[Time :]

Time :6:55pm
Stadium : Borisov Arena
Team News & Tactics :
BATE Borisov
Since the Belarusian side hasn’t played a competitive game since December, they are solely relying on their form in three friendlies they played before the Arsenal game, two of which they lost. Adding to this problem is the fact that Nikolai Signevich, scorer of three goals in the group stages, has left for Hungarian club Ferencvaros and he certainly will be missed.

New signing Bojan Dubajic could be handed his competitive debut against the Gunners, but fellow new arrivals Nemanja Milic and Dmitri Bessmertniy could be involved from the bench. Former Gunners’ midfielder Alexander Hleb is unlikely to start against his old side.

Baha will go with a 4-3-3 formation against Arsenal, with the likes of Aleksey Rios, Zakhar Volkov, Egor Filipenko, and Aleksandar Filipovic forming the backline. Dmitri Baga, Stanislav Dragun and Mirko Ivanic will form a three-man central midfield while Maksim Skavysh, Dubajic, and Igor Stasevich likely to be the trio up front.

Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Scherbitski; Rios, Volkov, Filipenko, Filipovic; Baga, Dragun, Ivanic; Skavysh, Dubajic, Stasevich

Arsenal
Unai Emery could make some changes to his starting lineup that won against Huddersfield in the Premier League. Unlike the group stages, where Emery heavily used youngsters, the manager is likely to go with his experienced bunch starting with this stage of the competition. Meaning more accomplished players are likely to see game time, while some youngsters might feature from the bench.

Arsenal have some defensive absentees including Sokratis, who is on the mend from his injury but will not feature against BATE. Hector Bellerin and Rob Holding are out for the season. Shkodran Mustafi, Laurent Koscielny and Nacho Monreal are likely to feature in the three-man defence, with Sead Kolasinac and Ainsley Maitland-Niles as wing-backs.

Mesut Ozil and Juventus-bound Aaron Ramsey have been left out of the matchday squad by Emery. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who missed the Huddersfield trip through illness, might feature from the start after overcoming the problem. Granit Xhaka who also missed the last game with a groin problem, has travelled with the squad.

New signing Denis Suarez might be handed his first start for the club as part of the front three along with Aumabeyang and Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

Probable Lineup (3-4-3): Cech; Mustafi, Koscielny, Monreal; Maitland-Niles, Elneny, Guendouzi, Kolasinac; Mkhitaryan, Aubameyang, Suarez

Key Stats
BATE Borisov and Arsenal’s only previous encounter came last season in the Europa League group stages – the London side won both games, scoring 10 goals and conceding only two.
BATE Borisov have lost all three of their previous home games against English clubs in European competition.
They have never gone past the round of 32 in the Europa League, getting knocked out in 2010-11 by PSG and in 2012-13 by Fenerbahce.
Arsenal were one of seven teams to remain unbeaten in this season’s Europa League group stages, alongside Chelsea, Dinamo Zagreb, Eintracht Frankfurt, Real Betis, Red Bull Salzburg, and Villarreal.
Arsenal have kept a clean sheet in each of their last five Europa League games, the longest current run in the competition.
Player to Watch
Denis Suarez

Prediction
BATE Borisov 0-3 Arsenal

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Posted: at 14-02-2019 07:03 AM (5 years ago) | Hero

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