Gabriel Jesus has seen an upturn in form. He had a long Premier League goal drought but has put in some inspired performances during the Christmas period. Jesus scored a hat-trick against Palace in the EFL cup before grabbing a brace against them in the league. He also scored against Brentford and has generally looked sharp and focused. Jesus has fired in 12 shots in his last five EPL fixtures, with 5 of them finding the target. He has become more of a consistent goal scoring threat and seems to be in a reliable phase to hit the target. Taking the Brazilian to have one or more shots on target should be a strong option to start your bet builder

The Swedish superstar might just be the hottest Premier League striker right now. He has been in blistering form and scored at least one goal in 7 of his last 8 competitive starts. He is looking great and has huge confidence so it wouldn’t be a shock to see him hit the back of the net here. In a match where Newcastle are the clear underdog a great option appears to be taking him just to have a single shot on target or more though. 25 of his 55 shots have been on target in the EPL this season which is a strong accuracy rate. As aforementioned, Isak’s recent form is so strong that 13 of his last 18 attempts have found the target. He can be relied upon to test the keeper at least once again.

Arsenal average exactly 6 corners per game in the Premier League this season and Newcastle average 5.40. The Toon also concede an average of 5.10 per game. Both sides fancy themselves from set pieces and are known for benefiting from them. It is well documented how successful Arsenal have been, especially from corners whilst Newcastle have big men such as Dan Burn and potentially Sven Botman to aim for. The last three head to head meetings have seen 10, 9 and 11 corners respectively.

Newcastle are missing both Bruno Guimaraes and Fabian Schar to suspension which is a major blow in many ways. Both are leaders of the team and not shy to get stuck in if needed. Eddie Howe is expected to turn towards Joelinton in midfield. When the Brazilian plays more centrally then it will naturally open up his chances of committing more fouls and potentially collecting a card. He already averages 2.10 fouls per 90 mins in the Premier League this season so taking him to commit a couple of fouls or more seems like a good bet builder addition.

This is a two legged EFL Cup semi-final tie so Arsenal might feel more of a need to take victory and give themselves an advantage before the return match at the end of the month. The Gunners have a poor recent record at St James’ Park and will likely face a full strength Newcastle side that night with Bruno Guimaraes and Fabian Schar both back from suspension. This is a great chance to get at The Magpies without two key players and Mikel Arteta knows they must use home advantage. Quite how up on the priority list this competition is for Arsenal remains questionable but they saw off Crystal Palace well in the previous round. Even with some rotation they are very capable of beating anyone at home and if you offered Newcastle a close defeat, they would probably take it.

The home side are expected to dominate territoriality here and should logically rack up the most corners by a decent margin. Newcastle will probably sit back and allow some pressure, being hard to break down. That in addition to a lot of shots probably being fired in should see Arsenal beat The Magpies comfortably in terms of flag kicks. The last three head to head meetings have seen Arsenal win the corner battle 6-4, 9-0 and 11-0 vs Newcastle.

The Brazilian international should lineup in the middle of the mark here for Newcastle, right at the centre of the action. He has obtained the most cards for The Toon this season (7) and is going to be vulnerable here. Newcastle are going to rely on him to disrupt play and use his experience in the absence of some key individuals. Up against the likes of Thomas Partey and Martin Odegaard it will be a tough evening for him. Joelinton averages over 2 fouls per 90 mins in the EPL this season and could give referee Craig Pawson some work. Pawson averages 4.42 cards per game this season so is hardly shy of dishing them out if needed.

This could be a challenging first leg for Newcastle who might have their backs against the wall for much of the evening. The Magpies average 12.90 shots against per game in the EPL this season and could face even more attempts at the Emirates Stadium. Arsenal average 5.10 shots on target per 90 mins which means they are likely to test the Newcastle goalkeeper several times. Martin Dubravka should be quite busy but hasn’t conceded that many goals recently so will be confident of making some strong saves. Spurs forced him into four saves at the weekend and Arsenal can at least match that here.