On Sunday, January 17, Stoke City FC hosts Arsenal FC in a Week 22 English Premier League fixture. The game will be played at the Britannia Stadium in the city of Staffordshire and will kick off at 16:15 BST.
The home side are currently 7th on the table, with 32 points from 21 games, while the visitors are top of the table on goal difference with 43 points from 21 games.
The 7th placed team can move up to 6th place with a victory in this game, while a defeat could see them slump to 10th place. The Gunners will likely retain their position at the top of the table in this game, while a defeat will see them end the match day no lower than 3rd place.
The Potters, managed by Mark Hughes, are in good form, with three wins and two defeats in their last five games in all competitions. These wins include league victories against Everton (3-4 on December 28), and Norwich City (3-1 on January 13). They also knocked Doncaster Rovers out of the FA Cup (1-2 on January 9).
The League Cup semi-finalists have however suffered recent defeats at the hands of West Bromwich Albion in the league(2-1 on January 2), and in the first leg of their League Cup Semi Final tie against Liverpool (0-1 on January 5).
The league leaders, managed by Arsene Wenger are in good form, with three wins, one draw and one defeat in their last five games in all competitions. These wins include league victories against AFC Bournemouth (2-0 on December 28), and Newcastle United (1-0 on January 2). They also defeated Sunderland in the FA Cup (3-1 on January 9).
The FA Cup holders played out a pulsating draw in their last outing against Liverpool (3-3 on January 13), but suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of Southampton (4-0 on January 26).
In the likely absence of Xherdan Shaqiri, the danger men for Stoke City in this game will be Bojan and Marco Arnutovic. The duo have been impressive at home against the top sides in the league this season and will be looking to continue in that manner. Arsenal’s Olivier Giroud has scored 12 goals in 21 league appearances this season, and will need to be at his very best against a no-nonsense Stoke City defence.
Arsenal tend to struggle at the Britannia, and although they come into this game top of the table, I don’t see this game deviating from the norm. Stoke City to dent Arsenal’s title ambitions with a win in this game.