Arsenal vs Basel: What time does it start, what channel is it on, predicted teams, odds and news
Everything you need to know about Arsenal vs Basel
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Arsenal will hope to notch their first win of the season in Europe when they welcome Basel to the Emirates Stadium in the Champions League group stages.
After beginning their campaign with an impressive 1-1 draw with Paris Saint Germain in France in what – on paper – is their most testing match of the group stage, Arsenal will hope to take a grip on the group and take one step closer towards reaching the knockout stages for a 14th consecutive season.
Arsene Wenger is likely to rotate his side after they dominated Chelsea 3-0 at the weekend to move into the Premier league top four, but he will need to be careful not to take the Swiss champions too lightly.
With Bulgarian champions Ludogorets the other side in the group, Arsenal are likely to be battling it out with Basel and PSG for top spot in Group A, and with both opening matches ending 1-1 the group is finely poised with the four teams on a point apiece.
Arsenal are looking to break a rather unwanted run in the Champions League, having failed to progress beyond the last 16 since the 2009/10 campaign, and with Wenger in the final year of his contract, he will want to ensure the Gunners end that trend to ensure he maximises his chances of a new deal.
It’s a big game for...
Granit Xhaka: The midfielder faces his former side and will come into the Arsenal line-up, having come off the substitutes’ bench during the win over Chelsea. The Swiss international left Basel to join Borussia Monchengladbach in 2012, and he will face his older brother Taulant who lines up in the Basel defence.
Remember when...
Arsenal beat Barcelona? The last time the Gunners beat a side wearing red and blue in Europe – and the fact they haven’t played Basel before – Arsenal celebrated a rare triumph over Barcelona. The Catalans took the lead midway through the first half through David Villa, but Arsenal fought back through second-half goals from Robin van Persie and Andrey Arshavin.
Player to look out for...
Lucas Perez: The striker is expected to return to the starting line-up for the Champions League clash, having scored twice in his last outing against Nottingham Forest in the EFL Cup. If he wants any hope of challenging Alexis Sanchez and Olivier Giroud for the lone striker role, he needs to seize every chance that comes his way.
Predicted teams...
Arsenal: Ospina; Bellerin, Mustafi, Koscielny, Monreal; Elneny, Xhaka; Walcott, Özil, Iwobi; Lucas.
Basel: Vaclik; Lang, Suchy, Balanta, Traore; Xhaka; Bjarnason, Zuffi, Delgado, Steffen; Janko.
Form...
Arsenal: WWWDWW
Basel: WWWDWW
Odds...
Arsenal to win: 3/10
Basel to win: 21/1
Draw: 24/5
(Odds provided by 888sport.com)
Vital information...
Kick-off: 19:45 BST [20:45 CET]
TV: The match is live on BT Sport 3 from 19:00 BST, highlights on ITV at 22:40. You can also follow the match with The Independent’s live blog from 19:00.
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