Eintracht Frankfurt vs Arsenal: TV channel, live stream, team news & preview

Arsenal’s Europa League campaign gets underway again Eintracht Frankfurt at the Commerzbank-Arena on Thursday.

The Gunners made it all the way to the final of the competition last year before being defeated by Chelsea and will hope to go one better this time around.

Their Bundesliga opponents also have some pedigree in Europe in recent seasons, having reached the semi-finals last time out only to lose to the Blues on penalties after a couple of 1-1 draws.

After knocking out Shakhtar Donetsk, Inter and Benfica along the way last term, Arsenal should be well aware of their opponents’ threat.

TV Channel, Live Stream & How To Watch

For UK readers, get your fix on the latest football on TV here! US readers can find out what soccer is on TV here!

In the United States (US), the game can be watched  live and on-demand with fuboTV (7-day free trial) .

New users can sign up for a free seven-day trial of the live sports streaming service, which can be accessed via iOS, Android, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, Roku and Apple TV as well as on a web browser.

In the UK, the match will be shown on BT Sport 2 and can be streamed via BT Sport Live.

Squads & Team News

Marco Russ is out with an ankle problem for the hosts, while Lucas Torro and Jonathan de Guzman cannot play as they are not included in the Europa League squad.

Mijat Gacinovic will need a late check but the feeling is that he will not be able to shake a groin problem in time to play.

Frankfurt starting XI: Trapp; Abraham, Hasebe, Hinteregger; Da Costa, Kohr, Sow, Kostic; Kamada; Dost, Silva

Kieran Tierney remains out because of a hip problem but should be available to make his Arsenal debut in the near future. Hector Bellerin is also close to a return but not yet available. Rob Holding may be fit to make the squad.

Alexandre Lacazette has been ruled out until October with a left ankle problem.

Mesut Ozil and Sokratis have both been left in London after Emery opted to rest the duo.

Arsenal starting XI: Martinez; Chambers, Mustafi, Luiz, Kolasinac; Torreira, Xhaka, Willock; Smith Rowe, Aubameyang, Saka

Betting & Match Odds

Arsenal start as favourites at 5/4 with bet365 . Eintracht Frankfurt can be backed at 21/20 while a draw is on offer at 5/2.

Click here to see all of bet365's offers for the game, including goalscoring markets, correct score predictions and more.

Match Preview

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Arsenal’s strong run in the Europa League last season managed to salvage Unai Emery’s first season in charge of the Gunners, but as the dawn breaks on another European campaign, the focus for the Emirates Stadium outfit will be fixed on a return to the Champions League.

It has been an inauspicious start domestically for the north Londoners, who have earned eight points from their opening five Premier League matches, but after a 2-2 draw with Watford, the pressure is already starting to grow on the manager as the Gunners lie seventh in the early standings.

“I've got to put it on the manager,” club legend Paul Merson told Sky Sports after witnessing Arsenal throw away a 2-0 lead. “Only Arsenal would give them a chance to get back in the game. The shackles came off and Watford felt like they had nothing to lose, but the manager got it horribly wrong.”

Midfielder Granit Xhaka perhaps gave the most damning assessment of the Gunners’ performance, though.

“We were too scared, nobody wanted the ball,” the Switzerland international said.

An immediate response is needed to placate the fans and on Thursday, they will face an Eintracht Frankfurt side who have made a similarly average start in Germany. They have two wins and two defeats to their credit from four matches, while even qualifying for the group stage was something of a slog as they had to recover from a 1-0 first-leg deficit against Strasbourg to progress.

Frankfurt have shown two faces this season, one at home, where they have strung together five successive victories, and another on the road, where they have lost three on the spin by a single goal, including a 2-1 reverse last Saturday in Augsburg.

The home side, though, have an exceptional record in the group stages of the competition, having won six from six last season, scoring 17 and conceding only one.

If there is anyone with the Europa League nous to crack such a puzzle, though, it is Emery, who has won the competition three times with Sevilla and who will take charge of a competition-record 75th match in this clash.