are wandering Thomas Frank's side have a cutting edge to capitalise. Brentford have the best shots to goals conversion rate in the league.

Brentford have won five of their last six away league games and I give them a lively chance here - but they'll have to work hard against an Arsenal defence that's let in just 12 goals in their last 18 league games.

Only Everton have drawn more games than Arsenal, and that's at full tilt, so I think they'll be a bit off the pace here and a bit wary of Brentford's attacking quality, so this one smells like a draw to me.

Back Bees pair to cause first half buzz

I looked at Brentford pair Yoane Wissa and Bryan Mbeumo for our Betfair player performance stats column this week and their recent shots totals, both overall and in the first half are something worth watching.

Wissa has had a first-half shot in his last 15 Premier League matches, and eight of those have been multiple first-half shots as well.

So backing Wissa to have 2+ first half shots at 3/1 makes great appeal, especially as you could forgive Arsenal for starting slowly after midweek while Brentford will be looking for another fast start.

Wissa's partner in crime Mbeumo has matched his fellow forward in 13 of those 15 games with a first-half shot, but he's got just six multiple shots in the opening half.

Mbuemo actually has a longer current streak of matches with at least one shot at 17, and with 14 of those being multiple shot outings his quote of 1/1 for 2+ shots at the Emirates also worth

You can also combine Wissa's first-half shots with Mbeumo's 2+ total shots in a Bet Builder double that works out at around 13/2.

Player vs Player

Now read the rest of our Premier League match previews & best bets from our experts

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Back the draw in Arsenal v Brentford @ 16/5 Back Wissa 2+ first half shots @ 3/1

Ste Tudor's Build Up Tips:

Back Schade to have more shots on target than Odegaard

Kevin Schade may not be the most prolific of scorers but there is no questioning his accuracy when in sight of goal. From a shot-count of 42 in the league this season he has troubled the opposition keeper 42.9% of the time, a ratio that exceeds many who have taken on a similar number.

In the clinical stakes he is ahead of Anthony Gordon to use just one example. His figures are double that of Pedro Neto.

Admittedly this surprises. From watching the Bees almost exclusively on the telly this season he has come across as a player who is decent in build-up play but lacks a cutting edge, bar the occasional impressive strike.

Certainly in comparison to his attacking peers at the Gtech – namely Mbeumo and Wissa – the German international appears to lag behind, his main traits being the balance he affords Brentford and his work-rate.

Looking at his numbers though reveals a player who has been a model of consistency for Thomas Frank’s side this term. Away to Newcastle early this month he posted a single shot on target and did likewise against Bournemouth and Aston Villa in the preceding matches.

Elsewhere his season is sprinkled with twos here and there, while against Leicester earlier in the campaign he took on four attempts, converting a hat-trick.

By and large though, Schade chugs along. Steady. Reliable. One SOT per game.

For Arsenal, I'm hoping Mikel Arteta doen't rotate too heavily ahead of their Champions League quarter-final second leg in Madrid in midweek, and that Martin Odegaard starts against the Bees. By all means Mikel, bring him off as early as possible if you like!

The Gunners midfielder averages just shy of Schade's numbers in the Premier League for shots on target, but in recent weeks he's been performing below par. He failed to register a shot on target at Everton last week despite playing 85 minutes, and in his last three Premier League home games he's managed just one shot on target.