Arsenal vs Benfica Europa League preview: How to watch, predicted lineups, score prediction & injury updates

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Benfica were surprisingly poor for their ‘home’ leg, rarely laying a glove on Arsenal and adopting a compact and negative approach that sought to frustrate and contain. <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/02/23/arsenal-vs-benfica-europa-league-preview/"https://fbref.com/en/players/d5dd5f1f/Pierre-Emerick-Aubameyang" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang</a> produced Arsenal’s miss of the season in the first half and saw two other chances go begging, in a match that was there for the taking.</p> <p>Pizzi scored from the spot after an unfortunate penalty was conceded, with Bukayo Saka restoring parity two minutes later. There were some issues in the Arsenal side in their directness, the way they attacked Benfica and the lack of service to Martin Odegaard, leaving the tie open for invitation on Thursday.</p> <p>It is Arteta’s men who hold the advantage with the away goal, although the issue of freshness and fatigue could play a part after a physically demanding Premier League defeat to Manchester City on Sunday. Benfica drew 0-0 in their sandwich filler.</p> <p>This stadium was the sight of Arsenal’s round of 32 first leg last season where a late Alexandre Lacazette goal secured a 1-0 win over Olympiacos, and a repeat of that scoreline will be enough to reach the last 16.</p> <p>A 0-0 draw will do, but the approach for this fixture must be to win the match. Victory by any scoreline suffices, so getting at Benfica early and putting them on the back foot has to be the mantra. No resting on laurels.</p> <h2>How to Watch on TV</h2> <p><strong>When Is Kick Off?</strong> Thursday 25 February<br> <strong>What Time Is Kick Off?</strong> 17:55 (GMT)<br> <strong>Where Is it Played?</strong> Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium<br> <strong>TV Channel/Live Stream?</strong> <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/02/23/arsenal-vs-benfica-europa-league-preview/"https://www.bt.com/sport/buy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BT Sport</a> (UK) <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/02/23/arsenal-vs-benfica-europa-league-preview/"https://www.fubo.tv/lp/soccer/?irad=409363&amp;irmp=374356&amp;subID1=FS-LiveDrops%22 target="_blank" rel="noopener">fuboTV</a> (USA)<br> <strong>Referee?</strong> Björn Kuipers (NED)</p> <div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/02/23/arsenal-vs-benfica-europa-league-preview/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Arsenal vs Benfica team news </a> </div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_112207" class="wp-caption aligncenter"> <img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-112207" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/02/23/arsenal-vs-benfica-europa-league-preview/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_389,w_590/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1303343879-850x560.jpeg" alt="Arsenal, Kieran Tierney" width="590" height="389"><div class="fs-center-img"> <p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:590px;">LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 21: (L – R) Mikel Arteta, Manager of Arsenal speaks with Kieran Tierney of Arsenal during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Manchester City at Emirates Stadium on February 21, 2021 in London, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)</p> </div> </div> <h2>Arsenal Team News vs Benfica</h2> <p>Tired legs, fresh legs and injured legs. Arteta’s team selection will be based around who will be the least fatigued after the team’s efforts in <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/02/23/arsenal-vs-benfica-europa-league-preview/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/02/21/arsenal-vs-man-city-4-talking-points/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the defeat to Manchester City</a>.</p> <blockquote><p>“I don’t know if it will be five, four or seven [changes]. We will have to see how they react from today’s performance,” Arteta told the <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/02/23/arsenal-vs-benfica-europa-league-preview/"https://www.arsenal.com/news/arteta-reason-why-i-was-so-vocal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">official Arsenal website</a>. “It was a really tough game physically for both because it was full gas from the beginning and we will see who will be available and fit to be there.”</p></blockquote> <p>Kieran Tierney was a welcome sight back in the team, even if <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/02/23/arsenal-vs-benfica-europa-league-preview/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/02/22/arsenal-vs-man-city-questions-arteta/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">it was surprising to see him play</a> the full 90 minutes after his lay-off. Not only did he look exhausted from the 60th minute onwards, he admitted as much after the game.</p> <div class="embed "> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"> <p lang="en" dir="ltr">"Hector Bellerin is open to leaving Arsenal at the end of the season as PSG and Barcelona show interest in the right-back.</p> <p>"At this stage, perhaps a fresh start for all parties would provide the best outcome."<br>(via <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/02/23/arsenal-vs-benfica-europa-league-preview/"https://twitter.com/SwedishRoss?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>@SwedishRoss) <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/02/23/arsenal-vs-benfica-europa-league-preview/"https://t.co/mN2ALabBTI">https://t.co/mN2ALabBTI

