Lacazette and Willock start, Predicted Arsenal lineup (4-2-3-1) to face Real Madrid

Arsenal boss Unai Emery is likely to field his strongest possible lineup when the Gunners face Real Madrid in tonight’s International Champions Cup game at the FedEx field.

The Spanish tactician has heavily rotated his squad during the three pre-season games in the United States and the Gunners have excelled in each of those with relatively comfortable wins.

In the recent encounter against Fiorentina, Emery opted to feature several young players with the seniors coming off the bench, but the exact opposite could be witnessed against Los Blancos.

Formation: 4-2-3-1

Predicted Lineup:

Emiliano Martinez started the previous outing against La Viola in goal with Bernd Leno coming on for the second period. A swap in roles appear likely for the clash against Zinedine Zidane’s side.

In the defence, Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Sead Kolasinac are surely the best available options for the right and left-back roles respectively and the duo should feature from the off. In between them, Calum Chambers could get the nod alongside the incoming Sokratis. The duo have barely played alongside each other in the pre-season games, and Emery may consider testing the partnership.

In the centre of the park, Granit Xhaka should return to the fray after his cameo appearance last time around. Joe Willock will most certainly partner the Swiss due to his impressive pre-season form as well as the absence of several regulars including Lucas Torreira and Matteo Guendouzi after their recent international exploits. The youngster was on the scoresheet in the 3-0 win over Fiorentina after coming off the bench.

In the attack, Emery may consider a complete overhaul from the previous game and that may witness Eddie Nketiah drop to the bench despite bagging a brace against Vincenzo Montella’s side. Mesut Ozil should feature in the number 10 role with Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang flanking him either side, while Alexandre Lacazette should lead the line against the Madrid giants.

Predicted Arsenal lineup: Bernd Leno, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Calum Chambers, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Sead Kolasinac, Granit Xhaka, Joe Willock, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Mesut Ozil, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette