There is still a perception that England has some of the best soccer in the world. Though the Premier League might be the deepest of all of the leagues across Europe, there's no doubt that the top of La Liga is stronger than the top of any league anywhere else on the planet. That's why Barcelona, a team poised to win the La Liga title this year, is favored on the road against Arsenal, a team which could still capture the EPL championship, in the first leg of the last 16 tie between these two behemoths in the Champions League.
Soccer Odds at BookMaker.eu
Arsenal +415
Barcelona -157
Draw +315
Over/Under 3 (under -115)
ODDS ANALYSIS
Barcelona is favored just about everywhere it goes, and London is apparently not an exception. The Gunners are tremendous here at the Emirates, but this is a fixture which appears to be over their heads. They're going to have a good backing from the locals in arguably the most important match of the season, but they're deservedly over a 4 to 1 longshot against one of the best teams on the planet.
Barca is the -157 favorite on the road and is teetering on being favored by a full ball on the Asian Handicap.
The total of a flat 3 is the highest amongst all of the first legs of the Champions League matches in the Round of 16.
KEY INJURIES
Outside of Rafinha, who has been out for the last 44 matches which Barcelona has played, the Catalans come into this match in pretty good shape on the injury front.
The same can't be said for Arsenal, which still has a long list of injuries headed by Santiago Cazorla, Tomas Rosicky and Jack Wilshere. Gabriel Paulista, who has been forced into a starting role thanks to all of the injuries, is expected to be available after sitting out the last two weeks with a hamstring injury, though it's unknown whether he will be amongst the Starting XI selections on Tuesday night or not.
QUOTE TO NOTE
"That is another competition – a different tie over 180 minutes. For sure, they will be a difficult rival, one with the quality to give us problems. It will be difficult. They all are." – Barcelona manager Luis Enrique on the trip to Arsenal on Tuesday night
RECENT FORM
Barca has now gone 32 consecutive matches across all competitions without a defeat, though for sure, this is one of their harder challenges. None of the regulars were rested in a 2-1 win at Las Palmas on Saturday, a match which represented a third straight win for the Catalan side.
Arsenal has gone through the agony and the ecstasy of late. The team was drab in a scoreless draw against Hull City which will setup a fifth round replay somewhere in the next week or two. The Gunners though, did beat Leicester City just before that in the dying moments in a match which kept their Premier League title hopes alive.
ANALYSIS AND ODDS PREDICTION
Arsenal almost has to play this match close to the vest and try to pick its spots on the counterattack against a team which loves to play with possession of the ball. The big problem though, is that we just don't trust that Petr Cech, for all the experience which he has at this level, can keep the back of his net clean.
The combination of Neymar, Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi is just too good to be kept off of the stat sheet, and these three are going to cause all sorts of problems for Per Mertesacker, Laurent Koscielny and the rest at the back for Arsenal. The Gunners might find the scoring sheet, but we still think they're going to find themselves effectively eliminated from the Champions League at home on Tuesday night.
Barcelona 3, Arsenal 1
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