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A place in the May 16 final is on the line Thursday night as Atlético Madrid and Arsenal meet in the second leg of their Europa League semifinal.
Last week, a 10-man Atlético battled bravely and took their one big chance to nab an away goal in London. Antoine Griezmann’s 82nd minute strike levelled the scores at 1-1, and it is arguably advantage Atlético entering the return leg.
Arsenal very much want to send off Arsène Wenger with a Europa League win, but on Thursday they will need to score at a stadium that hasn’t seen a visiting team celebrate a goal since Jan. 20. Atlético have kept 11 consecutive clean sheets at A Stadium Called Wanda and will welcome back several key players following Sunday’s squad rotation at Alavés.
| CONVOCATORIA
— Atlético de Madrid (@Atleti) May 2, 2018
¡Ya tenemos la lista para el #AtletiArsenal de la vuelta de semifinales de la @EuropaLeague! #AúpaAtleti #UEL pic.twitter.com/Hpda8f0NvG
Griezmann, José Giménez, Saúl Ñíguez and Jan Oblak are all in the squad and all will start. Vitolo stands to be handed a second straight start after an impressive display at the weekend. Thomas is expected to take up right back with Šime Vrsaljko suspended after his first leg red card and Juanfran likely done for the season. Staying on the suspension front, Diego Simeone has been given a touchline ban following his ejection at Emirates Stadium — Mono Burgos will roam the technical area instead.
And though it isn’t anticipated he plays Thursday, Filipe Luís is available 48 days after he broke his leg against Lokomotiv Moscow. What a man.
Possible XI
Oblak; Thomas, Giménez, Godín, Lucas; Saúl, Gabi, Koke, Vitolo; Griezmann, Diego Costa.
Scoreline prediction
Atlético Madrid 2-0 Arsenal.
How to watch
Date: May 3, 2018
Location: Estadio Wanda Metropolitano, Madrid, Spain
Kickoff time: 21:05 CEST, 20:05 GMT/BST, 3:05 p.m. EST, 12:05 p.m. PST
SB Nation opposition blog: The Short Fuse
Available TV/streaming: beIN Sports, Movistar+ (Spain), BT Sport 2, BT Sport Live (United Kingdom), ESPN Deportes, Fox Sports 1, fuboTV, WatchESPN (United States), beIN Sports 2 (France), Canal+ Sport 2 Afrique (Ghana), Sina Sports (China)
For more listings, head over to livesoccertv.com.