Arsenal are scheduled to face Napoli on the road in the second leg of their Europa League quarter-final on Thursday night. The Gunners hold a 2-0 advantage after the first leg of the tie, but they still need to be wary of the threat from the Naples outfit combined with their abysmal away form this year.
Formation: 3-4-1-2
Predicted Lineup:
Petr Cech has been entrusted with the goalkeeping duties in Europe for most of the season and the veteran is set to be tasked with the job of helping the Gunners progress to the final four of the Europa League.
The backline should remain the same from the first leg. Laurent Koscielny, Sokratis and Nacho Monreal should make up the heart of the defence with Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Sead Kolasinac featuring in the right and left wing-back roles respectively.
In the midfield, Granit Xhaka appears set to return after making an injury comeback against Watford on Monday night and he could be partnered by Aaron Ramsey, who has been one of the standout performers in the past couple of months.
Lucas Torreira remains a probable choice to partner Xhaka in case Emery decides to add more steel at the heart of the midfield, but the Uruguayan could be restricted to a bench role, considering he requires a late fitness test over a minor groin complaint.
In the frontline, the same trident should feature from the first leg. Mesut Ozil should once more command the number 10 position with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to partner Alexandre Lacazette once more upfront.
Interestingly, the Gunners have secured the perfect run of results across all competitions, when the quartet of Ramsey, Ozil, Aubameyang and Lacazette have started together this term. Hopefully, Emery sticks with the same combination.
