Bayer Leverkusen v Arsenal LIVE: Gunners face German strugglers in Champions League final 16
Arsenal travel to face Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen in the first leg of their Champions League last 16 tie this evening, with the Gunners hoping to put one foot in the quarter-finals as they face the struggling German club.
The Gunners remain among the favourites to win the European Cup this season and they will expect to keep their quadruple hopes alive over the next week as they face Leverkusen.
The German side have struggled domestically this term and currently sit in sixth in the Bundesliga, while they edged past Olympiacos in the knockout play-offs after finishing 16th in the league phase.
And while Mikel Arteta will know his side have to put in a professional performance tonight, he’ll be confident of taking a positive result into next week’s second leg at the Emirates.
Follow all the latest build-up, team news and updates from the BayArena below:
Team news
Arsenal travel to Leverkusen with manager Arteta confirming that centre-back William Saliba is fit to feature, while captain Martin Odegaard has been ruled out of the first leg.
Saliba, who missed Arsenal’s last two matches in all competitions with an ankle injury, returns to bolster a defence that is otherwise at full strength. However, Odegaard’s absence leaves Arsenal without their main creative hub in midfield.
Arteta added that Riccardo Calafiori and Leandro Trossard “are a possibility — we will see,” while Gabriel Magalhaes, Declan Rice and Martín Zubimendi are all available.
Team news
Leverkusen are without a number of players including Mark Flekken, Loic Bade, Lucas Vazquez and Patrik Schick.
Bayer Leverkusen vs Arsenal live
The Premier League leaders are through to the final of the Carabao Cup, where they will meet Manchester City, and they face Southampton in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.
Now led by the former Denmark manager Kasper Hjulmand, Leverkusen are sixth in the Bundesliga. They finished 16th in the Champions League group phase, picking up impressing away wins at Manchester City and Benfica, while also losing 7-2 to PSG.
Leverkusen beat Olympiacos 2-0 in the play-offs to reach the round of 16.
Good afternoon
Hello and welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of today’s Champions League match between Arsenal and Bayer Leverkusen.
The Gunners travel to Germany hoping to put one foot in the quarter-finals as they continue their bid for an unprecedented quadruple, while the Bundesliga side hope to cause an upset with a first-leg win at the BayArena.
We’ll have all the latest build-up, team news and updates right here.
