Arsenal make the long trip to Ukraine for Thursday night’s Europa League clash at Vorskla. The Gunners are already assured of their spot in the round of 32 of the Europa League but they require a win from the remaining two matches to guarantee the first position in the group.
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Unai Emery is expected to numerous changes to the starting lineup with the north London derby against Tottenham Hotspur in mind. This may witness some of the reserve and fringe players getting a run in a game which won’t alter their position in the standings.
Predicted Lineup:
Petr Cech is widely expected to start between the sticks on Thursday night with Bernd Leno now being the first-choice for the Premier League duties.
In the defence, Stephan Lichtsteiner remains a doubt following a hamstring issue and this may witness a start for Carl Jenkinson on the right side of the defence.
Likewise, Nacho Monreal remains sidelined through a muscular problem for another week at the least and this may witness Ainsley Maitland-Niles featuring at left-back ahead of current regular Sead Kolasinac.
At the heart of the backline, we are anticipating at least one change from the Bournemouth game with Under 23 captain Julio Pleguezuelo likely to feature after missing the reserve team match on Monday.
Alongside him, Emery may want to go with at least one senior option and we are fancying Shkodran Mustafi to get the nod.
Onto the midfield, Mateo Guendouzi and Mohamed Elneny have generally been the preferred picks for the Europa League duties and they could part each other in the centre of the park, now that the latter has recovered from a thigh injury.
Further forward, Aaron Ramsey remains a strong contender to start in the number 10 role after only featuring from the bench last weekend. Elsewhere, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Emile Smith Rowe could feature on either side of him with the former in particular in need of gametime after suffering a massive dip in form this term.
Upfront, Eddie Nketiah should earn his first Gunners start of the season after coming off the bench in injury time at the Vitality Stadium. The striker likewise did not feature for the Under 23s on Monday and he should lead the line in the absence of Danny Welbeck after a long-term ankle injury.
