The finalists of last seasons Europa League Arsenal will once again start afresh campaign as to go on to face the German club Eintracht Frankfurt.
Match Details:
Date- Thursday, September 19
Time- 10:25 PM (IST)
Venue- Commerzbank-Arena
Arsenal Team News:
The Gunners haven’t started off in the most ideal manner when it comes to the English Premier League. With two wins, two defeats, and a draw in five games, Arsenal finds themselves placed at the seventh in the points table.
Plenty of Arsenal fans were agitated with the defensive display by the North London club against Watford city as the North London club let a 2-0 lead slip by, which eventually lead to a 2-2 draw.
As a result of the poor defensive display, Unai Emery will have to think things through against an organised Frankfurt unit which won’t make life easy for them.
For Arsenal Alexandre Lacazette is out until October due to an ankle injury, while new signing Kieran Tierney’s chances of being in the team are slim as he is yet to recover from his hernia operation.
Hector Bellerin, Rob Holding, Konstantino Mavropanos are also out of contention till October.
Eintracht Frankfurt Team News:
Frankfurt just like Arsenal hasn’t done too well in the league either with three wins and two defeats in the five games so far. The German club finds themselves at the ninth spot in the Bundesliga as a result of their performances.
However, Frankfurt did manage to impress quite a few of their fans last season in the Europa League, as they bounced back from a 4-2 defeat in the first leg versus Benfica, to win and progress to the semis as they beat them 2-0.
In spite of Frankfurt’s solid run in the Europa League last season, they will have to make do without the services Luka Jovic who’s moved to Real Madrid, and Sebastian Haller who’s now at West Ham.
The duo was pivotal for Frankfurt as they both contributed to 47 goals in totality last season.
Mijat Gacinovic and Jonathan de Guzman are expected to be on the sidelines due to a muscle injury.
Marco Russ, Sebastian Rode, and Goncalo Paciencia are doubtful for the game as well.
Predicted Lineups:
Arsenal- Leno; Kolasinac, Luiz, Mustafi, Maitland-Niles, Xhaka, Willock, Torreira, Ozil, Aubameyang, Pepe
Eintracht Frankfurt- Trapp; Abraham, Hinteregger, Hasebe, Rode, Gregoritsch, Sow, Chandler, de Costa, Silva, Paciencia
Key Points :
Eintracht Frankfurt is unbeaten in 22 of its last 24 UEFA Europa League games.
Arsenal will be playing it’s third consecutive season in the Europa League. They were the runners up in the season prior to this as Chelsea lifted the trophy.
Pierre-Emrick Aubameyang is in prolific form with five goals under his belt in as many games for the North London club.
For Frankfurt, it’s Goncalo Paciencia who’s among the goals with three to his name, while also securing an assist in the three games he’s featured in this season.
Prediction:
Though Arsenal should be considered favourites for the game, their performance against a struggling Watford side has made room for a lot of negativity in the club and their fans. Frankfurt, aware of this fact could start the Europa League campaign on a high and register a famous win at home against a very shaky Arsenal defence.
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ARS vs FRK Fantasy Team: