Arsenal host Sporting Lisbon on Thursday, after a good result against Liverpool kept their unbeaten run going over the weekend.
After keeping their drive for the Premier League top four going on Saturday, Arsenal return to the Europa League, where they have the chance to secure top spot in the group against Sporting Lisbon. A win against their Portuguese opponents would guarantee Arsenal finishing first, as long as Vorskla drop points to Qarabag.
Even if Vorskla win, the odds of them overtaking the Gunners would be very small. The Ukrainian side would have to beat Arsenal by two goals, then beat Sporting Lisbon in Portugal while the Gunners lost to Qarabag at home.
As a result, you’d expect Unai Emery to take this game very seriously. Being able to rest players during the trip to FC Vorskla later this month could be vital, as Arsenal play Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, just three days later. However, the Gunners do have a match against Wolves this weekend to think about.
Let’s have a look at our predicted lineup for the Sporting clash.
Goalkeeper and Defence
Petr Cech should return to the starting lineup, after featuring in the Carabao Cup last week. Bernd Leno appears to have taken the 36-year-old’s spot in the Premier League starting XI for now, so this is Cech’s chance to get some game time.
Similarly, Stephan Lichtsteiner will continue his run in the defence for the cup and European games, giving Hector Bellerin a rest after his return from injury. On the left, Arsenal have Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Sead Kolasinac back, and after Kolasinac played 90 minutes on Saturday this one should go to Ainsley.
With any luck, Sokratis Papastathopoulos will recover from injury in time to feature alongside Rob Holding, just as they did in the away fixture against Sporting Lisbon.
Centre-back is still the area of the pitch where Arsenal are lightest, with Laurent Koscielny and Konstantinos Mavropanos still out. Shkodran Mustafi should get a rest.
Click ‘Next’ for Midfield, Forwards and our Full Predicted Starting XI
Midfield
After a fiery encounter with Blackpool saw Matteo Guendouzi very harshly dismissed, the 19-year-old should come back to the starting lineup against Sporting Lisbon. He played 90 minutes in Arsenal’s last two Europa League fixtures, and with Mohamed Elneny out and Ainsley Maitland-Niles at left-back, there are very limited options here.
For the same reason, we expect Aaron Ramsey to drop back into the midfield two. It’s the position he’s better in regardless, and it allows Granit Xhaka and Lucas Torreira to have a rest after their star performances against Liverpool.
Ahead of Guendouzi and Ramsey, Emile Smith Rowe should get another Europa League opportunity. He missed out in the Lisbon away game, but injuries, rotation and a League Cup goal against Blackpool open up the door for his return to the team.
Click ‘Next’ for Forwards and our Full Predicted Starting XI
Forwards
Danny Welbeck was the match-winner in Lisbon, and he has five goals and one assist for Arsenal this season despite only starting six matches. He’s the clear choice up front on this occasion, to give Alexandre Lacazette a rest.
On the right, Henrikh Mkhitaryan isn’t in top form at the moment. However, after his early substitution at the weekend and with another game coming up on Sunday, we expect Unai Emery to use him to allow other players to have a rest.
Alex Iwobi will also return to the team. His assist against Liverpool means he’s still contributed to all of Arsenal’s goals against the big six this season. Like Mkhitaryan, he didn’t play 90 minutes on Saturday, so he should be fresh for this one.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was ineffective starting on the left in Lisbon, so Iwobi appears to be the better option to balance the team. The Gabonese striker still looks best in the middle or coming off the bench as an impact substitute.
Click ‘Next’ for our full predicted starting XI
Full Predicted Starting XI
