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Arsenal vs Coventry English Premier League Predictions - Havertz to sink Premier League new boys Coventry

Simon Lewis

Editor

Last updated: 21 Aug 2026

Simon Lewis 21 Aug 2026

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Defending champs Arsenal meet Championship winners Coventry in the opening match of the 2026/27 Premier League season.
Arsenal won 26 and lost five of their 38 matches last season.
Coventry won 28 and lost seven of their 46 matches in the Championship last season.

Expired

Coventry's Ellis Simms has netted five goals in his last three matches (Getty Images).

Arsenal lost two pre-season matches in August by conceding three goals to Betis and Dortmund but bounced back by beating Man City 3-0 in the Community Shield.

Coventry drew their first pre-season match 0-0 with Northampton before strong wins over Espanyol (3-1) and Monaco (2-0). I am backing Arsenal to beat Coventry at home.

Arsenal lost the 2025/26 Champions League final to PSG on penalties.
Kai Havertz has scored 6 goals in his last 10 matches since June.
Arsenal have scored 11 goals in 5 matches in the pre-season.
Arsenal have conceded 8 goals in 5 matches in the pre-season..
Coventry have conceded just 2 goals in their last 5 matches.
Coventry have scored 17 goals in their last 6 matches.
Coventry won two and drew one of their 3 pre-season friendlies.
Ellis Simms has scored 5 goals in his last 3 matches.

Head-to-Head

Arsenal have won their last five matches against Coventry stretching back to 2000/01. Their last two meetings were in the League Cup in 2012 (6-1) and the FA Cup in 2014 (4-0), with both matches being home wins for Arsenal.

Arsenal Form

Arsenal made it 3 wins and 2 defeats in the pre-season and Community Shield final when they beat Man City 3-0, their last five matches ending W-W-L-L-W.

Arsenal have won their opening match of the season for the last four campaigns, with a goal aggregate of 7-1 in those four matches. A win for Arsenal would be Arteta’s 150th Premier League win in his 250th match as manager in the top flight.

Coventry Form

Coventry made it 4 wins and 1 draw from their last 5 matches when they beat Monaco 2-0 in their last pre-season friendly. Their last five results have been W-W-D-W-W.

Under manager Frank Lampard, Coventry City made several high-profile additions to their squad in preparation for their first match back in the Premier League for a quarter of a century. They have brought in club-record signing Caleb Yirenkyi to bolster their midfield, along with Sidiki Cherif, Carl Rushworth, Taiwo Awoniyi and Aurèle Amenda.

Keeper Carl Rushworth kept 17 clean sheets in the Championship last season, making over 120 saves. They are on an unbeaten run of 11 matches since last season in the Championship and their three pre-season matches ahead of this season.

Arsenal vs Coventry Team News & Squads

Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice have both been given a clean bill of health and could make the starting line-up after being on the bench for rhe Community Shield win over Man City. Jurrien Timber and William Saliba will both be absent through injury, while Bruno Guimarães is a fitness concern.

“It’s evolving well, but let’s see,” said Arsenal boss Arteta in a press conference on Thursday regarding Guimaraes. “The more dominant we are, the bigger the margins, the better... we need to improve the availability of the squad in certain areas in order for those margins to become ‌much bigger.”

Coventry will be without Haji Wright and Luke Woolfenden through injury. Jack Rudoni and Frank Onyeka are fitness concerns but might still be able to prove their fitness ahead of kick-off.

Manager Frank Lampard was upbeat ahead of their clash with the defending Premier League champions.

"I want to show in our performance and in how we approach the game that we haven't come into it with any kind of fear," Lampard said in a pre-match press conference.

"The last thing I would want to have after a game against Arsenal - or any team like this - is a regret of our approach and that we didn't give it everything. If we can do that as a team, then we will compete in this league".

Arsenal (predicted XI): Raya; White, Mosquera, Gabriel, Calafiori; Lewis-Skelly, Guimaraes; Saka, Odegaard, Tzolis; Havertz.

Coventry (predicted XI): Rushworth; Van Ewijk, Thomas, Amenda, Markelo; Onyeka, Grimes, Yirenkyi; Tchaouna, Simms, Thomas-Asante.

Verdict

Arsenal v Coventry

I am backing Arsenal to win. I am also backing Kai Havertz to score for Arsenal. Ellis Simms is a good bet to score for Coventry.

Arsenal To Win

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