Arsenal v Real Madrid Match Result
According to the latest betting odds, Arsenal have a 45% chance of winning this Champions League first leg encounter. They have been fairly strong in the Premier League this term, sitting second in the standings and it’s a solid achievement to amass fifty-eight points from the twenty-nine games played.
On home soil, the Gunners have won nine of their fourteen games at the Emirates Stadium, averaging two goals per home encounter. However, they are missing the cutting edge that is provided by Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz, with the pair currently sidelined and it’s unlikely that the pair will play any part in this clash.
It’s open to question as to whether that 7-1 victory away to PSV was freakish or a demonstration of Arsenal’s attacking might, with recent results including a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford and a 1-0 success against Chelsea. Although the Gunners are favourites to win the game, they are the outsiders to actually qualify for the semi-finals.
Real Madrid have a 64% chance of reaching the final four according to the Champions League betting sites. Some might think that overstates the chances of Carlo Ancelotti’s side although the bottom line is that they were comfortably able to despatch Manchester City after landing a 3-2 win at the Etihad Stadium before a 3-1 success against the champions of England.
Real found life a bit tougher against city rivals Atletico, with Los Merengues having registered a 2-1 success against their opponents in the first leg before losing the second leg by a single goal. That led to the tie being settled on penalties, with Vinicius Junior having missed a spot kick in regulation time although the champions found a way to win.
Goals Under/Over
Despite the two teams boasting plenty of attacking weaponry, the bookies think that Under 2.5 Goals is a marginally more likely outcome than Over 2.5 Goals. Arsenal are defensively strong and will certainly want to counteract their opponents, so we shouldn’t be too swayed by the fact that they put seven goals past PSV in the first leg of their last sixteen encounter.
There have only been eleven goals conceded by Arsenal in their fourteen home matches in the Premier League, with Gabriel and William Saliba arguably the strongest central defensive pairing in Europe. However, they will have to contend with the dangerous Kylian Mbappe who was able to put Manchester City to the sword two rounds ago.
Real Madrid would be happy to take a low-scoring draw into the second leg of the tie, with Carlo Ancelotti hoping that the home side can be nullified and there’s certainly been a lack of cutting edge from Arsenal in recent weeks.
BTTS
The jury is out over whether we’ll see both teams scoring or not in this game. The BTTS Yes selection is trading at a marginally shorter price than BTTS No, with three of the previous four Arsenal games involving both teams finding the net. However, two of those encounters came against PSV who had a porous defence and perhaps we’ll see a tighter game with so much at stake.
Between 5 February and 26 February, there was a run of four successive matches where BTTS No was the outcome, with Mikel Arteta keenly aware of Real Madrid’s attacking prowess and he’ll want to get the basics right. This was in evidence when defeating Chelsea by a single goal in the Premier League recently, with the Gunners actually only having 40% of possession.
It will be interesting to see how Arsenal set up, with the absence of Saka and Kai Havertz meaning that Mikel Merino could be in the false nine and the Spaniard proved the match winner recently. At the time of writing, four of the previous five Real Madrid clashes have involved BTTS Yes, with these matches all being 2-1 scorelines.
First Goalscorer
Kylian Mbappe was at the double when scoring two goals away at Villarreal and the Frenchman is likely to be a warm order when it comes to goalscorer bets along with Bet Builder wagers. The forward has scored no less than thirty goals in all competitions this term and these are the sort of games where he can continue to edge towards legendary status.
It's certainly the case that Mbappe is more prolific than any of the other Real Madrid players, although Vinicius Junior is another big game player capable of making an impact. The Brazilian could be the one to penetrate a stubborn Arsenal defence, although it’s harder to find someone reliable for the Gunners in terms of finding the net.
Merino will be familiar with his opponents and the Spaniard could be played in an advanced role, while Leandro Trossard also has the potential to operate in that centre forward position. Perhaps Bukayo Saka could be back in the fold by this point, while there might be a threat from set pieces in the form of William Saliba or Gabriel.