Can Arsenal get through this tough match this evening? They failed at the Nou Camp last year but they have that priceless victory from the first leg in their locker this time so that sets us up for a fantastic tie tonight.
As of lunchtime the best odds available are:
Barcelona 1/3
Draw 11/2
Arsenal 8/1
Barca are obviously pretty strong favourites, and the odds reflect this, but there is value to be found if you delve deep enough.
Both teams have injury problems with Walcott & Song missing for Arsenal whilst Barcelona have to do without their usual centre-back pairing of Pique & Puyol. Most pundits agree that Barca will have the lions share of possession, as they did in the first leg, but many also agree that Arsenal are better playing the counter attack game.
One player who will be crucial for the gunners tonight is Andrey Arshavin. He is coming into form right now and with Walcott missing he will be required to step up to the plate tonight. He performed well against Sunderland at the weekend and was unlucky to see a legitimate goal chalked off. Sportingbet's 11/2 to score at anytime looks a decent bet to me, especially with Barcelona's 2nd choice centre-back pairing tonight.
While many people would consider it foolish to back an Gunners victory tonight, we do like the look of Arsenal with a 2 goal head start. Stan James has this priced at 11/10 while almost all other bookmakers have it as an odds on shot.
So can the Gunners do it? One statistic makes interesting reading, Arsenal have won the first leg at home 15 times in Europe and have gone on to qualify in 14 of those games.
A good omen? Hopefully!!
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