Arsenal To Go Through Champions League Odds
Familiar foes in the UEFA Champions League group stage, Olympiacos and Arsenal meet for the first time in both the UEFA Europa League and a knockout tie. Live Round of 32: who faces who?
- Four-pick Cross-Sport Parlay for Wednesday, February 24th (+1089): NBA, NHL, college basketball and Champions League picks We are halfway through the week, and there are plenty of games to find value.
- Euro chiefs could BAN transfers between Champions League clubs to even the odds. Enough as a Kaka-inspired Milan won 3-0 at home to go through 5-3. Arsenal have a score to settle with.
Arsenal will be looking to book their place in the last-16 of the Europa League when they take on Benfica at the Stadio Georgios Karaiskaki on Thursday.
The Gunners secured a 1-1 draw in last week’s “away” leg in Rome, leaving all to play for as they take residence in the Greek capital.
Arsenal vs Benfica Latest Odds
That draw brought an end to Arsenal's six-match winning streak in this season’s competition, although they are 3/4 (1.75) favourites to bounce back by securing a victory in Athens.
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Jorge Jesus’ men have not lost any of their last eight Europa League matches but are 10/3 (4.33) outsiders to make it through to the next round by coming out on top.
Four of the guests’ last five European games have resulted in draws, and you can get odds of 3/1 (4.00) on them playing out yet another stalemate in this one.
Arsenal vs Benfica Team News
Rob Holding will not be involved after suffering a head injury in Sunday’s defeat against Manchester City, but Thomas Partey could be back in contention.
Jardel and Andre Almeida remain the only injury absentees for the away side, who include former Tottenham players Adel Taraabt and Jan Vertonghen among their ranks.
Arsenal vs Benfica Preview
Mikel Arteta highlighted his side’s lack of ruthlessness after they missed a number of chances to add to the single away goal provided by Buyako Saka in the 1-1 draw, a result that leaves this tie on a knife-edge.
This is not a new problem for the Spaniard, whose team has scored more than once in just one of their last six fixtures - scoring only twice in the other five.
Nevertheless, with an away goal in their favour, they should back themselves to keep at bay an Aguias side that has proved at least as profligate in front of goal of late.
Indeed, the Portuguese outfit have scored no more than once in eight of their last 11 matches in all competitions, albeit conceding only 11 times themselves in that run.
Arsenal vs Benfica Tips and Predictions
All in all, odds of 10/11 (1.91) seem generous on a tense and tight affair providing no more than two goals for Arsenal’s fourth game in five and a seventh in eight for Benfica.
All odds correct at time of writing. Please gamble responsibly.
Under 2.5 goals at 10/11 (1.91) for a 1.5pt stake with bet365
Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas misses trip to Ukraine
Donbass Arena, Wednesday November 3rd: Trips to the Ukraine have not proven to be very fruitful for Arsenal in Europe, and the unhappy hunting ground has yielded just one point in four trips there. This is a tough match for Arsenal, who are looking for at least a point to guarantee qualification for the knockout stage of the Champions League, as Shakhtar are going well at the top of their domestic league and are a difficult side at home. Yes, Arsenal tore the Ukrainians apart on Match Day three, beating the visitors to the Emirates by a 5-1 score line. The return fixture is unlikely to produce quite so many goals, but Arsenal should be confident as they are in some good goal scoring form. How much will the absence of Fabregas effect them though? They have had to get through games without him this season, and if there was more importance on this match, then he probably would have traveled. There are tougher tasks ahead for Arsenal though, and that is why he doesn’t play. This isn’t the first time the two teams have met in the Champions League. They came together in the 2000/01 group stage with Arsenal taking the home tie 3-2, but then the Ukrainians overpowered them in the return fixture by a 3-0 score line. That represents the troubles that Arsenal have had on trips to the Ukraine, but now surely they are in a better position than ever to break their duck out east. Taking a look around at Shakhtar Donetsk v Arsenal betting odds, you will see that the Ukrainian team are at shorter odds than you may expect after having gotten thrashed by Arsenal just two weeks ago. It represents the threat which they can pose at home. Because this is a tricky contest to call, a good Arsenal -1 Asian Handicap fetches a very nice price of 3/1 at Bet365. A draw does look to be the most anticipated result with the online bookmakers, and a 1-1 draw Correct Score is top priced for 6/1 at 888Sport. A 1-0 Arsenal Correct Score fetches 17/2 at Bet365, while Shakhtar 1-0 is 10/1 at Unibet.
