Arsenal host Qarabag at the Emirates Stadium on Thursday night in their final group-stage match of this season’s Europa League.
The Gunners are already assured of top spot while their Azerbaijani visitors cannot qualify but will be playing for pride in an attempt not to finish bottom of Group E.
Here’s the lowdown on the team who will face Unai Emery’s men.
Form
The reigning Azerbaijan Premier League champions are setting about closing down current leaders Neftci Baku and sit second, just three points adrift.
Qarabag have not lost in the league since losing to their title rivals in the capital on October 28 but their Europa League form has been forgettable.
A 1-0 win away to fellow Group E minnows Vorskla Poltava is the sole positive result during the current campaign, with home defeats in all three home games against Arsenal, Vorskla and Sporting Lisbon tallying a 10-1 aggregate deficit.
History and European pedigree
Last year’s title win was Qarabag’s sixth title success and a fifth in a row as they continue to dominate their domestic competition.
They have lifted the Azerbaijan Cup on the same number of occasions, but they have struggled whenever they have entered continental tournaments.
A 17-1 aggregate score in their five matches against English opposition – all five leading to defeats (two apiece against Tottenham and Chelsea and one against Arsenal earlier this season) is a small example of the gulf between Qarabag and some of Europe’s best.
Coach
Gurban Gurbanov has been in charge for all of Qarabag’s recent success and also enjoyed a short stint in charge of the Azerbaijan national team which ended only recently.
The 46-year-old was appointed in 2008 with the former forward – who remains his country’s top goalscorer at international level – flourishing in the role.
Gurbanov is known for speaking his mind and, with Arsenal leaving Henrikh Mkhitaryan at home for the reverse fixture due to Azerbaijan’s political situation with the forward’s homeland of Armenia, he claimed the Gunners were ‘saving’ their player.
“Arsenal tried to save this player but it is not a matter for us if he is coming or not,” he said back in October.
“Arsenal may be afraid that in front of 60,000 Azerbaijani fans, Mkhitaryan has some pressure and that is why they didn’t send Mkhitaryan.”