Arsenal will take a 2-0 lead to Italy to face Napoli in the second leg of their Europa League quarter-final on Thursday night.
Last Thursday, Arsenal won their fourth home Europa League match in a row, keeping a clean sheet to put themselves in a strong position for the away fixture in Naples. An away goal for the Gunners in the second leg would leave their opponents needing four to qualify, so things couldn’t have gone much better so far.
Unfortunately, Unai Emery’s side have a terrible record away from home in the knockout stages, losing both of their previous matches against BATE Borisov and Stade Rennais. Napoli are unlikely to provide an easier challenge.
As a result, Emery will need to pick his very strongest eleven and have everyone rise to the task if the team are going to qualify for the semi-finals. Let’s have a look at the team news and our predicted lineup for the clash.
Forwards
Alexandre Lacazette was completely rested against Watford, presumably with this match in mind. Mesut Özil also only played 45 minutes, so he should start as well.
The third spot is a bit more up for grabs. Alex Iwobi, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang all played 90 minutes on Monday, and any of the three could start depending on the system Emery decides to play.
Aubameyang starting on the bench could allow him to make an impact against tired legs pushing for goals late on, so it’s not entirely out of the question that one of the other two could take his place at first. However, we’re predicting he’ll stick with the Gabon international and the front three that worked so well last week.
Napoli vs Arsenal Betting Tips
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has scored nine goals in his last 11 European matches at the last-16 or quarter-final stage. Bet on Aubameyang to score first or last with BetUK at 7/4.
Napoli have only kept one clean sheet in all competitions since the start of March. Bet on Arsenal to score over 0.5 goals with BetUK at 2/5.
Every competitive clash between Arsenal and Napoli has involved two goals being scored. Bet on over 1.5 total goals with BetUK at 1/6.
Prediction: Napoli 1-1 Arsenal (19/4 with BetUK).