Rennes will welcome their captain Benjamin Andre back into their squad for the game against Arsenal after the player was suspended against Caen.
The French side, who arrive in London with a surprise two-goal lead from the first leg, will also be able to call on the services of one-time Arsenal target Mbaye Niang and Hamari Traore who was suspended for the first leg.
According to Le Telegramme, Rennes starting lineup should look something like this:
Koubek Traoré, Da Silva, Mexer, Bensebaïni – Sarr, André (cap), Attic, Bourigeaud – Ben Arfa, Niang.
Arsenal got a nice surprise on Tuesday when it was revealed that they had been successful in their appeal of Alexandre Lacazette’s three-game ban for elbowing a BATE player in the first leg of that tie.
Although Unai Emery said he believed a three-game ban was the right decision at the time, Arsenal appealed and UEFA cut his suspension to two games, both of which have already been served.
From UEFA:
UEFA Appeals Body decision – Arsenal FC – 12 March 2019
Match: UEFA Europa Round of 32 first leg between FC BATE Borisov and Arsenal FC (1-0), played on 14 February in Belarus
Decision: The appeal lodged by Arsenal FC has been partially upheld. Consequently, the UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body’s decision of 21 February 2019 is amended as follows:
– to suspend the Arsenal FC player Alexandre Lacazette for two (2) UEFA competition matches for which he would be otherwise eligible for serious rough play.
Note: Lacazette has already served the two-match suspension following Arsenal FC’s UEFA Europa League matches – Round of 32 second leg match against FC BATE Borisov, played on 21 February in England (3-0), and Round of 16 first leg match against Stade Rennais FC, played on 7 March in France (3-1).
There was also some excellent team news as our Player of the Month for February looks set to return.
You can read our predicted Arsenal starting XI here.
