Arsenal make the trip to France to face Rennes in the Europa League last 16 this week looking to build on their four-match unbeaten streak in all competitions.
Rennes play host to the Gunners at Roazhon Park with the club sitting in 10th position in the Ligue 1 standings.
Rennes
© Reuters
Rennes would have been hopeful of a significant run in the Europa League when they qualified in May, but the French outfit needed to warm into the competition before emerging as a potential dark horse to lift the trophy at the end of the season.
Three defeats - including two against Chelsea's last-16 opponents Dynamo Kiev - were recorded in their opening four games, but they are now four matches unbeaten and have already secured the scalp of Real Betis.
Rennes were the underdogs to progress against the La Liga side, but a 3-1 triumph in Spain in the second leg would have made their rivals in this tournament take notice of the threat which they have to offer.
Julien Stephan's team have also put together a fine run of form on the domestic front, with a place being secured in the Coupe de France semi-finals and seven points coming from their last four outings in Ligue 1.
Les Rouges et Noirs lost out to Reims in the middle of February but a 1-1 draw was recorded against Marseille in their last top-flight fixture, and it will help put the team in a positive frame of mind ahead of the visit of Arsenal.
Rennes will have also gone a week without a fixture by the time that the match begins on Thursday evening, and that could prove to be an advantage over an Arsenal team who have been playing games every few days.
No player has stood out in Ligue 1 as far as goals are concerned with the club's top scorers - Hatem Ben Arfa and Ismaila Sarr - contributing just five strikes apiece, but the pair have also provided five goals between them in Europe and will be a big threat to the Gunners.
The defence has not kept a clean sheet against a Ligue 1 side since February 10, however, and that will be a concern ahead of the second leg at the Emirates Stadium.
Recent form: LLWWDW
Recent form (all competitions): WDLWDW
Arsenal
© Reuters
Arsenal had to work much harder than they would have wanted in order to progress past BATE Borisov in the last 32, but the manner of that victory may benefit Unai Emery and his players going forward.
There is little doubting that Arsenal were poor in the first leg in Belarus, but the 3-0 triumph in North London has acted as the catalyst for a run of form which has left the club's supporters full of optimism.
Seven goals were scored in Premier League fixtures against Southampton and Bournemouth over the course of three days, and Arsenal were unfortunate not to come away with all three points against Tottenham Hotspur last weekend.
Emery watched his team deliver a resolute performance, but a controversial equaliser resulted in a share of the spoils for their fierce rivals.
However, there are signs that Emery is beginning to get the best out of his players after a mid-season slump which included seven defeats in 14 games, and their improvements have come at the right time.
Attempting to prevail from the double-header with Rennes will be a tough test with a home game with Manchester United coming either side of the two legs, but Emery has rotated his squad in recent matches and more players are beginning to make positive contributions.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan has been the standout with two goals and three assists coming from 244 minutes of football, while Aaron Ramsey and Mesut Ozil are now reaching full fitness and will be assets over the coming games.
However, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is under pressure to improve with just one goal coming from his last three starts and three substitute outings in all competitions.
Recent form: WDWWLW
Recent form (all competitions): WLWWWD
Team News
© Reuters
Arsenal will be without Alexandre Lacazette, who serves the second of a three-match ban for his sending-off against BATE.
Lucas Torreira's domestic suspension will mean that he starts on Thursday night, while Petr Cech is likely to replace Bernd Leno between the sticks.
Emery may take the opportunity to rest Laurent Koscielny due to the club's upcoming fixtures, and that could lead to Ainsley Maitland-Niles getting a start at right-back.
Ozil is expected to get the nod over Aaron Ramsey, with Ramsey having played the majority of the North London derby at the weekend.
Rennes will be without the suspended Hamari Traore and M'Baye Niang, but Benjamin Andre is available again after serving a ban in the club's last Europa League fixture.
Jordan Siebatcheu, Romain Danze, Abdoulaye Diallo and Ludovic Baal are all sidelined for the French club.
Rennes possible starting lineup:
Koubek; Zeffane, Silva, Mexer, Bensebaini; Sarr, Andre, Grenier, Del Castillo; Ben Arfa; Hunou
Arsenal possible starting lineup:
Cech; Maitland-Niles, Mustafi, Papastathopoulos, Kolasinac; Xhaka, Torreira; Mkhitaryan, Ozil, Iwobi; Aubameyang
Head To Head
The two clubs will be meeting in an official match for the first time in their history.
Rennes have never faced an English side in Europe but they did play two games against Celtic in the group stages of the Europa League in 2011, with a 1-1 draw being recorded at home and a 3-1 defeat coming in Glasgow.
We say: Rennes 1-1 Arsenal
We are anticipating a competitive contest on Thursday. Arsenal are the favourites, but they will also have one eye on Sunday's showdown with Manchester United, and we feel that could lead to Rennes claiming a scoring draw.
Darren Plant
