Unai Emery’s side slumped to a surprise 1-0 defeat in their round of 32 tie against BATE Borisov in Belarus last week. Gunners had 77 per cent possession and several golden opportunities to score before falling behind to Stanislaw Drahun’s header.
Alexandre Lacazette is suspended having given the referee no choice other than to dismiss him for flailing his arm into the face of Alexandar Filipovic five minutes from time, sealing Arsenal’s first leg fate.
Not only will Arsenal be without Lacazette, The Emirates is likely to be missing large swathes of fans.
Kicking off at 5:55pm, prioritising television screenings, the second leg prevents many match-going fans from attending due to work commitments. Arsenal Supporters Trust have complained to UEFA president Alexsander Ceferin, describing the decision as “unacceptable” as all-time low attendance looms.
BATE on the other hand may be buoyed by news that fewer home fans will be in attendance to roar Arsenal to a second leg comeback. The Belarusian champions lost 6-0 at The Emirates in last season’s Europa League, but have won their last four competitive matches.
What time does it start?
Arsenal vs BATE kicks off at 5:55pm on Thursday February 21.
Where can I watch it?
The match will be shown live on BT Sport 3 from 5.30pm. BT Sport subscribers can also watch via the website or app.
Predicted line-ups
BATE: Scherbitski; Rios, Volkov, Filipenko, Filipovic, Baha, Drahun, Hleb, Milic, Skavysh, Stasevich
Arsenal: Leno; Maitland-Niles, Koscielny, Sokratis, Kolasinac, Torreira, Xhaka, Iwobi, Suarez, Mkhitaryan, Aubameyang
Form guide…
BATE: WLWDWW
Arsenal: LWLWLW
Head-to-head…
Europa League 14/02/19 – BATE 1 (Drahun 45’), Arsenal 0
Europa League 07/12/17 – Arsenal 6 (Debuchy, Walcott, Wilshere, Polyakov OG, Giroud, Elneny), BATE 0
Europa League 28/09/17 – BATE 2 (Ivanic, Gordejchuk), Arsenal 4 (Walcott x2, Holding, Giroud)
Odds…
Arsenal to win: 2/13
BATE to win: 9/1
Draw: 28/1
(Odds provided by Betfair)
Prediction…
2-1
