The Gunners Host Wolverhampton Wanderers in Pivotal Top-Flight Fixture

All eyes turn for a compelling Premier League contest as league leaders Arsenal host bottom-placed Wolverhampton Wanderers to the their home ground.

Confirmed Sides

Arsenal have introduced a trio of alterations from the XI that suffered a 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa in their previous outing. The French defender, the Swedish striker and the Brazilian winger are all included in the lineup. The captain and Mikel Merino are named on the substitutes' bench, while the Italian defender is not involved. The centre-back returns after sitting out five matches through injury.

Wolves also make three adjustments to their starting XI following being heavily defeated 4-1 at Molineux by United on Monday evening. Matt Doherty, the Brazilian midfielder and the South Korean forward are recalled. Ki-Jana Hoever and Jhon Arias are on the substitutes, while Bellegarde is not in the squad altogether.

The Teams in Full

Arsenal: Raya, White, Saliba, Hincapie, Timber, Eze, Zubimendi, Rice, Saka, Gyokeres, Martinelli.
Bench: Arrizabalaga, Odegaard, Gabriel Jesus, Norgaard, Trossard, Madueke, Nwaneri, Merino, Lewis-Skelly.

Wolverhampton Wanderers: Johnstone, Mosquera, Agbadou, Toti Gomes, Doherty, Joao Gomes, Andre Trindade, Krejci, Wolfe, Larsen, Hwang.
Bench: Tchatchoua, Mane, Lopez, Hoever, Chirewa, Arokodare, Arias, Santiago Bueno, Jose Sa.

Match Official: Robert Jones
Video Assistant Referee: John Brooks

Preamble

Good evening! And I mean, c’mon …

The standings paints a striking contrast. The hosts sit comfortably at the summit of the table, while Wolves occupy the bottom of the league.

… yet while this will be the 42nd time the top side have played the side propping up the division – with 30 out of 41, with seven draws – who are behind two of the four historical shocks? Indeed, Wolves, that’s who! So while Mikel Arteta will surely be anticipating another three points, Rob Edwards must know that underdogs sometimes find the target, and you never know. Kick-off is at 8pm GMT. The action is imminent!

^{(The other two last-over-first wins in the Premier League era are Oldham Athletic's 1-0 win over Manchester United in March 1993, and Tottenham Hotspur – admittedly, this one sounds a bit weird - defeating Liverpool in November 2008.)}