Arsenal will travel to Naples to clash heads with Napoli at the San Paolo Stadium on Thursday night. The Gunners will be carrying a commanding two-goal advantage from the first leg which means that they can afford to lose and still go through to the semi-finals of the UEFA Europa League.
However, the Serie A side can be a dangerous team at their home ground which makes this contest a fascinating one. Unai Emery will opt for a 4-2-3-1 formation and might start with both Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Petr Cech in midweek.
4-2-3-1 Arsenal Predicted Lineup To Face Napoli
Defence
Emery could once again hand Petr Cech a rare start in goal after he kept a clean sheet in the first leg at the Emirates Stadium. The veteran keeper will be supported by the centre-half duo of Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Laurent Koscielny as they look to keep things stable at the back for the visitors. Shkodran Mustafi has to be content with a place on the Arsenal bench and might come on during the match if required.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles might get a chance to impress at right-back while Sead Kolasinac looks to link up with Iwobi down the left wing. Nacho Monreal, who put in a commanding shift versus Watford on Monday night, could be rested for this encounter.
The Gunners would need to be at their best if they are to stop Carlo Ancelotti’s side from scoring on Thursday night.
Midfield
Both Granit Xhaka and Lucas Torreira will get an opportunity to impress in midfield as the dynamic duo tries to dominate proceedings at the centre of the park. The talented trio of Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Aaron Ramsey and Alex Iwobi will play ahead of them as part of the Gunners attack.
Emery may choose not to risk Mesut Ozil in this game as the German midfielder’s low work rate off the ball could be a big problem for Arsenal. However, Ozil might come off the bench to make an impact on the pitch if the North London outfit requires a goal in the second half.
Attack
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will spearhead Emery’s attack up top. The Gabonese forward managed to find the back of the net against Watford on Monday so he would fancy his chances of scoring versus Napoli.
Alexandre Lacazette will be deployed off the bench as his pace could cause some problems for the Napoli defenders during the latter stages of this encounter.
