Villarreal and Arsenal meet in the first leg of the Europa League semifinals on Thursday, April 29.
Currently sitting in 10th place in the Premier League, Arsenal's only real shot at ending its four-year Champions League drought resides in the Europa League.
The Gunners will have to get past a familiar face in former manager and current Villarreal coach Unai Emery, who previously won three Europe League trophies with Sevilla. The Yellow Submarine has yet to lose in 12 Europa games (11 wins, one draw) under Emery since he took over last summer.
Villarreal has won each of its six Europa League home games this season but is coming off a weekend loss to Barcelona at the Estadio de la Cerámica. Arsenal, meanwhile, dropped a 1-0 result to Everton on Friday but has taken advantage of the six-day break between games to get back to fitness.
How to Watch:
Time: 3 p.m. ET
TV Channel: Galavisión
Live Stream: You can watch the match on fuboTV. Sign up now for a free seven-day trial. You can also view it via Paramount+ (formerly CBS All Access).
Lineups:
Villarreal XI: Rulli; Foyth, Albiol, Pau Torres, Pedraza; Capoue, Parejo, Trigueros; Gerard Moreno, Chukwueze, Paco Alcácer
Arsenal XI: Leno; Chambers, Holding, Mari; Smith Rowe, Partey, Xhaka, Ceballos, Saka; Ødegaard; Pépé
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta confirmed that forwards Alexandre Lacazette (hamstring), Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (malaria) and defender Kieran Tierney (knee) are in contention to return from their respective layoffs on Thursday. Lacazette was instrumental in the quarterfinal second leg with two goals to help eliminate Slavia Prague.
Villarreal are led by a formidable attacking duo of its own in Paco Alcácer and Gerard Moreno, who have six goals apiece in Europa League play this season. The Spanish strikers each scored in the second leg quarterfinal meeting against Dinamo Zagreb.
The winner of the tie will face either Manchester United or AS Roma in the Europa League final on May 26 in Gdańsk.
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