Europa League Final: Chelsea v Arsenal - preview and possible line-ups

Tom Cunild 4 years ago 24.5k |

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Chelsea face Arsenal in the first ever all-English Europa League final. BeSoccer

We look ahead to the all-English Europa League final on Wednesday as Chelsea face Arsenal 2,500 miles away from their usual London battlegrounds in Baku, Azerbaijan. Both Maurizio Sarri and Unai Emery will be looking to secure some much-needed silverware to cap off their rollercoaster first seasons managing in England, whilst a Champions League place is also on offer for Arsenal if they manage to overcome the Blues in what promises to be an intriguing matchup.

Team News

Chelsea

Chelsea will be sweating over the fitness of key centre-midfielder N'Golo Kanté, who picked up a knee injury in training on Saturday. His manager confirmed on Tuesday that he is "50/50" to play a part in the final.

Sarri will also be without English youngsters Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Callum Hudson-Odoi, who both suffered serious achilles injuries in the final weeks of the season. In fact, many Chelsea fans will feel particularly aggrieved that the former actually sustained his injury in a post-season charity friendly in the United States.

Centre-back Antonio Rüdiger is another long-term injury absentee after undergoing knee surgery last month, meaning Andreas Christensen is likely to partner David Luiz in defence.

Eden Hazard could be making his last Chelsea appearance with a move to Real Madrid seemingly on the horizon, whilst Sarri must choose between Gonzalo Higuain and Europa League specialist and top scorer Olivier Giroud to lead the line for the Blues.

May 28, 2019

Arsenal

Arsenal have no new injury worries in the buildup to the clash, with Aaron Ramsey still not recovered from a hamstring injury in time to make a final Arsenal appearance before his move to Juventus.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan will also be a high-profile absentee, as he has been forced not to travel due to political conflict between his native Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Danny Welbeck may return after recovering from an ankle injury, but other than that only long-term absentees Denis Suárez (groin), Hector Bellerín (knee) and Rob Holding (knee) will miss out.

May 25, 2019

Managers' Thoughts

Sarri wary of Aubameyang and Lacazette threat as he eyes silverware

"Usually against Arsenal, it's an open match. They have two very dangerous strikers: Lacazette and Aubameyang. They are very dangerous as a team in the offensive phase.

"They are aggressive and able to press well in the opposition half, so it's not easy to play against them", Sarri warned.

"We didn't want to play this final for the Champions League. We wanted the Champions League through the Premier League, and then we wanted to win a trophy. The final is very important for us, and our feeling is we deserve to win a trophy".

Emery stresses importance of Europa League as a competition

"The first idea thing I had to transmit to the players this season is that we go for every competition", Emery said, before revealing: "When we started playing in the first Europa League matches, some players preferred to play Premier League. OK, but I am going to decide when you are going to rest or not".

"All season, the approach to this competition has been a big focus, a big ambition to do something important. To feel this competition like we want it".