Arsenal v Zurich: No Swiss miss for rampant Gunners

• Arsenal have won 11 home games in a row
• Zurich bottom of their league in Switzerland
• Arsenal won reverse fixture 2-1

Arsenal v Zurich
Thursday 03 October, 20:00
Live on BT Sport

Gunners still have work to do

In a season full of highs, the odd low can be a timely and humbling punch in the face, especially if it doesn't cost you much. Arsenal suffered only their second competitive defeat of the season last Thursday, as they were beaten 2-0 at PSV Eindhoven.

That loss means the Gunners have to beat Swiss champions Zurich to make sure they qualify for the last 16 automatically as group winners. A draw or a defeat could allow PSV to pip them, either on points total or head-to-head record.

Such a failure would be costly - it would give Mikel Arteta's side two extra games to fit into a congested schedule, as it would hand them a play-off against a team dropping down from the Champions League.

Arsenal did at least bounce back in style, crushing Nottingham Forest 5-0 at the Emirates to maintain top spot in the Premier League. Reiss Nelson underlined his recent revival with a brace, and Thomas Partey crashed in the kind of long-range drive that is fast becoming his stock in trade.

Arsenal have now won all eight of their competitive home games this term, and stretching back into last season it's a sequence of 11 straight victories on home soil. Across those 11 wins, the Gunners have fired in 33 goals at a rate of exactly three per game.

Arteta picked a strong side in Eindhoven, with Aaron Ramsdale, William Saliba, Granit Xhaka, Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Martinelli. With such an important prize on the line, I imagine Arteta will once again plump for a strong side to get top spot locked down. Xhaka is suspended, while Oleksandr Zinchenko and Bukayo Saka are injured.

UEL has been a bust for Zurich

It's been a disastrous season for Zurich, a far cry from last season's title-winning heroics. This is a side that was dubbed as the "champions from nowhere" last term, such was the shock nature of their success under wily German coach Andre Breietenreiter.

Sadly for fans of FCZ, the team is returning to obscurity at alarming speed. Breitenreiter went home to coach Hoffenheim, they lost top scorer Assan Ceesay to Italian football, and Italian international forward Wilfired Gnonto went to Leeds United (he teed up Crysencio Summerville's weekend winner at Anfield).

In the Swiss Super League, Zurich are bottom, with just nine points collected from their 14 matches. They have flickered into life recently, beating Bodo Glimt 2-1 in the UEL and winning 1-0 at Sion in the league, but this is still a side that's well short of where it was last term.

Since Breitenreiter's replacement Franco Foda was sacked in September, the team has tightened up (they drew 0-0 recently with both Young Boys and Basel), and Foda's replacement Bo Henriksen deserves credit for that.

Zurich have a host of players out injured, including Swiss international midfielder Blerim Dzemaili and much-travelled Austrian forward Donis Avdijaj. I wouldn't expect too many changes from the side that won at the weekend.

Hosts to show this is a mismatch

Arsenal have an excellent home record against weaker opposition, and they have shown a real ruthless streak this term. We can use the Sportsbook's Bet Builder to back Arsenal to be winning at full time and half time, to win by two goals or more and for there to be more than three goals in the game at 2.021/1. A 3-0 or 3-1 home win would do the trick, and I can see that happening.

Fabulous Fabio can shine

Summer signing Fabio Vieira has had some lovely moments for Arsenal in the Europa League this term, and had started all five UEL games so far. He's available at evens to score or assist, and against weak opposition I think that's an attractive price.

It's also worth considering the in-form Nelson to score at 2.77/4 - he's been catching the eye recently, and took his goals very well against Forest. With Saka far from fully fit, Nelson may be handed a start.