Arsenal vs Standard Liege Predictions

Europa League specialist Unai Emery fell at the final hurdle last season as his Arsenal side were thoroughly dismantled at the hands of Chelsea in Azerbaijan, but their opener against Eintracht Frankfurt showed that they are serious about the competition once again.

They won that match 3-0 away from home, and another win could be on the cards here. The Gunners have won all 4 encounters with Standard Liege in Europe, scoring 15 goals in the process. They have also won 6 of their last 7 Europa League ties, so the home fans will be expecting 3 points on Thursday.

However, Arsenal’s defence is once again proving to be their weakest link. The 1-1 draw at Old Trafford on Monday night made it 11 goals conceded this season, and they have kept just 3 clean sheets in their 9 competitive outings.

This is by no means a new phenomenon. Arsenal have conceded in 46 of their 67 competitive matches since Unai Emery took charge, including in 14 of their last 17. In fact, the vast majority of Arsenal’s success can be directly attributed to the attacking force of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette.

Those 2 will rightfully worry Standard Liege on Thursday, but the Belgians attack will be confident of troubling their hosts’ back line. The visitors have scored in 10 of their 11 competitive games this season and won their Europa League opener 2-0 against Vitoria Guimaraes.

Standard Liege have also scored in 10 of their last 11 Europa League matches and failed to find the net in just 1 of their group stage games last season. They will really fancy their chances of getting on the scoresheet against an Arsenal side that have conceded in 6 of their last 7 competitive home games.

That being said, the visitors will be lucky to get anything out of this. They have lost 7 of their 8 trips to England in European competition, with their only minor success being a 2-2 draw with Everton in the 2008/09 UEFA Cup. Arsenal have won 5 in a row at home in Europe and Unai Emery has won 18 of his last 20 Europa League matches with Arsenal and Sevilla, so backing an Arsenal Win and Both Teams to Score looks a great option.

The Gunners have netted exactly 3 goals in 6 Europa League matches since the start of last season, so we feel a 3-1 correct score prediction is a good option too.