After a 2-1 loss to Villarreal in the first leg of the semi-finals of the Europa League, Arsenal will host Unai Emery’s Villarreal this Thursday, That is; May 6th and will look to turn things around this time.
Arsenal have looked like they had regained some of their form during their 2-0 win over Newcastle United in the Premier League but Europa League semi-final is a different game and Mikel Arteta knows that and he and his players would give their best in the second leg so that their European journey continuous till the final and the fans would love to see their team end their season with a silverware. It won’t be an easy 90 minutes as they are in a 2-1 deficit but would have an upper hand due to their one away goal.
On the other hand, As Emery’s team travel to North London on Thursday for the second leg, they will be high in confidence as they too won their League (La Liga) match against Getafe 1-0. Emery and his company would love to maintain or even extend their lead in the second leg and will look to grab an important away goal that would help the yellow submarine to seal their spot for the final.
WHEN AND WHERE?
Venue: Emirates Stadium, London.
Date: 6th May, 2021.
Time: 20:00 (GMT)
TEAM NEWS:
ARSENAL
Dani Ceballos will miss the second (home) leg as he received a red card during the first leg of the semi-finals and is suspended for the second leg.
David Luiz getting injured once again in the match against Newcastle United in the Premier League was a huge blow for Mikel Arteta and his team, and that too just after recovering from a knee injury. Against Newcastle United, He showed some good ball distribution qualities and looked like he was regaining some form. It will be a great loss for Arteta and the Gunners as in such an important match, experienced players like David Luiz can be very crucial for the team.
Other than that, Kieran Tierney and Alexander Lacazette are also likely to miss the match as both of them have not fully recovered from their injuries and Arteta will not risk the players injuries for this fixture. And it is most likely that Granit Xhaka will replace Kieran Tierney for the left-back position.
VILLARREAL
Etienne Capoue will miss the second leg as he also received a red card as he was stretchered off the field during the first leg of the semi-finals and is suspended for the second leg. He will most likely be replaced by former Gunner Francis Coquelin.
Juan Foyth, who had an impressive first leg performance but was forced off the field due to an hamstring issue, is most likely to miss the second leg. Other than that, Midfielder Vicente Iborra is still out with a knee injury and will miss the second leg against Arsenal.
PREDICTED LINE-UP:
ARSENAL
Bernd Leno(GK), Calum Chambers, Rob Holding, Gabriel Magalhaes, Granit Xhaka, Thomas Partey, Emile Smith Rowe, Bukayo Saka, Nicolas Pepe, Gabriel Martinelli, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
VILLARREAL
Geronimo Rulli(GK), Alfonso Pedraza, Pau Torres, Raul Albiol, Mario Gaspar, Francis Coquelin, Manu Trigueros, Dani Parejo, Gerard Moreno, Carlos Bacca, Samuel Chukwueze.
