It’s Spain versus England in this Europa League semi-final as Villarreal host Arsenal in the first leg. The winner of the tie won’t be decided at the end of this match, but both teams involved know victory on Thursday would provide a massive boost to their chances of making it to the final. Which team will hold their nerve?

In the four previous meetings of these teams, Villarreal has never secured victory, and that will do wonders for the confidence in the away dressing room. The head-to-head stats stand at two wins for Arsenal against two draws. The last game ended in a 3-0 win for Arsenal in London in 2009 on Champions League duty. The goals that day were scored by Walcott, Adebayor and van Persie.

Villareal grind out quarter-final win

Villarreal eliminated Dynamo Zagreb in the quarter-finals thanks to a 3-1 aggregate score. They clinched a vital 1-1 draw on the road in the first leg before turning up the heat on Zagreb and winning 2-1 at this venue in the decider. Alcacer and Moreno were on target to put the game to bed before Orsic scored what was little more than a consolation goal for the beaten team.

Since that hard-fought win over Dynamo Zagreb, Villarreal has hammered Levante 5-1 in La Liga, lost 2-1 away to Alaves and was beaten 2-1 at home by Barcelona on Sunday. They gave a good account of themselves against a team challenging for the trophy and took the lead on 26 minutes but were beaten by a double from Griezmann. The locals will be eager to dust themselves down and come again.

Gunners blast out sorry Slavia

Arsenal booked their slot in the last four of the Europa League by beating Slavia Prague 5-1 on aggregate in the quarters. They did their best work in the second leg after scraping a 1-1 draw at the Emirates. The Gunners blasted Prague at the second time of asking, winning 4-0 on the road. Lacazette scored two goals in that game, with the others coming from Pepe and Saka. A polished performance. After making light work of a sorry Slavia Prague, Arsenal returned to Premier League business, where their troubles this season continued. They drew 1-1 at home to fellow Londoners and league strugglers Fulham before losing 1-0 at home to Everton on Friday night after Leno knocked the ball into his own net.

Villareal vs Arsenal prediction

Villarreal understands just how good Arsenal is, but they are the home team and are confident in this competition. The Spanish side will also take heart from the recent domestic form of the Gunners. Booking a place in the final will depend on making home advantage count. They don’t want to go to London needing the win. Arsenal must keep things tight at the back in Spain if they remain competitive in this semi-final. The visitors are capable of scoring goals but have been fragile in defence of late. That’s something the away team know they can’t get away with at this level and so late in the competition.

Europa League odds

Villarreal offers odds of 2.425 to win at 1xBet with Arsenal 2.875 and the draw 3.4.