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Europa League – Arsenal vs BATE Borisov: preview and betting

By on February 19, 2019

mesut ozil arsenal 2018

Arsenal welcome BATE Borisov to the Emirates on Thursday evening looking to turn things around and qualify for the last-16 of the Europa League.

We produced one of our worst performances of the season in Belarus last week to slump to an embarrassing 1-0 defeat which means we have it all to do heading in to the second leg in north London.

Pressure is mounting on Unai Emery following a string of below par displays in recent weeks and understandably many fans are questioning his decision to freeze Mesut Ozil out of the squad.

BATE at home could be a good time to recall the German playmaker as they are a poor side and we should be able to create plenty of chances at the Emirates on Thursday night – which will suit Ozil.

Failure to progress to the last-16 of the Europe League would be a huge disappointment and it would unquestionably see Emery’s job on the line so let’s hope for a much-improved display.

Team news

Alexandre Lacazette will be suspended after being sent off during the closing stages of the game on Thursday night so Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is likely to be recalled up front.

Aaron Ramsey will face a late fitness test on a knee injury but Sokratis should return to the squad after recovering from an ankle injury that’s kept him out for the past month.

Hector Bellerin remains out with a serious knee injury that will keep him out for the rest of the season so he’s on the sidelines along with fellow long-term absentees Rob Holding and Danny Welbeck.

Betting odds

Arsenal are the heavy 1/8 odds-on favourites with BetOlimp to win the game inside the 90 minutes and 2/7 to turn around the 1-0 deficit to qualify for the last-16. BATE can be backed at 22/1 to win on the night with the draw available at 8/1.

Obviously I think Arsenal are going to do enough to not only win this game but also qualify for the next round as we beat BATE 6-0 at the Emirates last year. A similar score-line can be backed at 35/1 with betolimp while the South African Site has my predicted score of 4-0 available at 15/2.

I like the look of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang so score first at 7/4. He’ll lead the line up front in the absence of Lacazette and he’s been our most dangerous goal-scorer this season. If we have Auba as first scorer in a 4-0 win we get odds of 23/1.