How many changes will Mikel Arteta make? Will Eddie Nketiah be deemed fit enough, or who will lead the line for the Gunners? Will Gabriel Jesus make the squad?
Arsenal look to get their Europa League round-of-16 tie off to the perfect start as they travel to Portugal to take on Sporting on Thursday night.
The Gunners have won their last four games & are looking to make it five wins in a row, with Sporting also unbeaten in their last five games. Both sides are in great form but who will come out on top?
We expect Mikel Arteta to make a few changes from the Premier League side that started against Bournemouth on Saturday.
Here’s how we expect Mikel Arteta to line-up…
now.arsenal’s predicted line-up vs Sporting: Turner, Tomiyasu, Holding, Kiwior, Tierney, Jorginho, Vieira, Xhaka, Nelson, Martinelli, Smith Rowe.
It’s quite difficult to predict how many changes the boss will make going into this game.
Although Mikel Arteta has said previously the Europa League is a priority & he wants to try and win every trophy possible, it’s still expected he’s going to rest quite a few first-team players Thursday night.
For the latest on Leandro Trossard’s & Eddie Nketiah’s fitness… CLICK HERE.
After being rested on Saturday, Granit Xhaka will definitely start. With Trossard out & Eddie Nketiah a doubt it’s expected Martinelli will start up top with Reiss Nelson to the left of him.
Whether Saka or Emile Smith Rowe make up the front three remains to be seen but with the amount of games Saka has played recently, we think resting him would be the smart choice.
One of Saliba & Gabriel could start, but it’s highly unlikely both will, which we’ve seen Mikel Arteta do in all the Europa League group stage games earlier on in the season.
Do you agree with our predicted line-up? Or what would you change? Let us know below…
