Freddie Ljungberg may have to call on a number of the young players in the Arsenal squad for the trip to Standard Liege on Thursday.
Having played against West Ham on Monday, Brighton the previous Thursday, and with another match against Manchester City this Sunday, Arsenal are in a very busy period of matches, so we’re expecting some changes in our predicted lineup.
The likes of Granit Xhaka and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang have hardly had a minute’s rest for weeks, and they’ll need some ahead of Sunday’s game.
All the same, this is an important game. Arsenal can’t afford to go for a full team of youth players. Though it would take a 5-0 defeat to prevent qualification to the knockout stages, the Gunners likely need a win to top the group, which could be very important.
Let’s have a look at our Arsenal predicted lineup for the clash.
Goalkeeper
Emi Martinez should come back into the side, as Arsenal continue to stick with their system of rotation. Bernd Leno will rest in preparation for Sunday’s match.
Defence
Unfortunately, Arsenal aren’t able to rotate much in the full-back positions. Hector Bellerín and Kieran Tierney are out injured, and if Bellerín does have any chance to be fit Ljungberg will want to save him for Sunday.
With Chambers also playing well at centre-back on Monday, Sead Kolašinac and Ainsley Maitland-Niles are the only real options. There are no obvious candidates to step up from the u23s thanks to poorly-timed injuries.
David Luiz should come in centrally after he got a rest on Monday. Rob Holding is injured, Shkodran Mustafi is suspended, meaning Sokratis Papastathopoulos is the most likely to start. Konstantinos Mavropanos has an outside chance.
Midfield
Granit Xhaka, Lucas Torreira and Mesut Özil all need to rest ahead of the City game. The trio have played multiple matches in a row and already looked tired on Monday.
With Dani Ceballos out, the only real alternatives in midfield are Matteo Guendouzi, Joe Willock and Emile Smith Rowe.
Forwards
Alexandre Lacazette is the easy choice after he had a rest against West Ham. Assuming Ljungberg wants to give Monday’s front three a rest, Bukayo Saka and Reiss Nelson will come in on the wings. Perhaps Tyreece John-Jules could get a call-up to the squad on the bench.
Predicted Lineup
