Arsenal will look to make it two wins from two in the league phase of the Champions League on Tuesday night as they welcome Lille to the Emirates.
After heading into the prolonged international break off the back of a 3-0 defeat away at Brighton, it looked like Arsenal were going to drop more points at the weekend as they trailed Leeds United 0-1 10 minutes into the second half.
However, goals from Ricardo Calafiori and new signing Bruno Guimaraes turned the game around and gave Mikel Arteta’s men all three points.
As well as winning five of their opening six Premier League fixtures this season, the Gunners have also won their league phase opener, with last season’s beaten finalists winning 0-1 in Naples against Napoli – on an evening I landed a 20/21 winner.
Similarly, after suffering their first defeat of the Ligue 1 season away at Nice before the international break, Lille returned to winning ways at home at the weekend, as they defeated bottom side Le Havre 1-0 at home.
Davide Ancelotti’s men have now picked up 13 points across their opening six league outings (W4-D1-L1), leaving them in second spot, just a point behind leaders Monaco.
However, Led Dogues’ lost their league phase opener as they were beaten 2-3 at home by Real Betis.
How the bookies view it: Arsenal clear favourites
As expected, Arsenal are clear favourites to maintain their 100% start to the league phase, with bet365 pricing a home success at just 2/9.
Lille are massive 11/1 underdogs to leave North London with all three points, whilst the draw is also unfancied at 5/1.
Head to head: First-ever meeting
Tuesday night’s clash at the Emirates will be the first-ever competitive meeting between these two clubs.
Players to watch: More magic from Martin?
Martin Odegaard was the hero in Naples, as his strike in the 75th minute sealed all three points for the Gunners.
That’s one of three goals for the Arsenal skipper this season – and given he assisted four times for Norway over the prolonged international break – I like the 11/10 on offer at bet365 for the Norwegian to Score or Assist at the Emirates on Tuesday.
Backed a player to find the net? Check our Goalscorer Betting guide to see how the markets work and where to find value.
Predicted line-ups:
Arsenal will be without William Saliba, Christos Tzolis, and Piero Hincapie due to injury.
Lille will miss Ethan Mbappe after his red card against Real Betis on MD1, while ex-Rangers forward Hamza Igamane is out long-term with an injury.
Arsenal: Raya, White, Konsa, Gabriel, Calafiori, Guimaraes, Rice, Saka, Odegaard, Eze, Gyokeres
Lille: Ozer, Ngoy, Nianzou, Ribeiro, Perraud, Andre, Bentaleb, Haraldsson, Bakwa, Kjaegaard, Ueda
Anything else catch the eye?
Arsenal are just 2/9 to collect all three points in North London on Tuesday night, but backing them to Win to Nil boosts the price to a more backable 10/11.
Mikel Arteta’s men conceded just seven goals on route to the final last season – winning to nil in eight of their 11 victories.
What’s more, the Gunners kept a clean sheet against Napoli in their league phase opener, which only adds to the appeal.
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