Europa League Preview - Arsenal v Red Star Belgrade

Europa League Preview - Arsenal v Red Star Belgrade
22:21, 01 Nov 2017

When is it?

Thursday 2nd November, at the Emirates stadium. Kick-off is 8.05pm.

How can I watch it?

The match will be televised live on BT Sport 2, BT Sport 2 HD and BT Sport 4K UHD, with coverage from 8pm. BT Sport subscribers can watch the match on the enhanced video player on BTSport.com or via the BT Sport app.

Arsenal 

Can qualify for the last 32 with a win, and have generally had a pretty strong and stable – no, not a pun, honest – start to the season, especially since that long forgotten 4-0 thumping at Anfield that feels like an awful long time ago. They made hard work of their 2-1 win against Swansea, but the result was far more important than the performance to put a positive note on a week which had seen yet another angry AGM meeting which saw several protests.

Red Star 

Gave Arsenal an awful lot to think about when they lost 1-0 in the reverse fixture and they have bounced back quickly with three straight wins against Madlost Lucani, FK Spartak Subotica and also Zemun. The last two of them were 1-0 wins that came via the boot of Richmond Boakeye, the Ghanaian hotshot who was a persistent problem for the Gunners two weeks ago. That game did end 1-0 but it was a very tight encounter and Red Star will be frustrated that they did not manage to score at least once against the Gunners when they had the pressure on.

Head to Head

The two met for the first time since 1978-79 when they clashed in the reverse fixture, which was far more open and entertaining than the 1-0 scoreline suggested. Olivier Giroud’s superbly worked Bicycle kick proved to be the difference between the two then.

Team News:

Arsenal

The Gunners have to visit Manchester City on Sunday and Tottenham the week after, so changes will undoubtedly be made. defender Sead Kolasinac has already been ruled out with an injury whilst Wenger can’t call upon Santi Cazorla (Achilles), Shkodran Mustafi (hamstring), Danny Welbeck and David Ospina (both groin) will play no part. 

Wenger has also had plenty of success in this competition already with a much-changed side, including their return to full fitness and form of Jack Wilshere in midfield amongst others.

Red Star

Right-back Milan Rodic was suspended after getting two yellow cards a couple of weeks ago and can expect to be replaced by Srdjan Babic but there shouldn’t be too many changes from the visitors.

Predicted XI’s

Arsenal XI: Cech; Debuchy, Chambers, Holding; Nelson, Coquelin, Elneny, Maitland-Niles; Walcott, Wilshere; Giroud

Red Star Belgrade XI: Borjan; Stojkovic, Savic, Le Tallec, Babic; Srnic, Kanga, Donald, Krsticic, Radonjic; Boakye 

Prediction:

2-1 Arsenal.

Wenger’s men have enough in the tank to get the job done but Red Star were a tough outfit and they will be frustrated they didn’t get more out of the other fixture. 

x
Suggested Searches:
The Sportsman
Manchester United
Liverpool
Manchester City
Premier League
Sportsman HQ
72-76 Cross St
Manchester M2 4JG
We will not ask you to provide any personal information when using The Sportsman website. You may see advertisement banners on the site, and if you choose to visit those websites, you will accept the terms and conditions and privacy policy applicable to those websites. The link below directs you to our Group Privacy Policy, and our Data Protection Officer can be contacted by email at: [email protected]

All original material is Copyright © 2019 by The Sportsman Communications Ltd.
Other material is copyright their respective owners.