Basel travel to London to take on Arsenal at the Emirates tonight, in the second group fixture of the campaign.
The Gunners currently sit top of their group, albeit having absolutely no point or goal advantage over any of their rivals. Both sides played out 1-1 draws in the opening group game, leaving Arsenal top on away goals, followed by their alphabetical advantage.
Arsenal will be looking to gain their first win of the season tonight, but it is not expected to be easy.
Our Swiss rivals have been in incredible form domestically, winning all of their 11 matches in the Swiss Super League and Schweizer Pokal (Swiss Cup).
Arsenal’s record is not half as good so far this term, but having scored 11 goals in our last three matches, including a 3-0 demolition of title rivals Chelsea, our side will be full of confidence coming into this match-up.
We appear likely to grant Granit Xhaka a rare start tonight, with Francis Coquelin having picked up an injury in our win against the Blues at the weekend. Olivier Giroud, Aaron Ramsey and Gabriel Paulista will also miss out, with the former suspended and the remainder also in the physio room.
David Ospina is also likely to feature, having starred in our encounter with Paris Saint-Germain two weeks ago.
Our Swiss signing is set to take on his brother Taulant Xhaka once again, having also played against him for Switzerland against Albania during Euro 2016.
Predicted XI:
Ospina
Bellerin Mustafi Koscielny Monreal
Xhaka Elneny
Walcott Ozil Iwobi
Sanchez
Our current form is unstoppable, and you cant expect anything less than a win, despite our opponents form. Basel should not be under-estimated, and we will have to show them respect, but we should come away with a 3-1 win.
Pat J