On Thursday night Arsenal have the chance to seal their place in the knockout stages of the Europa League, as the Gunners host Serbian outfit FK Crvena Zvezda at the Emirates Stadium.
Although the competition is far from the Gunners priority this season, Arsene Wenger’s side have been in good form in Europe’s second-tier competition.
In fact, the home side have a hundred percent record in the Europa League group stages. Last time out in Europe, the north London side recorded a 1-0 win in Belgrade in the reverse fixture.
Arsenal’s recent form has been good, as they have now won four consecutive games in all competitions. The home side also have a superb record on home soil, having recorded 13 successive wins in all competitions at the Emirates Stadium.
Gunners boss Wenger is likely to rotate his starting line-up for this clash, as is now the custom with this competition. However, whatever team the veteran French boss fields is likely to be a strong one.
The visitors more commonly known as Red Star Belgrade in English, have picked up four points from their first three group matches. A win in this clash would put them right into contention for a spot in the knockout stages.
However, even a defeat would not mean they were out of the competition, as they are level on points with second-place BATE Borisov, who play German side Koln in the other group game.
Red Star have a long and illustrious history in the European game. However, their recent record in the Europa League is a mixed one, as the visitors have won two, lost two and drew one of their last five outings in the competition.
Their recent away record in the competition is poor, as they have won just two of their last ten games on their travels in the Europa League.
Forebet predicts that Arsenal will get the win they need to qualify for the knockout stages of the competition.