[4-2-3-1]: Formation changed, Saka position changed and Nwaneri starts in a strange position- Arsenal predicted lineup against Real Madrid as Mikel Arteta changed formation in the quest to stop Vinicius Jr and Kylian Mbappe
Arsenal host Real Madrid tonight in their bid to reach their first Champions League semi-final since 2009.
Gunners’ star winger, Bukayo Saka is fit again after featuring as a substitute in their last two matches. The north London side will be hoping that he will be able to feature from the start at the Emirates.
Injuries, suspensions and doubts
Arsenal: Riccardo Califiori (out) Gabriel Magalhães (out) Kai Havertz (out) Takehiro Tomiyasu (out) Gabriel Jesus (out) Raheem Sterling (suspended)
Real Madrid Dani Carvajal (out) Dani Ceballos (out) Eder Militao (out) Aurélien Tchouaméni (suspended) Andriy Lunin (doubt) Ferland Mendy (doubt)
Predicted line-ups
Arsenal (4-3-3): Raya; Timber, Saliba, Kiwior, Lewis-Skelly, Ødegaard, Rice, Partey, Saka, Merino, Martinelli
Real Madrid: Courtois, Valverde, Asensio, Rudiger, Fran Garcia, Modric, Camavinga, Bellingham, Rodrygo, Mbappe, Vinicius
Recent form
Arsenal come into this tie off a draw with Everton who currently sit 15th in the Premier League table and had not won in their last four matches. However, Arsenal won two London derbies against Fulham and Chelsea respectively just before that.
Real Madrid’s weekend was similarly poor after they lost 2-1 to Valencia at home. Vinicius had a chance to put Los Blancos ahead from the spot but his penalty was saved by the Liverpool bound goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili. They went on to concede the winner five minutes into injury time at the end of the second half.
What’s been said?
Mikel Arteta says that Saka could play a significant part in tonight’s match after his recent return from hamstring surgery last December.
“Saka is in a much better place. Gradually we have built his minutes in the last six or seven days. He’s coped with that really well and he’s in a good place to be able to be used.”
Carlo Ancelloti explained that Real Madrid’s experience will be key in getting them through the tie.
“There is a lot of pressure on this game, the experience is really important. The fact we have a lot of players that have already played this kind of game gives the [experienced] players and the younger [players] more confidence.”
