Vitória v Arsenal Europa League preview: where to watch, predicted line-ups, team news

Vitória SC and Arsenal get UEFA Europa League Matchday 4 under way at 16:50 CET on Wednesday 6 November. This page will update with team news, quotes and expert analysis as kick-off approaches.

VITÓRIA SC V ARSENAL: BUILD-UP

Where to watch the game on TV

Fans can find their local UEFA Champions League broadcast partner(s) here.

Ivo Vieira, Vitória SC coach
"The first game left us thinking that we could have got a different result, a positive one, but this will be a different game; more difficult for both teams given what we now know from each other. We'll have to measure things well, find a good balance between attack and defence, so that Arsenal can't play to their strengths and cause us trouble. It will be a game in which two attack-minded teams, who like to put on a good show, are playing to win."

Unai Emery, Arsenal manager
"We have a lot of work to do to improve and for us to take confidence. We were speaking this morning about our moment and ... looking forward to see the team again and to see how we can respond against Guimarães away. This competition is very important for us and if we win tomorrow we are going to be first in the table. That's our target."

Possible line-ups

Vitória: Douglas; Rochinha, Tapsoba, Pedro Henrique, Florent; Mikel Agu, Lucas Evangelista, Davidson; Bonatini, Edwards, Bruno Duarte
Out: Jhonathan (knee), Wakaso (knee), Joseph (knee), André André (fitness), John (muscular), Sacko (muscular), Bondarenko (finger), Miguel Oliveira (knee)
Doubtful: Victor García (ankle)

Arsenal: Martínez; Bellerín, Mustafi, Holding, Kolasinac; Willock, Torreira, Ceballos; Saka, Pépé, Martinelii
Out: Nelson (knee), Xhaka (not selected)
Doubtful: none

The state of play

Arsenal will be through if they win and Standard Liège do not beat Frankfurt in the other Group F fixture.

Reporters' views

Andy Brassell, Arsenal reporter
Arsenal go to northern Portugal aiming to seal qualification for the UEFA Europa League knockout stages with a fourth straight win. They were impressed – and perhaps a little surprised – by Vitória's quality in the teams' first meeting, so we can expect a more focused display from the Gunners this time around.

Carlos Machado, Vitória reporter
Although their position in the Group F table doesn't lie, don't discount the hosts here. The Portuguese outfit held their own in the away encounter, only to run out of steam at the last. Vitória have a non-negotiable style of play – a clear identy regardless of the opponent. Ex-Spurs player Marcus Edwards will have extra motivation against his former side's north London rivals.

Previous meetings

• The clubs' Matchday 3 meeting was their first in UEFA competition. Two late free-kicks from Nicolas Pépé earned Arsenal a dramatic 3-2 home win, maintaining the Gunners' perfect Group F record while leaving Vitória SC without a point.

• Although they have now lost on all three visits to England, Vitória are unbeaten at home to English clubs (W1 D2). They were, however, knocked out of the 2008/09 UEFA Cup in the most recent encounter after conceding twice in extra time to draw 2-2 against Portsmouth, having lost the first leg 2-0.

• Arsenal have won only one of their six UEFA fixtures in Portugal (D2 L3), though that was the most recent, last season's 1-0 victory at Sporting CP on Matchday 3 ending a run of three straight defeats in the country – all in the UEFA Champions League.

Form guide

Vitória SC
• Fifth in the Portuguese Liga last season, Vitória qualified for their fifth European campaign this decade and first since 2017/18, when they finished fourth in their UEFA Europa League group.

• Qualifying wins in the summer against Jeunesse Esch (1-0 a, 4-0 h), Ventspils (3-0 a, 6-0 h) and FCSB (0-0 a, 1-0 h) enabled the Guimaraes side to make a third appearance in the UEFA Europa League group stage. They have yet to make further progress in the competition, however, coming third in their section on their debut in 2013/14. Back in 2005/06 they also finished bottom of their UEFA Cup group.

• Vitória won all three of their qualifying home games this summer, scoring 11 goals and conceding none – but a sequence of six European matches unbeaten in Guimaraes (W4 D2) ended on Matchday 2 against Eintracht Frankfurt.

Arsenal
• UEFA Champions League ever-presents for 19 successive seasons from 1998/99 to 2016/17, Arsenal reached the UEFA Europa League semi-finals at the first attempt in 2017/18, losing to eventual winners Atlético; they went one step further and made it to last season's final, where they were defeated 4-1 by London rivals Chelsea.

• Fifth place in the 2018/19 Premier League secured a third consecutive UEFA Europa League group stage berth for the Gunners, who had won five European games in a row – one against Rennes, two apiece against Napoli and Valencia – before the final loss in Baku.

• The 1999/2000 UEFA Cup runners-up won all three away fixtures without conceding in last season's group stage, having won two out of three in 2017/18, a 1-0 reverse at Köln the lone exception. Their overall away record in the UEFA Europa League is W10 D1 L4, with 28 goals scored and 12 conceded.

Links and trivia

• London-born England youth international Marcus Edwards, who opened the scoring on Matchday 3, joined Vitória this summer from Arsenal's local rivals Tottenham Hotspur, where he was an academy graduate but made just one League Cup substitute appearance for the first team.

• Léo Bonatini is currently on loan to Vitória from Wolverhampton Wanderers, for whom he made six Premier League outings last season. His current team-mate Ola John also briefly played on loan for Wolves in 2016/17 after spending all of the previous campaign at another English club, Reading.

• Arsenal defender David Luiz played in Portugal for Benfica from 2007 to 2011, winning the Liga title in 2009/10.

Arsenal have a perfect Group F record©Getty Images

• Arsenal are one of only two sides to have won all three UEFA Europa League group stage fixtures this term, along with Sevilla (Group A). Their tally of ten goals scored is also the highest in the competition.

The coaches

• An unexpected sixth-placed finish with Moreirense in the 2018/19 Portuguese Liga – his only season with the club – earned Ivo Vieira a summer move to a Vitória SC team that finished on the same number of points but one place higher. A native of Madeira, he spent his entire playing career on the island with Nacional, which is where he also started his coaching path. Indeed, he did not work in mainland Portugal until May 2016 when he was handed the coaching reins at second-tier Aves. He subsequently took charge of Académica Coimbra and Estoril.

• After two years with Paris Saint-Germain that yielded seven domestic trophies, Unai Emery was appointed as Arsenal manager in May 2018, replacing the long-serving Arsène Wenger. The Spaniard oversaw Sevilla's historic hat-trick of successes in the UEFA Europa League from 2013/14 to 2015/16, having assumed control following a four-year tenure at Valencia and a brief stint with Spartak Moskva. A finalist again with the Gunners in 2018/19, he has been in charge of more UEFA Europa League games than any other coach, this being his 78th.