Arsenal v Barcelona Preview
Arsenal face Barcelona in the last 16 of the Champions League again on Wednesday night. Barcelona came out on top with a 6-3 win in last year’s meetings. The first leg at the Emirates Stadium resulted in a 2-2 draw and another draw is a good prospect this week.
Barcelona won 4-1 at the Nou Camp thanks to Lionel Messi’s four goals. He has great value to score first against Arsenal with 4/1 odds at Paddy Powder. He has 37 goals on the season, including five scores in his last three fixtures. He has 13 goals in his last 11 Champions League matches.
On the Arsenal side, Robin Van Persie is in form with nine goals in his last five matches in the Premier League. His odds to score first are 6/1 at Paddy Powder. We should see plenty of goals since Arsenal were tied for top scorers in the Champions League group stages and Barcelona have 71 goals in La Liga this season. And, Arsenal have only one clean sheet in their last eight European fixtures. Their last result was a 4-4 draw with Newcastle. It bodes well for the 4 or more goals market which has 6/4 odds at Paddy Powder.
The Gunners haven’t lost to a side outside of England in a home match since 2003 but Arsene Wenger has some injuries to deal with. Josep Guardiola’s side had 16 straight wins in La Liga until the weekend when they had a 1-1 draw at Sporting Gijon. Barcelona have just one win in their last six away matches in the Champions League, and drew two of three matches in the group stages. Also, three of the previous five matches between Arsenal and Barcelona have drawn a red card. A red card in 90 minutes has 7/2 odds at Paddy Powder.
Arsenal v Barcelona Match Odds (supplied by Paddy Powder)
Arsenal: 3/1
Draw: 5/2
Barcelona: 10/11