Standard Liege v Arsenal: form, injuries, key players, line-ups

Editor’s note:  this article was forwarded by Phil to Untold Arsenal yesterday, before the extent of the injury list was fully known.  Since the article was written we’ve heard that Van Persie is out injured.

Standard Liege v Arsenal: form, injuries, key players, line-ups

By Phil Gregory.

Standard Liege, Belgian champions for the last two seasons, are Arsenal’s first opponents in Group H.

Many disregard Standard as a credible threat, but they were arguably the strongest team in pot four after German champions Wolfsburg.   Anybody still holding perceptions of a walkover should cast their mind back thirteen months to when Standard were held to a draw at home against Liverpool despite dominating.

Fellaini hit the inside of the post early on, and Liege had a penalty saved after a Dossena handball. Liverpool ultimately scraped through with a Kuyt winner in extra time at Anfield, but fans and pundits alike agreed Standard were the better side over the two legs of the qualifying tie.

If you followed the Confederations Cup during the summer you will be pleased to know that US international Oguchi Onyewu no longer plays for Standard, having signed for Milan on a free during the summer.

Recent form:

Ten points from six games in the Jupiler league, including four draws, is an unimpressive start though it would be a mistake to underestimate Standard. No doubt they themselves will be citing two consecutive Arsenal losses as a reason to be confident.

Injuries:

Club captain and star player Steven Defour is out injured for the entire group stage, though Axel Witsel is likely to feature as his ban only covers domestic matches.

Key men:

Our leaky defence, which hasn’t kept a clean sheet since Celtic away, will be up against Serbian international Milan Jovanovic who boasts five goals already this season. Jovanovic put in a stellar performance against Everton during last season’s UEFA cup, with Standard winning 2-1 at home after Everton grabbed a 2-2 draw with a late goal at Goodison.

Eduardo’s successful appeal will mean he is likely to be playing against Axel Witsel, recipient of an eight match ban for a horror tackle on Polish right back Marcin Wasilewski. Witsel, who has been heavily linked with the star clubs of Europe, is likely to play a holding role for Standard.

Arsenal predicted lineup:

Mannone

Sagna Vermaelen Gallas Clichy

Song

Fabregas Diaby

Bendtner Van Persie Eduardo

Subs: Szczseny, Silvestre, Eboue, Rosicky, Ramsey, Watt, Wilshere.

I genuinely can’t see Wenger wanting to make as many changes as he has been forced to.   Despite recent criticism, Almunia is clearly our best goalkeeper and is a big loss.

Diaby will most likely slot back into midfield as Denilson’s replacement, with doubts remaining over Ramsey’s ability to cope with the pressure of big away games.

Rosicky is unlikely to be risked as a starter but  expect another cameo appearance from the Czech playmaker if we need a goal. Eduardo will likely slot in wide if Wenger decides to stick to 433.

Another option of course is switching back to 442, with a midfield of Bendtner wide right, Song and Fabregas in the middle and Diaby wide left as we saw at times last season, as the 433 could be argued to be a little light defensively for a tricky away game.

Prediction:

Tricky. I’m going to be optimistic and plump for 2-1 to the Arsenal.

It’s not convincing by any means, but I think this is a harder game than United’s at Besiktas I don’t feel confident in us keeping a clean sheet, though they are going to find it harder to create without Defour. Hopefully with Song having been substituted last game he’ll be fit to put in a hardworking 90 minutes which will be key.

The bench offers options offensively, so don’t panic if we’re still level as the game goes on.  We are all very keen to see a reaction after the recent forays to Manchester, but we’re more likely to see that against poor old Wigan at home.

An alternative version of events by the attendants at All Tomorrow’s Parties will appear on Wednesday afternoon (UK time).