Arsenal will welcome Villarreal to the Emirates Stadium in a pre-season friendly on Wednesday evening.
The Gunners will be looking for a positive reaction after losing 1-0 to North London rivals Tottenham last time out in their final game of their pre-season tour of Asia. They did record 1-0 and 3-2 victories against AC Milan and Newcastle respectively though, and will be aiming for another win here on home soil.
Villarreal are yet to win in pre-season themselves, with a 1-1 draw against another Premier League side in Leeds last time out stretching their winless run to four games. The Yellow Submarine do have a surprisingly good recent H2H record against Arsenal though, having only lost one of the last five meetings.
Nonetheless, with the new campaign drawing nearer, we are expecting a competitive clash between both sides, as they ramp up their pre-season preparations.
How the bookies view it: Arsenal installed as favourites
Unsurprisingly, BoyleSports have Arsenal as 1/2 odds-on favourites to win on home soil. A draw can be backed at 14/5 odds with the same bookmaker, while Villarreal are outsiders for victory at 7/2 odds.
Recent head-to-head: Bore draw at Emirates
These two teams last met in 2021 in the UEFA Europa League (UEL). It finished 0-0 at the Emirates on what was ultimately a frustrating night for Arsenal.
Players to watch: Viktor to inspire victory?
Arsenal could give a first start to Viktor Gyokeres, an exciting signing having scored 54 goals in 52 games for Sporting last season. He can be backed at 3/1 odds with bet365 to open the scoring at the Emirates and send the home crowd wild.
The Gunners will also welcome a familiar face in Nicolas Pepe, who now plays for Villarreal, after they paid what was a club-record £72m at the time to sign him from Lille after an impressive season in France.
Predicted lineups
We are backing Gyokeres to earn his first start for Arsenal, while another new signing in Cristhian Mosquera could also be utilised from kick-off amid continuing doubts over Gabriel's fitness. Noni Madueke may have to settle for a place on the bench though, having just joined up with the team after missing the Asia tour, while Jurrien Timber also remains a fitness doubt.
While Pepe should start for Villarreal, there is unlikely to be a debut for new signing Thomas Partey, ironically signed after he was released by Arsenal. Another former Gunner Denis Suarez may come on as a substitute.
Arsenal: Raya; White, Saliba, Mosquera, Lewis-Skelly; Zubimendi, Odegaard, Rice; Saka, Gyokeres, Martinelli.
Villarreal: Junior; Foyth, Mourino, Marin, Cardona; Pepe, Gueye, Parejo, Pino; Eyong, Moreno.
Anything else catch the eye?
Given that five of Villarreal's last six games have seen both teams score, we are happy to invest in the Both Teams To Score (BTTS) market here. Combining that with an Arsenal win is at reasonable 19/10 odds with BoyleSports.
As has been the case with three of the seven friendlies combined for both teams, we are also inclined to back there being over 3.5 total goals, offered at 7/5 odds by BoyleSports.
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