Champions League Last 16 2nd Leg
Wednesday 13th March 2013 - Kick Off: 19:45
Following Manchester United’s dramatic exit last week, the only Premier League club remaining in the Champions League are Arsenal. They travel to the Allianz Arena in Germany on Wednesday to face Bayern Munich and attempt to perform the miracle of qualifying for the next round, to say it won’t be easy for them is like saying that Lionel Messi is ‘quite good’ at football.
Arsenal found themselves in a situation similar to this last year where they pulled an epic comeback out of nowhere against AC Milan following a pummelling at the San Siro. The difference was that the second leg took place at the Emirates and Arsenal had the home advantage, this time, they’re sailing into very stormy waters indeed.
Bayern are looking like a good bet to win the competition outright now having fallen short of the trophy multiple times in the last few years, not only will they be hungry for it, but they’re due to get the rub of the green too. You can have a punt on Bayern going all the way at 16/5 with Paddy Power which are odds you’ll want to jump on before Wednesday’s game drives them down.
Arsenal could make a comeback, but I’m not Bayern it…
Arsenal seem to be taking one step forward and two steps back at the moment, their swiss cheese defence is looking likely to fall victim to the absurd attacking force Bayern have to choose from. There is little point betting outright on Bayern to win as the bookies are naturally favouring them hugely, but if you fancy Bayern to serve Arsene his own Arsenal on a plate and win by three you Ladbrokes are offering 19/4.
If, because you know something we don’t, you think that Arsenal will show up and snatch the next round from Bayern’s hands, Bet365 are offering you reckless mavericks 25/1 on the Gunners qualifying. Could be worth a punt but given the fact that they’re away from home, I can’t see this happening.
Too Kroos for comfort?
Bayern have some astonishing talent at their disposal and have been laying waste to all who stand in their path this year in the Bundesliga. Even their defenders are threatening in the final third which means that there are a few bets that are begging to be made. The young German Toni Kroos netted first in the first leg and is 7/1 with Betfair to repeat this on Wednesday, alternatively Bayern’s goal machine Mario Gomez is at 7/2 with Coral to get his name first on the scoresheet.
Arsenal could run out all-guns-blazing as they more or less have to go for broke at the Allianz Arena, Theo Walcott is undoubtedly Arsenal’s biggest threat and is at 4/1 with SkyBet to score at any time during the match. Paddy Power are feeling generous and have the pacey winger at 40/1 to score a brace which is certainly not beyond the realms of possibility… But it’s pretty damn close.
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Click to ClaimJack produces topical blogs for Howtobet4free tackling the key issues in the world of sport. Jack also publishes articles for a number of publications each week, and can be found on Twitter by following @JWinterr.
