The first leg of this Champions League tie finished in a convincing 5-1 victory for the German side. This tie is effectively over now so Arsenal are simply looking to avoid humiliation.
The 5-1 defeat in Munich was the trigger for another load of pressure to be put onto Arsene Wenger’s shoulders, pressure which increased even more at the weekend as his side went down 3-1 to fellow Champions League chasers Liverpool.
The Gunners are a very good attacking side and it is no surprise that they are among the Premier League’s top scorers with 55 goals in 26 league games. However, they lack the defensive resilience against the big clubs to mount any sort of challenge in any major competitions. Their last three matches against “big teams” have ended in a 11-3 aggregate defeat – a huge gulf.
Arsenal are good at home and have won five of their last six matches at the Emirates in all competitions. However, again it is a question of whether they can pull it off against the bigger teams. Winning against the likes of Burnley and Crystal Palace (no disrespect) on home turf is totally different to going up against the likes of Bayern.
Unsurprisingly, Bayern are currently top of the Bundesliga and have a seven-point cushion over nearest rivals RB Leipzig. Carlo Ancelotti’s men are undefeated in all matches since losing to FC Rostov in the Champions League back in late November.
Again, it comes as no surprise that Bayern are sublime in both boxes with an incredible 57 scored and just 13 conceded in 23 league games. Additionally, they have kept clean sheets in their last three matches in all competitions.
That aforementioned defeat in Rostov was also Bayern’s last away loss. However, it is perhaps worth noting that they have lost three of their last four Champions League matches on the road whilst they have won just one away European match since 9th December 2015.
This away record is of course questionable and many will think Bayern may take the foot off the gas in this tie knowing that they are pretty much already through to the next stage. However, I think, with Arsenal so low on confidence at the moment, even if Bayern played at 70% capacity, they’ll still have far too much quality. Ancelotti will not take any risks with his line-up here and I expect them to prove too good once again. Backing Bayern to Win, at 13/10, is certainly worth a go.
See more Champions League tips here.