NAPLES, ITALY - APRIL 18: Unai Emery, manager of Arsenal looks on during the UEFA Europa League Quarter Final Second Leg match between S.S.C. Napoli and Arsenal at Stadio San Paolo on April 18, 2019 in Naples, Italy. (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)

Unai Emery to make 10 changes: Predicted Arsenal lineup vs Burnley

May 11, 2019

Arsenal face Burnley in a relatively pointless match on Sunday, after their top-four hopes realistically came to an end against Brighton last weekend.

unai emery v valencia — LONDON, ENGLAND – MAY 02: Unai Emery, Manager of Arsenal gives instructions during the UEFA Europa League Semi Final First Leg match between Arsenal and Valencia at Emirates Stadium on May 02, 2019, in London, England. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

Technically, there is still something to play for in the Burnley match. Firstly, if Spurs do start shipping goals left and right, an Arsenal win and a goal difference swing of eight would be enough for the top four.

That’s never going to happen, but what might be more likely is a Manchester United win which could leave Arsenal in sixth. If Watford then win the FA Cup final over Manchester City, and Arsenal don’t win the Europa League, they’d then have to play Europa League qualifiers over the summer.

That would require a lot of things to go wrong, but it’s still safest if Arsenal just win the match on Sunday. Nonetheless, having just played on Thursday and with the Europa League final to worry about, we expect Unai Emery to rotate heavily for this one. Let’s have a look at our predicted lineup.

Goalkeeper and Defence

Bernd Leno should get a chance for his last pre-final audition, to try and convince Emery he’s a better choice than Petr Cech in Baku.

In order to give Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Laurent Koscielny a rest, and with Sead Kolasinac coming off on Thursday with a knock, it makes sense for Arsenal to play a back four in this one.

Nacho Monreal can shift out to left-back, Konstantinos Mavropanos and Shkodran Mustafi can come into the team in the middle, and Stephan Lichsteiner can take Ainsley Maitland-Niles’ place on the right.

Burnley vs Arsenal Betting Tips

Burnley away is never a very high-scoring fixture, and the last time it involved more than two goals was 1975. Bet on under 2.75 goals with MustardBet at 2.290.

Arsenal haven’t kept a league clean sheet in four games and heavy rotation is unlikely to change that. Bet on both teams to score with MustardBet at 1.497.

Arsenal only have one Premier League away win in their last five games, but they haven’t lost to Burnley since 2008. Bet on a draw with MustardBet at 3.665.

Prediction: Burnley 1-1 Arsenal (8.009 with MustardBet).

All odds correct at time of writing.

Midfield

Again, it’s probably safest to rest potential Europa League starters who already played on Thursday, like Lucas Torreira, Granit Xhaka and Mesut Özil. Mohamed Elneny and Matteo Guendouzi can fill in, but with Aaron Ramsey out injured, the third spot is up for grabs.

Joe Willock has been joining the first-team squad for matches recently, but he’s yet to get a chance on the pitch since he played two minutes against Huddersfield in February. This could be his chance, after a fantastic season with the u23s and three goals in four games with the first team.

Front Three

Mesut Özil, Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang really have no reason to risk themselves in this match. Aubameyang is the most likely to do so anyway, as he’s chasing the Premier League Golden Boot, but individual awards should never come ahead of a European final and Champions League qualification.

Unai Emery should make the call to keep his star players healthy and start Alex Iwobi, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Eddie Nketiah instead. Hopefully, young Bukayo Saka will also make the bench, as he’s been one of the academy’s players of the season this campaign.

Full Predicted Starting XI