News Focus
- The Champions League semi-final second leg kicks off at 21:00 CEST at the Emirates Stadium
- The tie is level at 1-1 after the first leg in Madrid
- Bukayo Saka returns to the Arsenal squad after recovering from injury
- Mikel Arteta is expected to make at least three changes to his starting line-up
- Diego Simeone may stick with the same team that played in the first leg
Arsenal will face Atletico Madrid at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night for the second leg of their Champions League semi-final. The match starts at 21:00 CEST. The first leg finished 1-1, so both teams have equal chances to reach the final in Budapest.
The Gunners are slight favourites to win the tie. They will play either Bayern Munich or Paris Saint-Germain in the final if they progress. However, Atletico remain confident they can cause an upset in North London.
Bukayo Saka has recovered from his injury. He played his first match in over a month last weekend. Both Martin Odegaard and Kai Havertz are now fit, according to manager Mikel Arteta. However, the Spanish coach might not start them. Mikel Merino and Jurrien Timber are unavailable for selection.
Atletico boss Diego Simeone cannot call upon Nicolas Gonzalez and Pablo Barrios. Both players are injured. There are also fitness doubts about Julian Alvarez, Giuliano Simeone and Alexander Sorloth.
Spanish newspapers Diario AS and Marca believe Simeone will use a similar team to the first leg. Some reports suggest Robin Le Normand could replace Giuliano Simeone. This would mean Marc Pubill plays at right-back and Marcos Llorente moves into midfield.
Arteta plans to change his right flank completely. Saka is likely to replace Cristhian Mosquera in the starting eleven. Eberechi Eze may play behind striker Viktor Gyokeres. There is uncertainty about the left wing position. Gabriel Martinelli might keep his place, or Leandro Trossard could start instead.
Both Havertz and Odegaard might begin the match on the substitutes’ bench. Havertz missed the first leg through injury. Odegaard did not play in the 3-0 victory against Fulham at the weekend.
Atletico defeated Valencia 2-0 away on Saturday. Simeone rested many key players for that match. Only Le Normand started from the team expected to face Arsenal.