It has been a bad week for Arsenal and Napoli both in the Premier League and in the Serie A, and now they turn their focus to the Europa League to try and turn things around.
The Gunners and the Partenopei are some of the teams who are experiencing different circumstances in the European showcase, with the former sitting pretty on top of Group B while the latter is still fighting in order to move on.
With the group stage matches coming in thick and fast, all clubs involved are feeling a sense of urgency as they vie for a place in the knockout stages.
Looking at the standings, a mix of Premier League, Serie A, Bundesliga, and La Liga standouts lead the way in the competition.
Arsenal, Tottenham, Leicester City, AS Roma, Hoffenheim, Bayer Leverkusen, Granada and Villarreal are all backed by the Europa League 2020 odds to advance, but there are still games to be played and a spot is all but guaranteed.
Without further ado, SBOTOP has you covered with the latest Europa League 2020 updates, so read on below for today’s roundup.
Nicolas Pepe looking to rediscover form
The Gunners have been a hit-or-miss team for much of the season. Arsenal may be a dangerous attacking club on paper, but their leaky defence and uninspiring play have been worrisome.
Mikel Arteta’s men sit currently at 12th in the Premier League table and they are desperately seeking for a win.
It’s a good thing for them, however, that Molde are next on their list. In the reverse fixture few weeks ago, Arsenal demolished the Norwegian side to a 4-1 victory.
One man who should benefit from this game is Nicolas Pepe, who scored a goal during the said reverse fixture.
The Arsenal forward’s form has been horrendous recently and that culiminated to being sent off last weekend after getting involved in an a headbutting incident against Leeds United’s Ezgjan Alioski.
Pepe epitomises Arsenal’s frustrations but it is not all his fault. Several pundits believe that the Ivory Coast-based forward has been misused by team manager Mikel Arteta since he wasn’t given enough chances to establish his worth.
He is a proven performer in the Europa League having scored four goals in nine games over the past two seasons, but that hasn’t carried over to the Premier League so far.
It is expected that he will start versus Molde to give rest to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Willian and this should present an opportunity for him to make a statement.
Napoli and Real Sociedad entangled in a three-way tie
Another interesting development here in the Europa League is the three-way tie over at Group F.
AZ Alkmaar, Napoli, and Real Sociedad all have six points each and this weekend’s set of fixtures can make or break their respective campaigns.
Napoli are coming off of a loss against AC Milan while Real Sociedad came out winners against Cadiz in a closer-than-expected affair.
After a hot start to their 2020/21 Serie A campaign, Napoli have lost two of their last three outings and are now six points adrift of the league leaders in AC Milan.
Gennaro Gattuso’s men will look to bounce back as they host winless Rijeka with a full squad. They have lost three straight home games and they cannot afford to accept another loss this weekend.
Meanwhile, La Real are in dreamland as they remain on top of La Liga with 23 points.
Imanol Alguacil’s men youth-laden group along with David Silva have been on a roll and they will be coming in with confidence when they visit AZ Alkmaar this Friday.
Tottenham are as dangerous as ever
Tottenham are on a high as they finally made it to the top of the Premier League table, but more work needs to be done in order to advance in the Europa League.
Jose Mourinho’s men are level with Antwerp and LASK with six points apiece, and anything but a positive result can derail their promising run.
Ludogorets will be next on their menu this weekend and they are expected to cruise by them just like how they did in the last time out.
The lethal attacking partnership of Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min will be the key factor to look out for in this contest. Meanwhile, Giovani Lo Celso remains their offencive spark off the bench.
Scoring won’t be a problem at all for the Spurs and the Ludogorets’ backline will be in for a long night.
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