Setting the scene
Having drawn with Paris Saint-Germain 2-2 a couple of weeks ago and qualified for the next round, Arsenal still have something to play for on Tuesday night, and that is the top spot of Group A.
Arsène Wenger’s men need to better the Ligue 1 club’s result against Ludogorets if they stand a chance of qualifying first for the first knockout round.
As for Basel, while they are out of the Champions League, they still have a chance of coming third in the group to qualify for the Europa League.
In order to do this, the Swiss club need to better Ludogorets’ result against Paris Saint-Germain.
It’s worth pointing out that Arsenal have never lost against Swiss opponents, winning all five games.
One to look out for
There’s probably no need to introduce him to the general public, but if anyone in Basel’s team is going to cause a bit of an upset on Tuesday evening, it’s Seydou Doumbia.
The Ivory Coast striker is the only player in Basel’s current squad to have scored more than one Champions League goal, having done so 13 times in 26 appearances in the competition.
Currently on loan from Roma, the 28-year-old’s foray in English football will be one he will want to forget, spending six very unhappy months at Newcastle last season.
He’s also the club’s current joint top scorer in the league this season with nine goals in 12 appearances, tied with Argentine forward Matias Delgado, who has nine in 16.
Injuries and suspensions
Swiss manager Urs Fischer will be pleased to be going into this game with a relatively clean bill of health, with none of his first-team players expected to miss the clash.
The only worry he will have is 28-year-old centre-back Marek Suchy picking up another yellow card, which would see him miss any Europa League game they could possibly have in the future were they to get a result against Arsène Wenger’s men.
Predicted line-up
This should be a fairly straightforward decision for Fischer, who will want to get a point on Tuesday night and rarely strays from his 4-2-3-1/4-1-4-1 formations, with his experiment with five at the back backfiring against Arsenal in September when they lost 2-0.
Taulant Xhaka has been left out of a few predicted lineups over in Switzerland, but there’s every chance he’ll play, especially when he is extremely likely to face his brother Granit, which he’ll certainly want to do.
Sport Witness Predicted XI: Vaclik, Lang, Suchy, Balata, Traoré, Xhaka, Zuffi, Steffen, Delgado, Elyounoussi, Doumbia.