Former Arsenal striker Eduardo is the focal point of SportingBet’s deju vu Champions League promotion. As he was the last goal scorer when the two teams met two weeks ago, if he finishes the Shakhtar Donetsk v Arsenal fixture as Last Goal scorer again, then SportingBet will give refunds on all lost First Goal scorer, Anytime Goal scorer, Correct Score and Scorecast bets placed on the match. This provides a great opportunity to explore those submarkets for the match. Add to that on top a maximum £50 free bet when you open a new SportingBet account, then it all adds up to a great place to do your Champions League betting for the week.
Arsenal to win: 28/17 at Unibet
Draw: 12/5 at SkyBet
Shakhtar Donetsk to win: 2/1 at Ladbrokes
Arsenal Betting
Arsenal are again facing injury problems this season, with Captain Cesc Fabregas missing out on the trip to the Ukraine because of injury. There is not a major injury threat surrounding the Spaniard, but after feeling a little bit of pain, Gunners boss Arsene Wenger is not going to take any kind of chances with him. This is a damage limitation for Fabregas, because he has had problems with his hamstring before and there is no need to risk him. Arsenal have picked up maximum points from their three Champions League matches this season, and are three points ahead of the Ukrainians in Group H. There is no danger of Arsenal not getting through to the next round of the tournament, and sealing back to back wins against Shakhtar should pretty much guarantee that they progress as group winners. A draw would see them qualify for the knockout stage, but coming out as group winners is important, as you avoid other group winners in the draw. Arsene Wenger also has to do without Andrei Arshavin, Denilson and Alex Song for the tip, so with the absence of Fabregas, the spotlight should once again turn on England’s future midfield hope of Jack Wilshere. Wilshere put pen to paper with the London club this week, securing his future there for a good few years yet. While the Gunners really are flying the Champions League this year, the trip to the Ukraine seems to pose a few problems for them. Having suffered three defeats out of four visits there, there is an air of caution needed by Wenger. In their last away match in the Champions League, Arsenal beat Partizan Belgrade 3-1 in something of a stuttering performance. But it proved that they were good enough, nonetheless, and betting on the Gunners to pick up their first victory in the Ukraine doesn’t feel like too big a risk really. You expect Arsenal to get on the score sheet at the very least. The margin of victory won’t be as big, but a victory is a strong possibility. Arsenal to win by 1 Goal is 10/3 at Bet365 and looks to be a decent punt. In the Anytime Goal scorer market for Arsenal, you are looking for Marouane Chamakh 11/5 at Coral, Nicklas Bendtner 15/8 at Bet365, Nasri 16/5 at Unibet.
Arsenal To Go Through Champions League Odds Wild Card
Shakhtar Donetsk Betting
The Ukrainians are not really that bad of an outfit, and they will have been demoralized by the 5-1 thrashing which they received a fortnight ago on their visit to London. Having gone into that match level on points with Arsenal, the Ukrainians will have been hoping for at least a point from the match. Perhaps that will be their level of expectations for this one on their home turf, knowing that they will have gotten the hard games out of the way. Even though they were completely trounced by Arsenal, a draw is not too unreasonable a proposition for this match. Arsenal are at the stage where they should feel that they have done enough to complete their qualification, and missing their influential captain, even they may be happy to play out a draw. It would suit both sides really, and you can expect more of a stern resistance than what the Ukrainians put up against Arsenal at the Emirates. The main problem will come in trying to contain the slick attacking football that Arsenal play, and which has produced fourteen goals in three Champions League matches this season. That is enough to intimidate most defences, and those five goals have actually been the only one which they have conceded this year. Expect an overall tighter game from the Ukrainians. If you wanted to bring some kind of coverage in a Shakhtar bet, then a Draw No Bet on them is decently priced for 11/10 at BetFred. A Shakhtar Donetsk -0.25 Asian Handicap is 7/5 at Paddy Power. There is of course the reunion of Shakhtar striker Eduardo against his old club and Eduardo is 12/5 at SkyBet for Anytime Scorer.
Arsenal To Get Champions League Odds
Shakhtar Donetsk v Arsenal Betting Prediction:
Arsenal To Go Through Champions League Odds 2019
The Arsenal were thrilling and ruthless a fortnight ago against opposition which really are no pushovers. It’s a long trip out east and a draw seems the more sedate option to go with. Nonetheless, still would edge it with Arsenal.