Europa League Semifinals Preview 5-6-21

Arsenal v. Villarreal

This is the most intriguing match of the day. Villarreal secured a 2-1 win in the first leg to give themselves an advantage heading into the second leg but the tie is far from over. Villarreal dominated the first game and played a man up for over 20 minutes but only came away with a 2-1 win which is a rather disappointing result. Today, Unai Emery and his men will look to finish off his former team, Arsenal, in their own stadium. Arsenal enter this game fresh off a 2-0 win on the weekend over Newcastle United. The Gunners form has been inconsistent recently with losses sprinkled around wins and draws in between. Today, manager Mikel Arteta is set to use a formation I have not seen him deploy this season. Arsenal is set to run a 3-4-3 which is engineered for attacking play, something they need with the 2-1 deficit they face. Villarreal will stick to the 4-3-3 formation they run most every game. There are interesting lineup choices on Arsenal’s behalf, mainly with Odegaard playing the attacking wing position while Saka plays wingback and Emile Smith Row playing in holding midfield position instead of a #10 role. Arsenal is clearly trying to advance to the final by simply out scoring Villarreal today and that can be a dangerous game for a team with such a poor backline. I expect goals today.

The Bet: Both Teams to Score

Prediction: Arsenal 1-2 Villarreal

Roma v. Manchester United

This tie is all but over before it even kicks off. Manchester United ran away in the first leg with a 6-2 win that has them up by a massive aggregate amount. Roma looked strong in the first half before completely falling apart in the second half as Man U struck on every counterattack. Roma wil deploy a 4-2-3-1 formation today and the veteran Edin Dezko will lead the attacking line as they know they have to score at least 4 goals. Manchester United will also deploy a 4-2-3-1, the favorable formation for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. United have a few interesting lineup choices, with Donny Van de Beek getting his first start in what seems like forever while Eric Bailly plays in central defense for his first critical start in quite some time as well. Roma will be going all out for goals today, there is no other way they can play, but the first leg showed us that they are susceptible at the back. I expect Roma to pot at least one goal but after that they will get exposed at the back by a Man U team that loves to counter clinically.

The Bet: Both Teams to Score & Manchester United to Win

Prediction: Roma 1-3 Manchester United