Arsenal and Villarreal will lock horns in the second leg semifinal of the Europa League 2020-21. Villarreal edged past the English side 2-1 in the first-leg game at home. The winner is likely to face Man United in the final.
Match Timings: May 07, 12:30 PM IST
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UEFA Competition this season belongs to English clubs only. Man City and Chelsea have booked their place in the Champions League final, while United have almost sealed their place in the Europa League final after a 6-2 victory against Roma in the first leg. Arsenal is now 4th team to feature in the semifinals and they can also book their place in the finals if they surprise Villarreal in the second leg game. The Spanish side is looking to replicate the glory of Sevilla as they are coming off a 2-1 first-leg victory against Gunners.
The Yellow Submarine will travel to North London with confidence to seal the place in the final. Nicolas Pepe's penalty gave some hopes to Arsenal after the goals from Manu Trigueros and Raul Albiol. Arteta’s side can bounce back in the second leg. Arsenal’s glory in Premier League is dusted now with losing the chances of a top-four finish. They are looking to even lose the finish in the top seven. Gunners are coming off a 2-0 success against Newcastle. Mohamed Elneny scored his first PL goal for Arsenal and Aubameyang doubled the lead. They are unbeaten in last three games but they haven’t won in the last five games at home. Their last victory at Emirates came on March 14 against the Spurs. Arsenal had a history of coming back from first leg defeats.
Meanwhile, Villarreal just needs to play their natural game and would look to avoid any comeback from Gunners. The Spanish side wasn’t happy with the penalty given to Arsenal in the second half. Villarreal are coming off a victory against Getafe in La Liga with a clean-sheet as young winger Yeremy scored a second-half winner as the substitute. Emery's side is in the top seven in the current standings of the Spanish top-flight. Yellow Submarine have a 9-match winning streak in Europa League and they have scored at least two goals on seven occasions. The Spanish side won their previous four Europa League ties away from home without conceding a single goal. They have lost just one two-legged game in their last 16 UEFA fixtures which came against Liverpool five years back.
Kieran Tierney and Alexandre Lacazette both will be available for Gunners in the second leg game. David Luiz suffered a hamstring injury against Newcastle so his availability is in doubt. Rob Holding is likely to take the role in defense, while Gabriel Magalhaes will also find his name in the main lineup. On the other hand, Villarreal has no major injury concern before this clash. Albiol and Gerard Moreno both will be back after missing out the previous La Liga game against Getafe. Juan Foyth had a hamstring issue after the impressive show in the previous game.
Possible Lineups & Current Form
Arsenal
Leno; Chambers, Holding, Gabriel, Xhaka; Partey, Elneny; Saka, Smith Rowe, Pepe; Aubameyang
Current Form:W W D L L W
Villarreal
Rulli; Gaspar, Albiol, Torres, Pedraza; Chukwueze, Parejo, Coquelin, Trigueros; Moreno, Bacca
Current Form: W W L L W W
Key Players
Arsenal
Aubameyang
Pepe
Villarreal
Manu Trigueros
Raul Albiol
