How bitter will it be for FCZ?
On the last matchday in Group A in the Europa League, Arsenal and FC Zurich will face each other directly, first and last in the table.
This means that the group win is not yet in the bag. For that to happen, the Londoners would need to record a win to keep the Eredivisie “lamps” at a sufficient distance should they also win in the other group game.
Theoretically, there is still something at stake for the visitors: at least third place, which would mean staying in the Conference League, is within striking distance.
For the match at the Etihad Stadium between Arsenal and FC Zurich, however, the tip is for a clear home victory with at least a three-goal difference.
It’s also worth taking a look at the World Cup 2022 match schedule to get a quick and clear overview of the schedule for the upcoming World Cup in Qatar from the first match day to the final on 18 December.
Arsenal – Statistics & current form
The “Gunners” rank first in the domestic Premier League as well as in the Europa League. After twelve rounds of matches, the Londoners already have ten wins and only one defeat at Manchester United had to be conceded.
The capital’s performance so far this season has been very impressive. With the team’s stars sometimes getting a breather in European matches, players from the second tier have successfully stepped into the breach.
Nketiah is very comfortable in the Europa League
An example in the attack is Eddie Nketiah. The Briton also makes regular appearances in the Premier League for Arsenal, but they are usually short stints.
In the Europa League, coach Mikael Arteta has given him much more playing time and the 23-year-old has repaid that trust with some very decent performances.
With two goals, he is the best scorer for the home side. Nketiah was also efficient in the first leg against Zurich, which Arsenal won 2-1. The attacking player set up a goal and scored one on top of that.
His good performances in the Europa League are not a new pattern: Already last season, Nketiah played eight games in the competition for the Londoners and recorded three goals and one assist.
Will the Euro backup strike again?
In view of these points, the odds on his next goal celebration in the clash between Arsenal and Zurich are also of interest. Predictions on a home win, including an interval lead for the home side, are also available.
The home side may not be at their best again, but the second string, as described, can also be described as clearly better than the visitors.
For this reason, the weak visitors’ defence, averaging three goals conceded per group game, will probably not see the break without conceding a goal.
Predicted Arsenal line-up:
Ramsdala – Holding – Tomiyasu – Saliba – Tierney – Xhaka – Lokonga – Odegaard – Vieira – Martinelli – Nketiah
Last matches played by Arsenal:
Premier League
30/10/2022 – Arsenal FC 5 – 0 Nottingham Forest
Europa League Grp. A
27/10/2022 – PSV Eindhoven 2 – 0 FC Arsenal
Premier League
23/10/2022 – Southampton 1 – 1 FC Arsenal
Europa League Grp. A
20/10/2022 – FC Arsenal 1 – 0 PSV Eindhoven
Premier League
16/10/2022 – Leeds 0 – 1 FC Arsenal
FC Zurich – Statistics & current form
The Swiss initially recorded four defeats within the group stage of the current edition of the Europa League, but most recently they recorded their first treble. Thanks to the win against the Norwegians Bodo/Glimt, the visitors now have another chance to finish third.
However, this chance is rather slim in view of the fact that the direct comparison with Bodo/Glimt can only be achieved by a better goal difference in the case of a points tie.
Their own goal difference is currently much worse and the Swiss first have to register a point at Arsenal anyway for this scenario to be possible in the event of a parallel defeat by the Scandinavians.
Zurich also carry the “red lantern” in the Super League
The country’s champions are also only in last place in the domestic Super League. For the champions, this represents a maximum possible fall. It is obvious that after the departure of Andre Breitenreiter after the championship season, the coaching chair was miscast.
Franco Foda succeeded the man from Lower Saxony, but the ex-coach of the Austrian national team was unable to celebrate a league victory within the first eight rounds of matches and only picked up two points with FCZ.
Unsurprisingly, this result led to Foda’s dismissal in mid-September, but the season continued to be bumpy under his successor Bo Henriksen. It was not until the fifth game under his leadership that the Dane was able to celebrate a success.
The aforementioned victory against Bodo/Glimt was celebrated. In the dress rehearsal last weekend, however, the second victory followed against Sion.
Whether the first two wins under Henriksen are the prelude to a sustained upswing remains to be seen.
Leavings were not compensated for
The reasons for the crash this season were not only the departure of Breitenreiter as a successful coach, but also of a personnel nature.
Before the season, the best goal-scorer of the previous season in the person of Assan Ceesay turned his back on the club and in the defence, they also lost a powerful player in the Limmatstadt with Ousmane Doumbia.
Against this backdrop, it must be noted that the quality that left the squad was apparently not compensated for by adequate additions.
Predicted line-up of FC Zurich:
Brecher – Katic – Kamberi – Boranijasevic – Aliti – Guerrero – Selnaes – Conde – Dzemaili – Okita – Aiyegun
Last matches played by FC Zurich:
Super League
30/10/2022 – FC Sion 0 – 1 FC Zurich
Europa League Grp. A
27/10/2022 – FC Zurich 2 – 1 Bodö/Glimt
Super League
23/10/2022 – FC Zurich 1 – 4 Grasshopper Club
21/10/2022 – FC Basel 1893 0 – 0 FC Zurich
16/10/2022 – FC Zurich 0 – 0 BSC Young Boys
Arsenal – FC Zurich Direct comparison / H2H balance
The teams have only faced each other once before. The match took place last September and ended with a 2-1 victory for the British team at the Kybunpark in St. Gallen, where Zurich had moved to and thus did not play at home in the Letzigrund as usual.
Arsenal – FC Zurich Tip
In the clash between Arsenal and FC Zurich, the tip is for a home win with at least a three-goal difference. The home side are top of the group, but they can only defend this position with a three-goal win, which is why they will be so focused.
The squad, however, would still be clearly better even with another increased use of bench players, compared to the limited personnel options of the Zurich side.
In addition, the guests’ performances so far speak in favour of this prediction: FCZ have only not lost the last of their five group matches so far and their mini-chance of third place is rather theoretical.
Moreover, the situation in the domestic Super League is so precarious that the club’s focus is mainly on this and less on the European stage. Having already conceded 15 goals in the five group matches they have played, the Swiss are also travelling to the tournament with a defence full of holes.
