Arsenal will attempt to book their place in the final of the Europa League when they face Atletico Madrid at Wanda Metropolitano on Thursday.
The Gunners come into the second leg at a disadvantage after drawing 1-1 against 10 men in the first leg at the Emirates, meaning that only victory or a score draw of two or more goals will do.
A 2-1 defeat to Manchester United followed last Thursday's disappointment, but Arsene Wenger opted to rest many of his first-choice players in anticipation of the second leg.
As such, Arsenal should be fresh and fired up for the game, with a trip to Lyon later this month the reward that awaits the winner.
Game | Atletico Madrid vs Arsenal |
Date | Thursday, May 3 |
Time | 20:05 BST / 15:05 ET |
Stream (US only) | fubo TV (7-day free trial) |
TV Channel, Live Stream & How to Watch
In the United States (US), the game can be watched live and on-demand with fuboTV (7-day free trial).
New users can sign up for a free seven-day trial of the live sports streaming service, which can be accessed via iOS, Android, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, Roku and Apple TV, as well as on a web browser.
US TV channel | Online stream |
---|---|
Fox Sports 1 | fubo TV (7-day free trial) |
In the United Kingdom (UK), the game can be watched live on TV on BT Sport 2 and it can be streamed live online using the BT Sport app.
UK TV channel | Online stream |
---|---|
BT Sport 2 | BT Sport app |
Squads & Team News
Position | Atletico Madrid players |
---|---|
Goalkeepers | Oblak, Werner |
Defenders | Godin, Filipe Luis, Savic, Vrsaljko, Lucas, Juanfran, Gimenez, Sergi |
Midfielders | Partey, Koke, Saul, Correa, Fernandez, Gabi, Vitolo |
Forwards | Griezmann, Torres, Gameiro, Costa |
Diego Costa should be available for the second leg after returning to action against Deportivo La Coruna over the weekend, but Sime Vrsaljko will miss out after seeing red in the first leg. Juanfran is also out of action, but Filipe Luis has made a full recovery from a broken leg.
Potential Atletico Madrid starting XI: Oblak; Lucas, Godin, Savic, Gimenez; Koke, Saul, Gabi, Correa; Griezmann, Costa.
Position | Arsenal players |
---|---|
Goalkeepers | Ospina, Cech, Macey |
Defenders | Mertesacker, Koscielny, Holding, Monreal, Mustafi, Chambers, Bellerin, Mavropanos, Kolasinac |
Midfielders | Ramsey, Wilshere, Ozil, Iwobi, Cazorla, Xhaka, Maitland-Niles, Elneny, Nelson, Mkhitaryan |
Forwards | Lacazette, Welbeck, Nketiah, Willock |
David Ospina, Alex Iwobi and Henrikh Mkhitaryan have all trained ahead of the game and the trio could be in contention to start. Mohamed Elneny is out and so too is Santi Cazorla, but the latter is still a few weeks away from playing.
Big-money signing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, of course, is ineligible to play for the Gunners in this competition.
Potential Arsenal starting XI: Ospina; Monreal, Koscielny, Mustafi, Bellerin; Xhaka, Wilshere, Ramsey; Ozil, Lacazette, Mkhitaryan.
Betting & Match Odds
Atletico Madrid are favourites to win at home with dabblebet offering odds of 3/4 on Simeone's men. Arsenal are considered 15/4 bets to win in Spain and a draw is available at 11/4.
Match Preview
Arsenal were left reeling when a defensive error by Laurent Koscielny allowed his compatriot Antoine Griezmann to nab an away goal last week in north London, particularly considering the fact that they played the majority of the game against 10 men.
Their task in the second leg has now become more difficult, with Atletico boosted by the return to fitness of Costa - so often the bane of the Gunners defence during his time at Chelsea - and they will have to remain patient if they wish to break down the Liga outfit.
With Wenger standing down after more than two decades at the helm at the end of the season the Frenchman is desperate to bring his "love story" to a fitting conclusion by winning the competition, which would see him deliver the Gunners back into the Champions League.
And, in order to do that he will need the likes of Mkhitaryan, Alexandre Lacazette and Mesut Ozil on the top of their games in Madrid, while Koscielny and co. will have to remain fully focused on containing the threat posed by Atleti's potent strike partners Griezmann and Costa.
Indeed, with a place in the final and Champions League qualification at stake, this game could well be the defining match of what has been a disappointing campaign to date for Arsenal, so they should need no more inspiration to get the job done.