H2H: Vitória Guimarães vs. Arsenal London – Prediction (Europa League

Preview and Teams Comparison.

Vitória Guimarães have only won one of their eight previous meetings with English sides in all competitions (D3 L4), beating Aston Villa 1-0 in September 1983.

Guimaraes meet Arsenal for only the second time looking to get their first UEFA Europa League (UEL) point after three defeats from three. Encouragingly, they are unbeaten at home in Europe versus English opposition (W1, D2) and have lost only four of their last 26 at home in all competitions, winning 16. Edmond Tapsoba is Guimaraes’ top UEL scorer this season (including qualifiers) with three. He’s also netted in their last two league games, both penalties. A run of just one win in their last six competitive games is cause for concern going into this must-win encounter. However, they are usually defensively secure, with the opposition netting more than once in just three of their past 27 games at home in all competitions.

Arsenal have won only one of their six UEFA away fixtures in Portugal (W1, D2, L3). Guimaraes have failed to win seven of their last ten competitive home games when conceding. Each of Arsenal’s last six UEL matches finished with over 2.5 goals, with five over 3.5.

Arsenal have control of Group F thanks to three wins from three, including beating Guimaraes 3-2 at home. That means they’ve scored at least three goals in five of their last six UEL matches. However, they’ve won just two of their last eight Premier League fixtures, and have won only one of their last six away in all competitions. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s last four UEL goals for Arsenal have come away from home. Away boss Unai Emery will want his team to sharpen up defensively after they conceded ten goals in their last four competitive fixtures. Being secure at the back could be the key to success here, considering five of Arsenal’s eight wins this season were with a clean sheet.