Arsenal will lock horns with Olympiacos at the Emirates on Thursday night, hoping to pick up a win on their home turf. The Gunners will be heading into the contest on the back of an impressive 2-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur, whereas the Thrylos recorded a 3-1 win over Larissa earlier his week.
Mikel Arteta will probably opt for the 4-2-3-1 formation with several tweaks from the last game. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang might get the nod over Alexandre Lacazette, whereas Rob Holding looks likely to make his way back into the starting eleven.
4-2-3-1 Arsenal Predicted Lineup Vs Olympiacos
Defence
Bernd Leno will continue to operate in between the sticks for the upcoming home encounter. The German shot-stopper ended up conceding an unfortunate 87th-minute goal in the first leg; however, he’ll be hoping to secure a clean sheet this time.
Rob Holding will replace Gabriel to form the centre-half partnership with David Luiz at the heart of Arsenal’s backline.
Kieran Tierney is a guaranteed starter at the left-back position, whereas Hector Bellerin will replace Cedric Soares on the other flank as the right-back. The duo would be looking to stretch the opposition backline and create meaningful chances for the front-men.
Midfield
Granit Xhaka and Dani Ceballos will fulfil the holding midfield positions, with the former occupying a more defensive role. Martin Odegaard will slot into the attacking midfield role.
Bukayo Saka, who was substituted at half-time during the North London Derby, looks set for a spell on the sidelines.
No, it was an injury. We don’t know yet (how serious it is). He was feeling his hamstring, so we don’t know how bad it is.” – Arteta revealed.
As a result, Odegaard will be accompanied by Emile Smith Rowe and Nicolas Pepe on either side, playing on the left and right-wing, respectively. The former put up a strong performance against the Lilywhites on Sunday as he was a constant source of menace for Mourinho’s men down the left-wing, and he’ll be hoping to repeat more of the same in midweek.
Attack
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will lead the line for the hosts against Olympiacos. The Gabonese striker will fancy his chances of finding the back of the net when he faces off against the Olympiacos defence that has kept just one clean sheet in their last ten matches across all competitions.
Alexandre Lacazette will have to settle for a place on the bench but might be called upon in the latter stages of the game if needed.
