Arsenal take on Porto tonight at the Emirates, hoping to overcome a 2-1 deficit sustained from the first leg. Their task is made harder by the fact that their talismanic captain Cesc Fabregas will be missing, after he sustained a hamstring injury in the win over Burnley on Saturday. Manuel Almunia will captain the side in his absence.
Porto have not been performing well domestically this season, and are currently 11 points behind leaders Benfica. They drew their last match against minnows Olhanense, and suffered a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Sporting Lisbon before that. Arsenal, on the other hand, are in great form, and have won four games on the trot.
The Gunners are the favourites for the match, priced at 7/10 (bet £100 to make £70 profit). Porto are priced at 5/1, and the draw, which would send Arsenal out, is at 14/5.
Despite their deficit, Arsenal are still favourites to go through, priced at 8/11, while Porto are 6/5 to emerge victorious after the match.
A 1-0 win will see Arsenal qualify on away goals, and it is the favourite scoreline for the match, priced at 13/2. A 1-1 draw and a 2-0 win for Arsenal are both priced at 7/1, while a 2-1 win is priced at 8/1 with Ladbrokes. A goalless draw is priced at 11/1, and a 3-0 Arsenal win is offered at 13/1 by Paddy Power. A 1-0 Porto win is priced at 16/1.
On the half time / full time market, Victor Chandler offer the best odds on Arsenal / Arsenal at 17/10. Draw / Arsenal is the next most likely, at 7/2, followed by draw / draw, which Coral offer at 11/2. Porto / Porto is priced at 11/1 with Stan James, and draw / Porto is at 14/1.
Arsenal’s Nicklas Bendtner, who missed three sitters last weekend, is the favourite to open the scoring, priced at 11/2. He is followed by Andrey Arshavin at 6/1, and Eduardo, who is at 8/1. Theo Walcott is priced at 9/1 with Betfred to do the honours, and Porto’s best bet, Falcao, is at the same price. Tomas Rosicky is at 10/1.
Porto have history in the competition, having won it twice, most recently in 2004 under Jose Mourinho. Arsenal’s best performance was in 2005, when they made the final, only to lose to Barcelona. They also made it to the semi-finals last year, only to be dismantled by Man Utd and Cristiano Ronaldo. Arsenal are priced at 14/1 with Coral to win the competition this year, and Porto are at 66/1 with Stan James.
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