Arsenal-Lens is a match on the fifth day of the Champions League group stage and is played Wednesday at 9 p.m.: tv, predictions.
There are two combinations that will have to occur for Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal to celebrate qualification a round earlier. The Gunners, who are looking down on the others in Group B thanks to the 9 points they have won in four days, would pull off the pass in the event of a win over Lens or if bottom-seeded Sevilla manages to get the better of Psv Eindhoven – on 5 points like the French – in the “Sanchez Pizjuan” challenge.
The round of 16 goal, in short, is by no means far away. With the Londoners who will also try to armor the first place in order to then be among the seeded players when the draw for the knockout stage is made. It is also necessary to “avenge” the defeat – the only one so far in the Champions League – suffered against Franck Haise’s Giallorossi in the first leg in France, with Lens surprisingly managing to overturn Arsenal thanks to goals from Thomasson and Wahi (2-1). That was an important “wake-up call” for the Gunners, who after the 13th day of the Premier League are back on top of the standings, bypassing Manchester City. Odegaard and his teammates have four points in the last two days to Pep Guardiola’s Cityzens, who have not gone beyond two draws with Chelsea and Liverpool, while the Londoners have scored two wins in a row against Burnley and Brentford.
First “match ball” for the Gunners
Lens, which in Ligue 1 has now managed to climb back up the ladder after a disastrous start to say the least, is also back from a double success.
(Samba , IlVeggente.it (Ansa)
The Giallorossi have grown exponentially defensively: not a single goal conceded in the last five days, with the last defeat dating back to last September. Haise and his men are now sixth, not too far from that fourth place that as of this year allows them to play in the Champions League preliminaries. And despite a three-week defeat to Psv Eindhoven (1-0), the eighth-place dream is still intact. To keep hoping, however, Lens must try to avoid defeat at Emirates Stadium and hope that the Dutch do not pull off the upset in Seville. Otherwise, they can no longer finish in the top two. Haise, meanwhile, will be without the disqualified Guilavogui in London, in addition to the unavailable Machado. Arsenal’s only absentees, however, are Smith Rowe and Partey, both injured.
The Prediction
Lens is a bad customer and Arsenal knows something about it since they were surprised by the French vice-champions in the first leg. This time, however, the game is being played in the Gunners’ “den,” and the Frenchmen’s chances of avoiding defeat seem very slim indeed. Arteta’s team is in a hurry to close out the games and should manage to score at least two goals on the London night.
The likely lineups for Arsenal-Lens
ARSENAL (4-3-3): Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Ødegaard, Rice, Havertz; Saka, Gabriel Jesus, Martinelli.
LENS (3-4-2-1): Samba; Gradit, Danso, Medina; Frankowski, Mendy, Abdul Samed, Haïdara; Sotoca, Thomasson; Wahi.
