One of the early kick-offs in the Europa League on Thursday the 25th of February is between Arsenal and Benfica at the Karaiskakis Stadium, Piraeus.
This is an evenly poised tie following the first leg and there is all to play for with the teams tied at 1-1 but Arsenal will be disappointed to have to play their home leg in Greece.
The Gunners come into the match having suffered a 1-0 defeat at home against Manchester City in the Premier League on Sunday.
The visitors scored an early goal and dominated much of the first half. Arsenal came back into the match in the second half but could not score the equalising goal. That result means Arsenal have won only one of their last 6 games in all competitions.
The victory came at home against Leeds United in the Premier League on the 14th of February and you must go back to the win against Southampton in the Premier League on the 26th of January to find another victory.
However, results in the Europa League have been good and Arsenal are undefeated in their 7 most recent matches in the competition. They have won 6 of those games, including all 3 of their home group matches.
Trends show Arsenal have won by a margin of 3 or more goals in 3 of their most recent home matches in the Europa League but it is worth remembering they are in Greece for this game.
Benfica travel to the Karaiskakis Stadium having been held to a 0-0 draw at Farense and that result means they fell further behind in the Portuguese title race this season. At the time of writing, they are outside the Champions League qualifying positions.
Nonetheless, Benfica are undefeated in their last 6 matches in all competitions, including the draw at home against Arsenal in the Europa League.
In all of their 8 most recent matches of the Europa League, there have been no losses for Benfica, which is a great record. They went undefeated in the group stage away from home by defeating Lech Poznań and drawing at both Glasgow Rangers and Standard Liège.
Trends show both teams have scored in each of Benfica’s last 4 away Europa League fixtures.
Looking ahead to the team news and Arsenal could be without both Rob Holding and Thomas Partey due to concussion and a muscle problem, respectively. The likes of Alexandre Lacazette, Willian, Cédric Soares, David Luiz, and Emile Smith Rowe will be hoping to start.
Benfica are without the injured duo of Jardel and Andre Almeida. Former English Premier League pair Nicolas Otamendi and Jan Vertonghen could start.
This should be a close game and one of the ties that could go all the way to a penalty shootout. We expect to see both teams find the back of the net but unless Benfica can score 2 goals, it will go to extra-time and penalties will be a lottery to see who progresses.
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