Arsenal welcome Molde Norway to the Europa Leage on Thursday night. The Group B rivals are tied with six points from a possible six. A win will push one of the two clubs into pole position to qualify for the knockout stage as group winners.
Mikel Arteta's team must have a lot of confidence to enter the game. Arsenal have a run of two consecutive wins in all competitions. After beating Dundalk in the Europa League 3-0 a week ago, the Gunners went to Old Trafford and claimed a 1-0 victory. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's penalty gave Arsenal the victory.
Molde also claimed a home weekend win. Erling Moe's side claimed a 3-1 victory over Mjodalen. Molde defeated Dundalk on Matchday 2 of the Europa League 1-1 and followed that up with a 0-2 win over Rapi Wien. El Molde has +4 goal difference, two goals less than Arsenal. Arsenal have +XNUMX goal difference after two games.
Arsenal and Molde will play back-to-back matches in the Europa League. Between Europa League games, Arsenal will face Aston Villa and Leeds United in the Premier League. Can Arteta's team continue their good form and extend their lead at the top of Group B?
Arsenal vs Molde Betting Odds
Arsenal are unbeaten in eight of their 11 games in all competitions this season. Arteta's side have been impressive on the defensive side of the ball. Just eight goals were scored against Arsenal for an average of just 0,73 goals conceded per game. Arsenal averaged 1,45 goals per game across all competitions. The Gunners kept five sheets clean. Their last two games in all competitions ended in a XNUMX-XNUMX draw.
Molde started their European season in the Champions League qualifiers. Hungarian Ferencvaros knocked him out of the competition in the playoff on away goals. Molde earned a 2-1 victory over Dundalk in the first round of the Europa League. In the second round, Molde beat Rapid Wien to zero. Like Arsenal, Molde struggled to score against Rapid Wien, narrowly winning the game 1-0.
Arsenal have not been very strong in scoring in the Premier League this season. They scored only nine goals and allowed seven to their opponents. Six of Arsenal's 11 games in all competitions have ended with over 2,5 goals scored. Only four of their 11 games ended with both teams scoring. Both Arsenal Europa League games ended with over 2,5 goals scored.
Arsenal vs Molde team news
New Arsenal players Thomas Partey and Gabriel Magalhães received top ratings from spectators for their game against Manchester United at the weekend. Arsenal have been doing very well defensively this season despite their lack of goals. Arteta managed to rotate his defenders for the game, but the coach has shown that he will play with his best players if they are available in the championship.
Arteta could start the summer by signing Alex Runnarsson in goal to give Bernd Leno a chance to rest. Dani Ceballos and Granit Xhaka are options to play. Arteta could open Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Nicolas Pepe, Shkodran Mustafi and Eddie Nketiah against the Norwegians after all are on the bench for Sunday's game at Old Trafford.
Defenders Calum Chambers and Pablo Mari are out, along with striker Gabriel Martinelli. Centre-back David Luiz has almost fully recovered from a thigh strain. However, Thursday night's game may come just before he plays.
Molde striker Leke James leads the team in goals this season. James has scored nine goals and is averaging a goal every 124,1 minutes of football in all competitions. James has scored a goal in each of his last Eliteserien matches. They have yet to score in the group stage.
Prediction Arsenal vs Molde
Part-time / Full-time: Arsenal / Arsenal – BET NOW
Arsenal dominated Dundalk on day two of the Europa League. They struggled to score goals against Rapid Wien in the first half. The scorers must invade Molde in both halves of the game. Although the Norwegians are a good team, they don't play quality Arsenal teams every week. Two of Arsenal's 11 games in all competitions ended up winning at half-time and late.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to score anytime – BET NOW
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has not been doing so well since signing his new contract in the Emirates. Still, he's a brilliant attacking player who could come out on Thursday night against a Molde defense that doesn't often play forwards as well as Aubameyang. Aubameyang scored four goals in nine games in all competitions. He pocketed the winning penalty against Manchester United at the weekend. He did not play in the second round of the Europa League. He could come back into the side for the game.
More than 2,5 goals scored – BET NOW
Arsenal's two games in the Europa League this season have ended with over 2,5 goals scored. They came from behind against Rapid Wien and won 2-1. Aubameyang scored one of the goals and David Luiz the other. Against Dundalk, Arsenal had little trouble claiming a 3–0 victory. Thursday night's game should be in the difficulty range of Arsenal's matchday one against Rapid Wien.
Six of Arsenal's 11 games in all competitions have ended with over 2,5 goals scored. In both Europa League matches, more than 2,5 goals were scored. One of Molde's two Europa League group stage matches ended with over 2,5 goals.
Arteta's side have been hot and cold in La Liga this season but are playing well in the Europa League. The Gunners are expected to score 1,21 goals per league game and 8,57 shots per 90 minutes. Their offense has been much more impressive in the Europa League, where they've faced less talented teams.
Can Molde score points against Arsenal on Thursday night? That is unlikely as Arsenal will clinch victory on Matchday XNUMX and take sole control of Group B.
Source direct from EasyOdds.com website — visit there too.
