Sports

Ostersunds vs Arsenal predictions: Europa League preview & possible line-ups

Isabella Stodart February 14, 2018

101 Great Goals prediction: Ostersunds 1-1 Arsenal

Ostersunds to draw 1-1 with Arsenal is 7/1 with Paddy Power.

Arsenal’s away form has been absolutely terrible this season and they will playing in temperatures of around -4 degrees on Thursday night.

It wouldn’t be too shocking to see Arsenal lose the first leg away in Sweden but it would be the surprise of the century if Ostersunds were to progress to the last 16.

Ostersunds vs Arsenal football betting tips

The best bet is simply to back Ostersunds to win at 11/2.

Arsenal are 4/9 to win in Sweden, while the draw is 10/3.

Paddy Power: Ostersunds vs Arsenal odds

With challenging conditions to deal with, under 2.5 goals at 11/10 looks good value. The over is 8/11.

BTTS is 4/5, while the against is 10/11.

Danny Welbeck is 13/10 to score anytime, while Eddie Nketiah is 13/8 to score anytime.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan of Arsenal is being substituted for Mohamed Elneny of Arsenal during the Premier League match between Swansea City and Arsenal at Liberty Stadium on January 30, 2018 in Swansea, Wales. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)

Ostersunds vs Arsenal match preview

The 2017/18 has not been kind to Arsenal.

The Gunners are currently 6th in the Premier League and are in the middle of their worst ever campaign under Arsene Wenger.

Last season, Arsenal failed to finish in the top four for the first time in Arsene Wenger’s reign in charge of the club.

Therefore, Arsenal have been competing in this season’s edition of the Europa League.

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To the shock of many, Arsenal failed to go through the group stage of the competition, undefeated.

Arsenal’s poor away from continued in Germany and The Gunners were defeated 1-0 by the Bundesliga’s bottom club, FC Koln.

As for Ostersunds, they qualified second in their group behind Athletic Bilbao. The Swedish club lost just one match in Group J.

Who are Ostersunds?

Ostersunds were founded in 1996, just weeks after Arsene Wenger was appointed as Arsenal manager.

Graham Potter is Ostersunds’s manager, he is the only British manager left in European competition.

Potter, formerly of Southampton, made one appearance for England’s under 21 side and now, at 42 years old, has overseen an incredible rise for Ostersunds FK.

Potter has overseen four promotions during his time at the club and has taken them from the fourth tier of Swedish football all the way into the Europa League.

Ostersunds have two English players in their team: Curtis Edwards and Jamie Hopcutt.

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LONDON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 19: Danny Welbeck of Arsenal (R) celebrates as he scores their first goal with team mate Olivier Giroud during the Carabao Cup Quarter-Final match between Arsenal and West Ham United at Emirates Stadium on December 19, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

Arsenal team news

On Tuesday the Gunners confirmed that Alexandre Lacazette is out for four to six weeks after he had a procedure on his knee.

That’s a major blow to the Gunners UEL hopes as Arsenal’s latest signing, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, is ruled out of Europa League action for the rest of the season due to his former club, Borussia Dortmund playing in the same competition.

Danny Welbeck is set to lead the Arsenal attack, while youngster Eddie Nketiah could play in Sweden as well.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan is free to play in the competition but will have to wear the number 77 shirt as Alexis Sanchez had already worn the number 7 shirt earlier in the competition.

David Ospina has been Arsenal’s first choice goalkeeper in the Europa League so far this season as Arsene Wenger often opts to pick a second string side.

Calum Chambers, Rob Holding and Mohamed Elneny will almost certainly be involved in both matches whilst youngsters such as Reiss Nelson are likely to play too.

Arsenal don’t have a league or cup match in between the two Ostersunds fixtures and their first match after their Europa League games is the Carabao Cup final.

For that reason, Arsenal are unlikely to field their strongest side against the Swedish club as they will look to rest their key players for the cup final.

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