SM
Watford vs. Leeds: 19 hrs 15 mins
Upcoming predictions and previews
Collect News Data
AL
Europa League | Quarter-Finals
Apr 8, 2021 at 8pm UK
Emirates Stadium
SP

Arsenal
1 - 1
Slavia Prague

Pepe (86')
FT(HT: 0-0)
Holes (90+4')
Zima (48')

Preview: Arsenal vs. Slavia Prague - prediction, team news, lineups

:Headline: Preview: Arsenal vs. Slavia Prague - prediction, team news, lineups:
Sports Mole previews Thursday's Europa League clash between Arsenal and Slavia Prague, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Sports Mole

Arsenal will endeavour to get back on track in the Europa League when they welcome Slavia Prague to the Emirates Stadium for the first leg of their quarter-final clash on Thursday evening.

The Gunners scraped a 3-2 aggregate victory over Olympiacos to book their spot in the last eight, whereas Slavia Prague dumped Rangers out of the tournament, but that tie was overshadowed by controversy.


Match preview

If suffering a 1-0 home defeat to Olympiacos was not humiliating enough for Mikel Arteta, the manner of their 3-0 loss to Liverpool at the weekend highlighted the many problems that the Spaniard continues to face in the Emirates dugout after nearly a year and a half in the job.

Arsenal held their own in the first half against the champions, but an inspired change from Jurgen Klopp saw substitute Diogo Jota strike twice either side of a Mohamed Salah finish, as the Gunners stretched their winless run to three matches across all competitions with a truly miserable display on home soil.

Arteta also witnessed his side come up short in the second leg against Olympiacos in the last-16 stage, but that triumphant night in Athens proved to be the difference as Arsenal kept their season alive, and the Europa League is certainly now the Gunners' best bet for another season on the continental stage given their woeful Premier League fortunes.

While Arsenal managed to avoid some of the remaining big boys in the quarter-final draw, they cannot expect to enjoy a quiet evening against the Czech giants, especially now that they have gone 13 games without a clean sheet in all competitions since drawing 0-0 with Manchester United on January 30.

However, their 1-0 loss to Olympiacos last time out represented the first time in 26 Europa League matches that they had failed to find the back of the net - a run stretching all the way back to February 2019, when they lost by the same scoreline to BATE Borisov - but a spot in the semi-finals is hardly guaranteed against an in-form Slavia outfit.

A racism row between Glen Kamara and Ondrej Kudela overshadowed the Czech side's triumph in the last 16, as the Rangers man was consoled by manager Steven Gerrard after accusing the Slavia Prague defender - who alleged that he was attacked in the tunnel - of using a racial slur when he was pictured whispering something into his ear.

It was an undesirable end to an otherwise successful night for the Czech outfit, who struck through Peter Olayinka and Nicolae Stanciu to progress after a 1-1 draw in the first leg, and Slavia Prague's form heading into the first leg is nothing short of astonishing.

Indeed, Jindrich Trpisovsky's side have strung together a 21-game unbeaten run across all competitions and are yet to taste defeat since the turn of the year, although they dropped two points in the league at the weekend as Zbrojovka Brno held them to a 0-0 draw, despite having an extra man for the majority of the game.

Nevertheless, that drab stalemate represented Slavia Prague's fourth clean sheet on the bounce, and they have already come up trumps on Leicester City's turf in the Europa League this term, so the Czech powerhouses have earned their right to be in the quarter-finals and can be forgiven for dreaming big.

However, their only previous trip to the Emirates Stadium saw them suffer a 7-0 defeat in the 2007-08 Champions League group stage, during which Cesc Fabregas and Theo Walcott scored braces and Nicklas Bendtner also got in on the act.

Arsenal Europa League form:
  • W
  • W
  • D
  • W
  • W
  • L

Arsenal form (all competitions):
  • D
  • W
  • W
  • L
  • D
  • L

Slavia Prague Europa League form:
  • W
  • L
  • D
  • W
  • D
  • W

Slavia Prague form (all competitions):
  • W
  • D
  • W
  • W
  • W
  • D

Team News

Arsenal's injury list is piling up again at the worst time for Arteta, who has already seen David Luiz undergo surgery on a knee problem, while Kieran Tierney is reportedly facing several weeks on the sidelines with the injury he sustained against Liverpool in the same area.

Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe failed late fitness tests before the visit of Liverpool but will hope to return here, and Granit Xhaka should be fine after missing out at the weekend through illness, but Mohamed Elneny will hope to replace Dani Ceballos in the engine room if Xhaka is not ready to start.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang produced another unfruitful performance at the weekend, and if one or both of Saka and Smith Rowe return to the fold this week, it would not be a surprise to see the captain dropped.

Martin Odegaard has also been experiencing some discomfort in his ankle, and he will need to pass a late fitness test in order to line up here.

Kudela has continued to represent Slavia Prague amid allegations of racism, but the 34-year-old has come down with a bout of illness and will not play this week, although a provisional one-match ban handed to him by UEFA would have ruled him out anyway.

Slavia are short of centre-back options with Simon Deli and David Hovorka also unavailable, but highly-rated winger Abdallah Sima, who has scored four goals in this season's tournament, is available despite a domestic suspension.

Eighteen-year-old goalkeeper Matyas Vagner was given his marching orders after just 18 minutes at the weekend, but the teenager should start in goal again here as first-choice Ondrej Kolar remains doubtful with a sinus fracture.

Arsenal possible starting lineup:
Leno; Bellerin, Holding, Gabriel, Cedric; Partey, Elneny; Saka, Odegaard, Pepe; Lacazette

Slavia Prague possible starting lineup:
Vagner; Bah, Zima, Hromada, Boril; Holes, Sevcik; Sima, Stanciu, Olayinka; Kuchta


We say: Arsenal 2-1 Slavia Prague

Arsenal will undoubtedly want to do right by their former player Kamara this week, although nothing has been proven yet, and Arteta knows that it is Europa League or bust given their torrid league fortunes. The visitors command respect given their remarkable unbeaten run, but the Gunners will be out for blood against a ravaged Slavia defence and their teenage goalkeeper, so we are backing Arsenal to claim a narrow first-leg win, albeit without a clean sheet once again.



Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 3.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Under 3.5:data




body check tags ::

Previews by email

Click here to get Sports Mole's daily email of previews and predictions for every major game!


amp_article__442002 : Collect and Make Data not in DataBase  : 
last updated article - 2021-04-07 16:01:55:
html db last update - 2021-04-05 21:02:29 :

ex - 7200 : read : write cache and make html
Read more!
Share this article now:


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!
Recommended Next on SM
Arsenal's Kieran Tierney suffers knee injury in Liverpool defeat
Liverpool 'resigned to missing out on top managerial candidate'
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Arsenal28204470244664
2Liverpool28197265263964
3Manchester CityMan City28196363283563
4Aston Villa29175760421856
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs28165759421753
6Manchester UnitedMan Utd28152113939047
7West Ham UnitedWest Ham2912894650-444
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton2811985044642
9Wolverhampton WanderersWolves28125114244-241
10Newcastle UnitedNewcastle281241259481140
11Chelsea27116104745239
12Fulham29115134344-138
13Bournemouth2898114152-1135
14Crystal Palace2878133348-1529
15Brentford2975174154-1326
16Everton2887132939-1025
17Luton TownLuton2957174260-1822
18Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest2967163551-1621
19Burnley2945202963-3417
20Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd2835202474-5014
Scroll for more - Tap for full version


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.

history www

Man City injury, suspension list vs. Arsenal - De Bruyne, Stones and more

1

MC

Key Man City duo miss training ahead of Arsenal title clash

2

KM

Arsenal 'suffer blow in pursuit of PSG attacker'

NEW

3

A'

Arsenal 'optimistic over triple injury boost for Man City clash'

4

A'

Real Madrid 'priced out of move for Liverpool's Alexander-Arnold'

5

RM

Key midfield trio 'absent from Real Madrid training on Thursday'

6

KM

Man Utd, Spurs 'alerted to cut-price fee for in-demand defender'

7

MU

How Barcelona could line up against Las Palmas

8

HB

Preview: Aston Villa vs. Wolves - prediction, team news, lineups

9

PA

Preview: Chelsea vs. Burnley - prediction, team news, lineups

10

PC


. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .