Arsenal host Newcastle United at Emirates Stadium on Monday in Premier League action, as the two clubs battle to keep their Champions League hopes alive.

The Gunners are currently in fourth place in the Premier League, but a win would put them within a point of Tottenham for the third spot. Newcastle are in sixth place, but are just five points behind fifth-place Chelsea.

Newcastle have a tough task ahead of them. Arsenal have a four-match winning streak in the Premier League, and haven't lost since Jan. 22 in a hard-fought battle with Manchester United.

The Magpies, meanwhile, are winless in their last three matches. Still, the club has exceeded expectations in many experts' eyes. Manager Alan Pardew has pieced together a talented and competitive squad on a budget, and Newcastle have a chance to gain ground on Chelsea when the two clubs meet on Apr. 14 at Stamford Bridge.

Pardew will have a notable absentee against Arsenal as striker Peter Lovenkrands might be done for the season with a thigh injury. Meanwhile, Leon Best, Sammy Ameobi, Steven Taylor, Sylvain Marveaux remain inactive.

In the U.S., the match will be televised on ESPN2 at 4:00 pm EST, while a live stream is also available on ESPN3.com, and In the U.K., on SkyGo.

PREDICTION: Arsenal are playing with a great deal of confidence and should be extremely focused on the Premier League with no other competitions to be concerned about. Expect Robin van Persie and Theo Walcott to put tough pressure on Newcastle defenders, who might also feel overwhelmed by the rested midfield of Mikel Arteta and Aaron Ramsey. Demba Ba has not scored in three games, and the French striker should find it difficult to regain his form against an Arsenal squad that had a clean sheet against AC Milan in their last match.

PREDICTED SCORE: Arsenal over Newcastle, 2-0

PROBABLE LINEUPS:

ARSENAL

G: Szczesny D: Sagna, Koscielny, Vermaelen, Gibbs M: Arteta, Song, RamseyF: Walcott, Van Persie, Oxlade-Chamberlain

NEWCASTLE

G: Krul D: Simpson, Williamson, Coloccini, Santon M: Ryan Taylor, Cabaye, Tiote, Gutierrez F: Ba, Cisse

Manchester United United kingdom