Villarreal vs Arsenal - Europa League team news and prediction

Certainly not one of Spain's biggest clubs, Arsenal supporters would be foolish to underestimate how good Villarreal are, particularly in this competition with their former manager, Unai Emery, in charge.

Emery is a specialist in the Europa League, having lifted the trophy three years in a row with Sevilla. He also took Arsenal to the final in 2018/19 before losing to Chelsea. The Spaniard is remarkably unbeaten in his last 19 two-legged Europa League knock-out ties, last being eliminated from the competition at this stage back in 2012 as Valencia manager.

Ahead of tonight's semi-final first leg, we have all your crucial matchday information in one place, including team news, probable XIs and where you can watch the game.

When is kick off?
Thursday 29th April, 20:00 GMT
Where is the match?
Estadio de la Ceramica, Villarreal (Spain)
What TV channel is it on?
BT Sport 3

Route to the Semi-Finals

Villarreal have a hugely impressive record in the Europa League this season, with no defeats from 12 games and 11 wins in that time. They only dropped two points in the group stage and have won all six of their knock-out ties to date. They have eliminated Salzburg, Dynamo Kyiv and Dinamo Zagreb from the knock-out stage by an aggregate scoreline of 11-2.

Arsenal had a perfect record in the group stage, though twice had to come from behind to win. Since then they have dumped Benfica, Olympiacos and Slavia Prague from the knock-out stages, though have lost once and drawn twice in that time. They've certainly not been overly convincing but desperately need to win this competition to secure Champions League football for next season.

Team News 

Villarreal only have former Leicester midfielder Vicente Iborra unavailable on Thursday. Tottenham loanee Juan Foyth has excelled in recent matches in the Europa League and is expected to start at right-back, but former Arsenal midfielder Francis Coquelin will have to settle for a place on the bench against his old side. Gerard Moreno is Villarreal's star man, remarkably playing a direct hand in 33 goals across league and European competition this season.

Arsenal are boosted by the availability of Kieran Tierney, Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on Thursday. All three have recovered quicker than expected. David Luiz remains sidelined for the Gunners, but Martin Odegaard is pushing for a recall now he is back to full fitness.

Probable XIs:

Villarreal (442): Rulli; Foyth, Albiol, Torres, Pedraza; Chukwueze, Parejo, Capoue, Trigueros; Moreno, Bacca

Arsenal (4231): Leno; Bellerin, Holding, Mari, Tierney; Xhaka, Partey; Saka, Smith Rowe, Aubameyang, Lacazette

Key Battle: Samuel Chukwueze vs Bukayo Saka

This Europa League semi-final will see two of the competition's most exciting young players come head-to-head in the form of Villarreal's Samuel Chukwueze and Arsenal's Bukayo Saka.

Chukwueze has hit form at the right moment as far as Villarreal are concerned, with four goals and assists in as many games and two WhoScored Man of the Match awards in that time.

Bukayo Saka has established himself as one of Arsenal's most influential players this season, which both says a lot about the state of the club at the moment and how talented he is. The 19-year-old has played a direct hand in five goals in seven appearances in the Europa League this season.

Scoreline Prediction: Villarreal 3-1 Arsenal