Sports Blog 28/09/2017: Football Preview – UEFA Europa League, Thursday 28th September 2017

Can an ostensibly B-tier Arsenal brush aside BATE Borisov, at 6pm on BT Sport 2?

The list of names not expected to make an appearance in Belarus is basically a team in and of itself. Sanchez, Ozil, Lacazette, Ramsey, Xhaka, Koscielny, Bellerin, Cech – all are either at home or on the bench, with Arsene Wenger favouring a mixture of out of favour old-timers and inexperienced youngsters for the club’s second Europa League fixture.



Thing is, Arsenal are yet to really convince this season. Most recent was a nervy 2-0 win over West Brom, with a brace from Lacazette giving the Gunners only their third league victory of 2017/18. Even their 3-1 win over Koln a fortnight ago was perhaps a bit flattering, given that they were seriously rattled in the first half after the game had to be delayed an hour due to an immovable army of Germans outside the Emirates.

And Wenger should be careful to underestimate their hosts. While they are in the unfamiliar position of 3rd in the Belarusian Premier League, they have won the title 11 times in a row, and will be confidence that they can close the 2 point gap on leaders Shakhtyor Soligorsk before the season’s end in November.

Not that they were particularly inspiring in Serbia a couple of weeks ago, where they scraped a 1-1 draw against Red Star Belgrade. That game did, however, see yet another goal for Mikhail Gordeichuk, who sits at a Super Mega PGM of 16-20.

As for Arsenal’s own front line, Thursday provides a chance for the likes of Olivier Giroud, at a Super Mega PGM of 44-51, and Theo Walcott, at 28-34, to make the case for their inclusion in the regular starting XI. Reiss Nelson, at 9-13, will also look for more game time having made his first start for Arsenal in the 1-0 EFL Cup win over Doncaster last week.

Wenger will have ostrich-sized egg on his face if the Gunners mess up this evening. Luckily that seems unlikely, with Spreadex offering an Arsenal/BATE Borisov (h) Goal Supremacy spread of 0.95-1.15 alongside a Total Goals spread of 2.7-2.9.

A bit later on Everton will be hoping to get their season back on track when they host Apollon Limassol at 8.05 pm on BT Sport 2. Though they’ve had an admittedly tough start to the Premier League, with consecutive games against Man City, Chelsea, Tottenham and Man United, you can’t escape how bad the Toffees have been.



While they managed a 1-1 draw against City, things just got worse and worse, losing 2-0 to Chelsea, 3-0 to Spurs and 4-0 to United. Their confidence was clearly shot by the time they travelled to Italy a fortnight ago, coming away from their game against Atalanta with a woeful 3-0 loss.

Things have admittedly improved since then, with a 3-0 EFL Cup victory over Sunderland followed by a 2-1 league win over Bournemouth, their first since their opening game against Stoke. However, Everton are still struggling up front. Wayne Rooney has only found the back of the net twice, while summer signing Sandro Ramirez is yet to score – both men have Super Mega PGms of 45-52.

Thursday’s visit from the Cypriot First Division bronze medallists could offer some catharsis for Koeman’s side, even if they did manage to steal a draw against Lyon with a 93rd minute equaliser. The Toffees will be aiming for a big win, with Spreadex offering an Everton/Apollon Limassol Goal Supremacy spread of 1.5-1.7 alongside a Total goals spread of 2.85-3.05.