Arsenal v Napoli Betting Tips: Can Auba fire Emery to a first-leg win?
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Betting preview, match tips and odds for Europa League
There’s no guarantee Arsenal will be able to get a positive result in Napoli next week. So the Gunners will need to take full advantage of tonight’s quarter-final first-leg at the Emirates.
Unai Emery’s men have been in wicked form on home turf. Only the two Manchester clubs, Tottenham Hotspur and Ostersunds have won in North London since all the way back in March 2017.
But who will come out on top tonight? You can catch the match live on BT Sport 2 from 8:00pm and get the full lowdown with our Europa League betting tips.
Head-to-Head
Arsenal and Napoli have only met twice before. Both of those fixtures came during the group stage of the 2013-14 Champions League campaign. Home form proved the key in both Italy and England.
Mesut Ozil and Olivier Giroud scored the only goals as the Gunners won 2-0 in North London. Then the roles were reversed in Naples as Gonzalo Higuain and Jose Callejon struck in a 2-0 win for Napoli.
Likely XIs
Napoli: Ospina, Rui, Malcuit, Koulibaly, Maksimovic, Callejon, Allan, Ruiz, Zielinski, Mertens, Milik.
Arsenal: Cech, Kolasinac, Sokratis, Koscielny, Mustafi, Torreira, Xhaka, Maitland-Niles, Iwobi, Ramsey, Aubameyang.
Emery could welcome back Granit Xhaka, Laurent Koscielny, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Aaron Ramsey into the starting XI. Sokratis is also expected to return following his suspension.
Carlo Ancelotti should recall Kalidou Koulibaly and Nikola Maksimovic to centre-half after the pair missed the defeat against Red Bull Salzburg through suspension. They’ll anchor the backline in a 4-4-2 formation with Dries Mertens and Arkadiusz Milik preferred up-front.
David Ospina could also be in line to face his former club.
Key Battles
Ainsley Maitland-Niles had a torrid time of things down the left against Everton. If the youngster is forced to play in an unnatural position again he could be exposed without sufficient cover.
Arsenal’s entire defence has been a cause for concern away from home. They’ll need to remain tight and disciplined against a Napoli frontline which has hit 58 goals in Serie A this season, especially if Milik gets the nod.
The 6ft 1in Polish international has 20 goals for club and country this term and is known as a tough physical opponent. It’ll be down to Koscielny to keep tabs on the 25-year-old.
Match Odds
Arsenal need to make full use of home advantage in the first-leg. The Coral traders have them down as narrow 27/20 favourites, against 19/10 for Napoli. The Draw is available at 5/2.
Aubameyang is the likeliest scorer at 7/5. The Gabon international has finished off the scoring in two of his last three appearances at the Emirates and is 7/2 to do so again here. Alexandre Lacazette is a viable alternative at 9/5 Anytime.
Sokratis has two goals to his name in the Europa League. He’s an outside pick at 14/1. For the visitors, Milik is priced at 15/8, with Mertens slightly further back at 11/5.
Both Teams to Score in a match with plenty of goalscoring threat is 4/7, while it’s 8/1 about a 2-1 Arsenal win.
View the latest Arsenal v Napoli odds at Coral.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing
