Arsenal's risky rotation means stalemate
On Thursday evening in the Austrian capital of Vienna, SK Rapid and Arsenal will meet for their first ever competitive match against each other at the Allianz Stadion in the curtain raiser of this season's Europa League group stage. Visiting manager Mikel Arteta will have more than one eye on Sunday's clash with rivals Leicester in the Premier League... and that spells danger for the Gunners. Read our preview here:
Fountas of youth
Perennial runners-up in the A. Bundesliga, Die Grün-Weißen will be looking to usurp Red Bull Salzburg this time around. The green and white half of the historic capital have enjoyed an encouraging start in the league, taking 10 points from their first four matches, and followed that up with a 5-1 thrashing away at Wiener Neustadt in the cup. The only cause for concern at the time of writing is that an unnamed player has tested positive for COVID-19, so will miss out on Thursday. Assuming it's not Greek striker Taxiarchis Fountas, the hosts definitely have a chance to put the buffers on the English giants' European campaign before it's even got going. The diminutive forward more than makes up for his lack of stature with his finishing ability, hitting a hat-trick in his most recent outing to take his tally for the nascent campaign to seven in seven. Head coach Dietmar Kühbauer will almost certainly stick with a 3-4-3 shape, making the pitch as wide as possible in defence to shut down the visitors' pace on the flanks.
Reiss, Reiss, baby
Arteta will almost certainly rotate his front six first and foremost, handing opportunities to the likes of Joe Willock, Eddie Nketiah, and Reiss Nelson, who could form the North London outfit's front three. An intriguing tactical battle will play out between the trio and how closely Rapid choose to mark them, given the agility they possess. Further back, the bulk of first-team experience will be in the triumvirate in defence, and much of the organisation will rest on David Luiz' shoulders. Thomas Partey could make his full debut, and the game should help him adjust to the demands of his new club.
Danube believe it?
Naturally, Arsenal will still be the favourites to win the match, and possibly go all the way once more in Europe's secondary club competition. Rapid won't have nearly the same pretensions or pressure put upon them by their fans and pundits alike to progress that far, but should be able to battle with Molde for qualification. Arteta resting some of the more notable personnel in his squad doesn't suddenly mean he isn't taking the game seriously, but there is inherent in that move a chance for parity to be earned. betway are offering odds of 6.50 for the fixture to be a draw at both half and full-time.
