Chelsea vs Schalke
Wednesday 6th November: 7.45pm
The two English sides in this Wednesday’s round of the Champions League had vastly different fortunes this weekend. Chelsea slumped to a shock 2-0 defeat to Newcastle whereas Arsenal were able to leap five points clear at the top of the Premier League after an impressive victory over Liverpool. However, two weeks back in the reverse of these fixtures you have Chelsea dominating Schalke in Germany and Arsenal being undone at the Emirates. Never easy, this gambling stuff!
Good thing we’re here for you.
Chelsea to get back on track
Chelsea haven’t dropped points since the opening day of the Champions League and the bookies reckon this run isn’t going to be ending on Wednesday, with Coral offering best odds of 2/5 for Chelsea to run away victors in this tie. Schalke are as big as 8/1 with a SkyBet, but the German’s sneaking a draw is 17/4 with UniBet.
Because of the short odds and how rampant Chelsea were in the away leg of this fixture, we like the look of a Chelsea win to Nil, which is at 29/20 with Coral. Without poacher Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Schalke have struggled to find the net against superior opponents this year, scoring only a single goal in the four games against teams above them in the Bundesliga.
Oscar to steal the show?
It’s been a case of the supporting cast carrying the lead actor for much of Chelsea’s season so far. The three offensively minded midfielders have been supplying the goals in the absence of the forwards, and we expect this to continue tonight. The Brazilian number 10 has bagged four this season and one in the Champions League already this year, and for him to score and Chelsea to win is at 14/5 with BetFred.
Borussia Dortmund vs Arsenal
Wednesday 6th November: 7.45pm
Gunners up against it in Westphalia
Arsenal’s group has been named this year’s group of death, and aptly so. In the eyes of the bookmakers, Arsenal’s hopes here look similarly morbid, with BetVictor placing them at 4/1. A share of the spoils in Germany is available at 16/5 with Bet365 whilst a home win for Dortmund is available for 8/11 with StanJames.
Dortmund have a day more rest than Arsenal and the home advantage, but we don’t think the game will be as one sided as the odds may well suggest.
Where the smart money lies
When you have the Premier League leaders facing the Champions League runners up, perhaps we shouldn’t be looking at picking a result out. Last time these two met two weeks ago, Arsenal failed to get into the flow of their passing game, but one thing that was impressive about the Gunners’ display was Olivier Giroud’s domination of the Dortmund back line. He was tirelessly hassling, winning headers and out-muscling the Dortmund defence and was rewarded with a goal just before half time. For him to repeat this and score anytime is at 11/4 with BetFred.
The two sides are among the most clinical in Europe this season, and Over 2.5 Goals in this game is available at WilliamHill at 1/2 as a reasonably safe bet.
And for those who are thinking this is more than one step too far for the Arsenal hype train, you may well be tempted by a Robert Lewandowski hat trick, which is available at 25/1 with SkyBet.
Fancy a Champions League accumulator too? Why not check out our free Bet Calculator and let it work out the odds for you!
Min deposit requirement. Free Bets are paid as Bet Credits and are available for use upon settlement of qualifying bets. Min odds, bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. Time limits and T&Cs apply
Click to ClaimJordan is a University of Southampton graduate who produces blogs and betting previews for Howtobet4free as well as running the popular @howtobet4free_ Twitter account on matchdays.