<p>— Pain In The Arsenal (@PainInThArsenal) <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/02/23/arsenal-vs-benfica-europa-league-preview/"https://twitter.com/PainInThArsenal/status/1363920071173808129?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>February 22, 2021</a></p></blockquote> <p><script async src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/02/23/arsenal-vs-benfica-europa-league-preview/"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></div> <p>Mohamed Elneny got the nod over Dani Ceballos in central midfield, a decision that won’t be carried over into Thursday where the Spaniard will come back into the side, to much rejoicing. In central defence it was Rob Holding and Pablo Mari who came in, and given the decisions for the first leg, Gabriel and David Luiz look set to return.</p> <p>Emile Smith Rowe was left out of the City loss for some much-needed rest, hinting that Martin Odegaard will drop out and the 20-year-old will assume his favoured No. 10 slot. Given the lack of minutes Odegaard has played since Christmas, he may be benched.</p> <p>The big question hanging over the second leg is whether Thomas Partey will be fit. Arsenal revealed he was being monitored ahead of Sunday’s clash, which hints that he could be in contention for Benfica.</p> <p>Either way, it’s a huge risk as the club will hopefully have learnt from past mistakes when it comes to rushing him back into action, so it’s highly unlikely he’ll start.</p> <p>For the the visitors, Benfica travel to Athens without duo Andre Almeida and Jardel, the former suffering an ACL injury back in October while the central defender is out with a thigh strain.</p> <p>Right-back Gilberto is available from the start having only been fit enough for the bench in the first meeting.</p> <div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/02/23/arsenal-vs-benfica-europa-league-preview/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Predicted lineups &amp; score prediction </a> </div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_112208" class="wp-caption aligncenter"> <img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-112208" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/02/23/arsenal-vs-benfica-europa-league-preview/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_389,w_590/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1231313720-850x560.jpeg" alt="Arsenal, Nicolas Pepe" width="590" height="389"><div class="fs-center-img"> <p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:590px;">LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 21: Nicolas Pepe of Arsenal during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Manchester City at Emirates Stadium on February 21, 2021 in London, United Kingdom. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)</p> </div> </div> <h2>Arsenal Predicted Lineup vs Benfica</h2> <p><strong>Arsenal:</strong> Leno; Cedric, Holding, Gabriel, Tierney; Ceballos, Xhaka, Smith Rowe; Saka, Aubameyang, Pepe</p> <p><strong>Benfica:</strong> Leite; Gilberto; Otamendi, Vertonghen, Grimaldo; Silva, Taarabt, Weigl, Everton; Nunez, Seferovic</p> <h2>Benfica vs Arsenal Score Prediction</h2> <p>Even if as a supporter you come into this one confident of a result, it doesn’t prevent the unshakable nerves from settling in. Lose and the world will seemingly come crashing down. It would be catastrophic.</p> <p>So best not to think about that then, eh?</p> <p>Looking at the game at hand it is advantage <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/02/23/arsenal-vs-benfica-europa-league-preview/"https://www.90min.com/teams/arsenal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Arsenal</a>, albeit not by the margin that it should have been following the events of the first leg. That sitter will still be haunting Aubameyang.</p> <div class="embed "> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"> <p lang="en" dir="ltr">Full focus on Thursday.<a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/02/23/arsenal-vs-benfica-europa-league-preview/"https://twitter.com/hashtag/UEL?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>#UEL</a> <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/02/23/arsenal-vs-benfica-europa-league-preview/"https://t.co/U32Rc0zVF9">pic.twitter.com/U32Rc0zVF9

<p>— Arsenal (@Arsenal) <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/02/23/arsenal-vs-benfica-europa-league-preview/"https://twitter.com/Arsenal/status/1363847634528649217?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>February 22, 2021</a></p></blockquote> <p><script async src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/02/23/arsenal-vs-benfica-europa-league-preview/"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></div> <p>Arsenal must adopt a more aggressive approach. They played on the front foot in Rome but were shackled by overplaying in central midfield, not getting the ball up to the front men quick enough and, in hindsight, making a mistake by fielding five midfielders. Given Benfica’s high line, having another forward with the pace to run in behind would have been better suited.</p> <p>Taking a stab at the lineup, Nicolas Pepe could take Odegaard’s slot with Smith Rowe moving centrally, which will allow Arsenal to play in areas they can cause more threat.</p> <p>Arsenal will have chances. Benfica aren’t quick enough at the back or tight enough in their marking to prevent the Gunners from carving them open so it will simply come down to being effective in both boxes. Granit Xhaka and Dani Ceballos controlled the midfield last time out, and while the Spaniard needs to cut out 25%-50% of his touches, some of his balls in behind were excellent.</p> <p>Scoring first is of paramount importance. The pressure will be firmly on Arteta’s side and conceding the opening goal and allowing Benfica to sit off is at the very bottom of the wanted list.</p> <p>As in the previous leg, Arsenal will look to assert their dominance early on, flood the box and set a marker for how the game will play out. For that reason, pace in wide areas to pounce on any early unsettled minds will be key.</p> <p>Confidence is one thing, seeing it through is another. I think Arsenal will.</p> <div class="fs-shortcode" data-type="StoryLink" data-theme="dark" data-text="Stats against Arteta" data-url="https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/02/22/arsenal-stats-damage-mikel-arteta/" data-call-to-action="Next"> <div class="story-link-next"> <a class="story-link-next-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="story-link-next-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/02/23/arsenal-vs-benfica-europa-league-preview/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/02/22/arsenal-stats-damage-mikel-arteta/"> <span class="call_to_action">Next:</span> Stats against Arteta </a> </div> </div> <h2>Score Prediction: Arseanl 2-0 Benfica</h2><!—pageview_candidate—>">