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Arsenal will welcome Olympiacos on Thursday night for the second leg of their Round of 32 fixture in the Europa League. Previously in Greece, the Gunners scored a vital away goal thanks to Alexandre Lacazette which means Mikel Arteta's side only need a draw to progress to the next round of the competition.
Despite an initial slow start to Arteta's coaching career, Arsenal are now a much-improved side as compared to the Unai Emery era. Since taking over in December, the new manager has led the team to three consecutive clean sheets and victories in all competitions. At the moment, the north London team are just four points behind Manchester United who are in fifth in the Premier League standings.
It has been close to four years since Arsenal last qualified for the UEFA Champions League and a victory at this stage will boost their chances of reaching the Europa League finals once more.
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Arsenal vs Olympiacos Head-to-Head
Following last week's win, Arsenal have secured five victories over their opponents out of their nine previous meetings and they will be looking to make it six this Thursday. After that first-leg win, the Gunners overcame Everton 3-2 on Sunday while Olympiacos rebounded from their European defeat to beat their domestic opponents PAOK by a scoreline of 0-1.
Arsenal form guide: W-W-W-D-D
Olympiacos form guide: W-L-W-W-W
Arsenal vs Olympiacos Team News
Sead Kolasinac suffered a shoulder injury when Arsenal hosted the Toffees over the weekend. While the club has yet to provide any updates on his injury, he is expected to miss the match. Other than him, the Gunners do not have any new injuries ahead of the game.
Last Thursday, Arteta surprised many when he named a senior starting eleven and retained the likes of Bernd Leno as well as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in his lineup. It appears that he will adopt the same strategy this time around rather than rotate too many players in his squad.
Injured: Kieran Tierney, Calum Chambers, Sead Kolasinac, Cedric Soares
Suspended: None
Arsenal vs Olympiacos Predicted XI
Arsenal Predicted XI: Bernd Leno; Hector Bellerin, Shkodran Mustafi, David Luiz, Bukayo Saka; Lucas Torreira, Granit Xhaka; Nicolas Pepe, Dani Ceballos, Gabriel Martinelli; Alexandre Lacazette
Arsenal vs Olympiacos Prediction
Arteta's team are on a three-match winning streak and despite their hectic fixture, they are tipped to win this home tie with Lacazette, Eddie Nketiah, and Aubameyang all looking sharp.
However, Leno looked far from convincing over the weekend after his side conceded two goals from set-pieces. Arsenal will attempt to do everything to keep a clean sheet and prevent Olympiacos from securing an away goal.
At this stage, the odds are against the visitors because a draw will suffice for the Gunners and see them progress to the Round of 16. Olympiacos will have to win at all costs to keep their hopes of staying in the competition alive.
Verdict: Arsenal 1-0 Olympiacos
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