West Brom appear to have cemented the eighth place in the standings and it looks as though their position is unlikely to change much regardless of how they fare in the final seven fixtures. Arsenal, on the other hand, are eager to continue the rich vein of form and thus put extra pressure on their rivals for the final two Champions League berths.

Not much to play for

This is a position no team want to be in, although it is highly unlikely West Brom will be disappointed if their remain in eighth place and beat their highest ever tally of 47 points. Some impressive showings in the first part of the league campaign hinted that the Baggies might just be able to enter the race for European places, but Steve Clarke’s side soon proved they still lack that extra edge to compete with sides like Arsenal, Everton, Tottenham and Liverpool. With the team clearly on the downtrend at the moment, Steve Clarke could decide to shake things up by introducing some new players into the starting line-up, especially as he can now afford to give some playing time to youngsters and fringe players and get them ready for the 2013/2014 season. Given that Romelu Lukaku is unlikely to remain at the Hawthorns after his loan deal ends in the summer, there are some reports that the Belgian will not be used too much during the season finale, but that Clarke will rather give some much needed playing time to Marcus Rosenberg.

Key midfielder James Morrison is doubtful through injury, while while another important players Youssouf Mulumbu misses out through suspension.

Arsenal on fire

Arsenal are going through yet another very difficult season that is going to end without any trophies won, but the Gunners have been showing a lot of potential of late. Following the 3-1 home defeat to Bayern Munich, they managed to record a 2-0 win at Alianz Arena in the return leg, and Serie A leaders Juventus could tell you how difficult it is to beat Bayern at their Alianz Arena. That victory served as a huge confidence boost for Arsene Wenger’s men, who then went on to record comfortable triumphs over Swansea and Reading, this significantly improving their chances of clinching another Champions League qualification. With Ramsey, Rosicky and Gervinho all showing massive improvement of late, it appears that Jack Wilshire and Theo Walcott are not being sorely missed, and there is a good chance the Gunners will be able to extend their winning run against indifferent West Brom. Even Olivier Giroud has started scoring on regular basis and that has got to count for something.

Jack Wilshire, Abou Diaby and Theo Walcott continue to miss out, while Lukasz Fabianski should continue between the sticks.

Verdict

Lacking motivation and going into the game on the back of a dismal showing against West Ham, the Baggies cannot be trusted to match in-form Arsenal. The Gunners are playing their best football of the season and they should have enough quality and experience to extend the winning run to four games at Hawthorns.

Top pick: Arsenal to score two or more   1.91 (10/11) @ Stan James

Alternative pick 1: Away win   1.95 (19/20) @ BetVictor

Alternative pick 2: Arsenal with -1.5 Asian handicap   3.20 (11/5) @ bet365

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