Pain in the Arsenal
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Arsenal vs Benfica Europa League preview: How to watch, predicted lineups, score prediction & injury updates

By Ross Kennerley

ROME, ITALY - FEBRUARY 18: Bukayo Saka of Arsenal scores their sides first goal during the UEFA Europa League Round of 32 match between SL Benfica and Arsenal FC at Stadio Olimpico on February 18, 2021 in Rome, Italy. SL Benfica face Arsenal FC at a neutral venue in Rome behind closed doors after Portugal imposed a ban on travellers arriving from the UK in an effort to prevent the spread of Covid-19 variants. (Photo by Paolo Bruno/Getty Images)
ROME, ITALY - FEBRUARY 18: Bukayo Saka of Arsenal scores their sides first goal during the UEFA Europa League Round of 32 match between SL Benfica and Arsenal FC at Stadio Olimpico on February 18, 2021 in Rome, Italy. SL Benfica face Arsenal FC at a neutral venue in Rome behind closed doors after Portugal imposed a ban on travellers arriving from the UK in an effort to prevent the spread of Covid-19 variants. (Photo by Paolo Bruno/Getty Images) /
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Arsenal, Mikel Arteta
Arsenal vs Benfica match preview: Europa League round of 32 second leg on Thursday. (Photo by Paolo Bruno/Getty Images) /

Arsenal ‘host’ Benfica in their Europa League round of 32 second leg tie at the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium with the tie finely balanced at 1-1. Here is the match preview.

How monumental is this game? Rather, it’s fair to say. Stuffed full of dangerous sides who all stand a very reasonable chance of winning the whole competition, Arsenal and Benfica are not among the favourites. But that doesn’t matter.

What matters is progression to the next round and for Mikel Arteta, he may not have faced a bigger game in his short managerial career. For Arsenal, this is, as the boss put it, ‘a final’.

One of eight ‘finals’ the club will face if they are to lift the trophy and return to the promised land of the Champions League, after what will have been a four-season absence.

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Arsenal vs Benfica match preview: Europa League round of 32 second leg on Thursday

The first leg was an opportunity spurned for the Gunners. Benfica were surprisingly poor for their ‘home’ leg, rarely laying a glove on Arsenal and adopting a compact and negative approach that sought to frustrate and contain. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang produced Arsenal’s miss of the season in the first half and saw two other chances go begging, in a match that was there for the taking.

Pizzi scored from the spot after an unfortunate penalty was conceded, with Bukayo Saka restoring parity two minutes later. There were some issues in the Arsenal side in their directness, the way they attacked Benfica and the lack of service to Martin Odegaard, leaving the tie open for invitation on Thursday.

It is Arteta’s men who hold the advantage with the away goal, although the issue of freshness and fatigue could play a part after a physically demanding Premier League defeat to Manchester City on Sunday. Benfica drew 0-0 in their sandwich filler.

This stadium was the sight of Arsenal’s round of 32 first leg last season where a late Alexandre Lacazette goal secured a 1-0 win over Olympiacos, and a repeat of that scoreline will be enough to reach the last 16.

A 0-0 draw will do, but the approach for this fixture must be to win the match. Victory by any scoreline suffices, so getting at Benfica early and putting them on the back foot has to be the mantra. No resting on laurels.

How to Watch on TV

When Is Kick Off? Thursday 25 February
What Time Is Kick Off? 17:55 (GMT)
Where Is it Played? Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium
TV Channel/Live Stream? BT Sport (UK) fuboTV (USA)
Referee? Björn Kuipers (NED)