Arsenal predicted team: How the Gunners could line up in their Europa League second leg clash against Rennes
Unai Emery’s side will have to overcome a 3-1 deficit to progress to the Europa League quarter-finals on Thursday
Arsenal have been boosted by the early return of suspended striker Alexandre Lacazette ahead of their second leg tie against Rennes.
The Gunners star was sent off for elbowing Borisov Bate defender Aleksandar Filipovic in a Europa League last-32 first leg defeat to the Belarusian minnows last month.
Lacazette was slapped with a three-match ban by UEFA, which was reduced to two games on Tuesday, much to the disappointment of Rennes boss Julien Stephan.
He said: “The timing is rather surprising for everyone involved.
“We didn’t think that he would be included up until yesterday evening.
“They have decided to reduce his sanction from three to two games and that is great for him. Now we are going to have to prepare with that in mind.”
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Team news
Henrikh Mkhitaryan faces a late fitness test before the visit of Rennes. The midfielder missed Arsenal’s 2-0 win over Manchester United with a back injury on Sunday, however, he was seen training on Wednesday.
Petr Cech is expected to come in for Bernd Leno in goal, while Shkodran Mustafi is likely to replace the suspended Sokratis Papastathopoulos.
Lacazette could lead the line with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang out wide in an Arsenal side that will need to score at least twice against Rennes.
So how might Arsenal line-up? Below you can see marvelbet369.com’s predicted Gunners XI…
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