UEFA Champions League football betting - Arsenal vs Barcelona

Anyone who enjoys watching a truly excellent display of attacking football should do everything they can to get to the Emirates Stadium tonight as two teams who pride themselves on their aesthetically pleasing style meet in the Champions League. Defending champions Barcelona are in London to face Arsenal for a place in the semi-finals of club football`s most prestigious competition and Pep Guardiola`s side will be looking for a lead to take back with them for the second leg in Spain.

The visitors, who won an unprecedented six competitions last year, are favourites for the game at 11/8 (bet £8 to win £11 profit), leaving Arsenal as underdogs on their own turf at 23/10 with the draw at 12/5 with Coral. The Gunners` 1-1 draw at Birmingham on Saturday snapped a streak of six wins in a row in all competitions but after winning thirteen of their sixteen home games this season they will be confident that they can return to winning ways. However, Barcelona have won their last five, keeping clean sheets in four of these, and have lost only once away from home all season.

The bookmakers seem to think that Arsenal`s home advantage means that tonight`s game will be very even and have made a 1-1 draw the favourite score at 6/1, followed by a 1-0 win for Barca at 17/2 with Skybet. A 2-1 win for the visitors, the score last time the sides met in the 2006 final, is priced at 9/1, with 1-0 to Arsenal at the same price and 2-0 at 14/1.

Argentine Lionel Messi has been made favourite to open the scoring tonight for Barcelona at 9/2 with Coral. The Barcelona forward has scored thirty-two goals in all competitions this season and shows no signs of slowing down, recently hitting back-to-back hat-tricks. He is followed in the betting by Zlatan Ibrahimovic at 6/1, with former Arsenal legend Thierry Henry 17/2 to come back to haunt those who used to worship him.

For Arsenal, Cesc Fabregas, Andrei Arshavin and Nicholas Bendtner are all available at 8/1 to break to deadlock tonight. Fabregas was brought up through the ranks of Barcelona`s youth system and is another player for whom tonight`s game carries extra emotional significance.

Barcelona are 3/1 to get going early tonight and lead at both half-time and full-time and 5/1 with William Hill to win the match after drawing at half-time. The bookmakers offer 9/2 that both halves end in a draw and Arsenal are 5/1 with Bet365 to be in front at both the interval and the final whistle. Draw/Arsenal is available at 6/1.

With two of their main rivals in the form of Chelsea and Real Madrid eliminated from the Champions League early this season Barcelona have been made decent favourites at 9/4 to successfully defend their crown, with their opponents tonight 11/1 to win their first silverware for five years in dramatic fashion.

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