Matchplug

This season’s Europa League offers Arsene Wenger his last chance to win a European trophy as an Arsenal manager and also the last chance to win a trophy for the Gunners as he steps down from his role at the end of the season, yet the Gunners made the job of getting to the final more difficult for themselves last  Thursday.

Atletico Madrid had been reduced to ten men in the first half and Alexandre Lacazette gave the Gunners the lead on the 61st minute, yet some shambolic defending meant the Gunners conceded an equalizer with just 8 minutes remaining.

They would now need to win or at least get a high scoring draw in Madrid to progress, something their away form does not show could happen.

Atletico defeated Alaves 1-0 after the draw at the Emirates to make it two wins, three draws and two losses from their last seven competitive games.

They have also made their home a fortress as they have not tasted defeat at the Wanda Metropolitana since their loss to Sevilla in January. They also impressively come into this match having not conceded a goal at home in 11 games, it is almost impossible to see the Gunners breaking that record.

Arsenal have six losses from their last nine away games, and they have not won any league game away from home this year, their fans won’t be overly optimistic, but they have a good away record in Europe this season.

Since they confirmed their safety, Doncaster have hit poor form, perhaps the fact that they have nothing to play for has made them complacent as they look forward to the new season.

Wimbledon on the other hand still have a battle on their hands. They are close to securing safety, so they need at least a draw from this game so they can relax their nerves ahead of next weekend. They drew 1-1 against the division’s likely champions the last time out and that should give them confidence ahead of this game.

This game does not have the making of a goal fest if for anything it is set to go down as a low scoring affair as both sides do not play the most attacking football. The hosts are struggling for goals at the moment, while the visitors have built their season around a defensive tactic and they need just a single point to confirm their safety.

Wimbledon’s draw against Wigan in their last match day means a draw would keep them in the division and they should get that here as they have mastered the art of defending well against the big teams.

The last game which Wimbledon won by 2-0 was the first time these teams have met before.

In the first leg of this semifinal, Real Madrid were not at their very best, yet they got the win they need to make this return leg theirs for the taking.

Los Blancos fell behind 1-0 in Germany after Keylor Navas was easily beaten by Joshua Kimmich at the far post. However, they came back from the dead to win that game 2-1 thanks to a Marco Asensio winner.

They would now look to get to their third successive final with another win here.

Zinedine Zidane rested star men like Christiano Ronaldo and Sergio Ramos in their weekend 2-1 win over Levante and he would be giving them the start here and hopes that their freshness would help them get to the finals.  Bayern Munich did rest their star men too at the weekend and that could see this act by both managers having no bearing on the game.

Real Madrid do not have the best recent record at home. Los Blancos have failed to win more than once in their last four competitive home games, they have lost at home against Villarreal and Levante, losing on four occasions in their last 14 home games.

Bayern Munich have seven wins from their last nine competitive games. In the Champions League this season, they have won 8 of 11 games, and 13 of their last 14 away games in all competitions have ended in wins for them.

This would be the last clash between  Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger as Arsenal boss with the French man expected to depart the Emirates when the season comes to an end.

The 22 years that Wenger has spent with the Gunners has come with ups and downs, but he would want to end on a high note by getting one over his old foe, Mourinho and perhaps winning the Europa League too.

Jose Mourinho is looking to end the season in the second position as well as winning the FA Cup, the latter is remaining one game against Chelsea at Wembley.

They got there by beating Spurs 2-1 last weekend, that win means they have won six of their last seven competitive games, West Brom being the only team to avoid a  defeat in that time.

Arsenal should have given up on qualifying for the Champions League via the top four now and their focus would be on winning the Europa League, even that route won’t be an easy one for them. They drew against ten men Atletico Madrid on Thursday to set up and a tough away match for themselves in Spain. The Gunners have not won an away league game in their last five attempts, losing all, and they have also only won thrice away from home all season.