Arsenal hosts Valencia in the first leg of the Europa League semifinals. The match will be played on Thursday, May 2nd at Emirates Stadium (London)
In the previous quarterfinal round, the Gunners met with Napoli, and this pair was the most interesting in the Europa League. The poster was quite attractive, however, Arsenal confidently went further. Before the start of the first leg, Neapolitan coach, Carlo Ancelotti, said that he had less experience than his counterpart Unai Emery, if one talks about the Europa League. This is true, because Emery won this tournament three times with Sevilla. But it is unlikely that the experience of the coaches played a key role in this pair. Arsenal won the first match at home with the score 2-0. As late as in the middle of the first half, the Gunners was up by two goals - Aaron Ramsey scored first, and then there was an own goal of Kalidou Koulibaly. After the half time, Londoners retained the desired result for themselves. Arsenal has created a comfortable margin for itself before the return game in Naples. But the away results of the Gunners in the current season are frightening, so everything was not decided before the return game. During the first half in Naples, Ramsey got injured; however, all the issues in this pair were taken off the table after Alexandre Lacazette scored from a direct free kick. Napoli’s goalkeeper, Alex Meret, made a blunder. After a conceded goal, Neapolitans attacked completely without enthusiasm, so Arsenal won the second game either (1: 0).
| 2 x £10 Free Bet | Review | |||
| 100$-500$ for No Lose Free Bets | Review | |||
| 100% up to £200 | Review | |||
| Not available | Review |
At the stage of the quarter-finals, the draw tied the Bats with compatriots - Villarreal. Before that confrontation, both Spanish teams had synchronously beaten the representatives of the RPL - Zenit and Krasnodar, so their pair also looked interesting. However, the teams were handling different tasks at that moment - the Bats are fighting in La Liga for getting into the Champions League zone, while the Yellow Submarine is trying to avoid relegation from the elite of Spanish football. Villarreal played the first match at home and had no right to lose. In the first half, the teams exchanged goals, but in the end of the second one, the hosts were in a state of shock. In the 90th minute, José Luis Gaya gave a lead to Valencia, and Guedes made the advantage of the Bats even more comfortable (3: 1) in added time. At Mestalla, the Yellow submarine hadn’t any chances. Valencia scored one goal in each half and won with a 2: 0 score without anxiety. The intrigue in this pair was the least. However, one shouldn’t overestimate the power of Valencia, because the struggle for survival in La Liga is a priority for Villarreal at the moment.
The Gunners and the Bats have not played with each other for a long time. The last times their paths crossed in the early 2000s. In 2001, they met in the quarterfinal of the Champions League: Arsenal won 2-1 at home, but lost away with a 0-1 score, so the Spanish team went further and was stopped only by Bayern in the final. After two seasons, the rivals met again, but this time at the group stage. In London, both teams did not score goals, but Valencia managed to beat the Gunners with a 2: 1 score at home. In that most interesting group, Valencia went further along with Ajax, while Arsenal and Roma left the tournament. Both teams are similar because they are fighting for getting into the Champions League zone in their national championships. However, now they have reached the semi-final stage of the Europa League, so they will go all out, and the winner of the tournament guarantees a place in the Champions League for the next season. Arsenal plays excellently at home, so we expect victory from it.
Prediction for the match: Arsenal to win
