In the first leg of the Europa League round of 16, Premier League leaders Arsenal are on the road to face Portuguese Super League powerhouse Benfica. Although the "Arsenal" has been in hot form recently, given the priority of winning the Premier League, they are likely to rotate their starting lineup, resulting in a drop in strength, and the team may adopt a more conservative tactic, choosing to give it a go at home in the second round, which gives them a better chance of winning the match with a 2.5 goal underdog. (Now 643 Friday 1:45 am live)
Arsenal's recent fixture schedule has been intense, with three games in consecutive weeks. After last week's stoppage time shutout against Fonnymough, they have made it four wins in a row. On Saturday night, they are back on the road to face Fulham, and coach Adidas may have reservations in his personnel selection to ensure the campaign is battle-tested. In fact, Arsenal have been conservative in this year's Europa League, with most of their core players such as Martyn Odegat, Bukayo Saka and Thomas Peddie rested, which has affected the team's attacking firepower, with the total number of goals scored in the last four Europa League matches below two.
Arsenal's injury problems have been getting worse lately, with Nikitia and Liandou Duchate injured, and Gabil Jetsis yet to return. All three strikers will be out for this match, and if all goes well, Gabil Martinelli will probably play as a guest striker, which will greatly affect the team's goal-scoring ability.
Benfica are currently 4th in the Portuguese Superliga and are not performing well. However, they have had some good performances at home, such as beating Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 in the UEFA Europa League group stage. In their last four home matches in Europe, the total goals scored in three of them were less than two goals, so the chances of chasing goals in this match are high.
