Eintracht Frankfurt vs Arsenal
Europa League 2019/20 season
Venue: Commerzbank-Arena
Date: Thursday 19th September, 2019
Kick-off time: 5:55pm BST
Arsenal kick off their Europa League campaign with what could prove to be a tough trip to Germany to face Eintracht Frankfurt.
The Gunners came up short in last season's Europa final against Chelsea, and that 4-1 defeat - coupled with a fifth-placed finish in the Premier League - means Unai Emery's men missed out on Champions League football.
Arsenal are therefore planning for another gruelling Europa journey and are hoping to go one better in 2020, but must first navigate a route out of the group stages.
Team news and predicted line-up
Arsenal will be without Mesut Ozil and Sokratis Papastathopoulos. The pair were left at home to rest, while Alexandre Lacazette is still missing through an ankle injury.
Unai Emery is likely to make some changes as Rob Holding is included in a squad for the first time since December having overcome a knee injury, although Konstantinos Mavropanos and Kieran Tierney (both groin) and Hector Bellerin (knee) are absent.
Arsenal XI: Leno; Maitland-Niles, Luiz, Chambers, Kolasinac; Willock, Torreira, Ceballos; Willock, Nelson, Aubameyang
Provisional squad: Leno, Martinez, Maitland-Niles, Mustafi, Luiz, Holding, Chambers, Kolasinac, Xhaka, Guendouzi, Torreira, Willock, Ceballos, Pepe, Nelson, Smith Rowe, Aubameyang, Martinelli.
Prediction: Eintracht Frankfurt 2-2 Arsenal
As they have already shown on numerous occasions this season, Arsenal are as scintillating up front as they are unreliable in defence.
The goals of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang are going to waste with one defensive mistake after another, and Emery will make his players keenly aware of the threat Bas Dost poses in Frankfurt.
Expect goals at either end, with a draw likely.
Tickets
Click here for more information about Arsenal tickets.
Betting tips via Betfair | UK users only | Subject to change
Match odds
- Frankfurt to win: 21/10
- Draw: 5/2
- Arsenal to win: 13/10
- 2-2 draw: 10/1
First goal scorer
- Bas Dost: 10/3
- Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang: 7/2
- Andre Silva: 5/1
- Nicolas Pepe: 11/2
TV channel and live stream information
The match will be televised live on BT Sport 2 and can be streamed live online via the BT app and website.
You can follow all the action and analysis on Standard Sport's LIVE blog.
Head to head (h2h) results and history
This will be the first ever meeting between the two sides.
