Tough start for Arsenal in Champions League

Having made it through the qualifying round, although not very convincingly, Arsenal find themselves once again in the group stages of the UEFA Champions League. Drawn in what can be considered one of the more difficult groups, Arsenal will face home and away games against Anderlecht of Belgium, galatasary of Turkey and open off their fixtures with any away trip to Borussia Dortmund of Germany.

The trip to Dortmund is probably the most difficult game Arsenal will face in the group, with the German team strong at their home stadium, Signal Iduna Park. Having said that, Arsenal can travel there with confidence having beaten Dortmund 1-0 in their last visit to the ground. However, Arsenal did not have things all there own way last time they faced up in a Champions League group in 2013, with Dortmund turning over the Gunners by 2 goals to 1 at the Emirates Stadium.

Both teams will want to make a strong start to this season`s competition, especially with a difficult trip to Istanbul as part of their fixtures, which can always be tough. Dortmund suffered a nightmare with injuries last season and this has shown no end this time around, with Marco Reus the latest man to be stuck on the sidelines following an injury picked up when on international duty. Reus joins a list including Ciro Immobile, Mats Hummels and Marcel Schmelzer, who are working hard to try and make the game, while Jakub Blaszczykowski, Ji Dong-Won and Nuri Sahin are almost definitely out. The return of Japanese star Shinji Kagawa from Manchester United should have aided these injury woes but he also finished training early this week and remains doubtful.

Broussia Dortmund are 21/20 with bet365 to come out on top against Arsenal but the English club will fancy their chances against a team that have lost so many players to injury and have already lost a home fixture this season.

Without Olivier Giroud, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger will be hoping that Aaron Ramsey returns to full fitness in time for the game, especially as the Welshman scored the winning goal at Dortmund in 2013. Arsenal are available at 13/5 with paddypower to come away from Germany with all 3 points and given Dortmund`s lengthening injury list, they will surely be pushing for the win. Arsenal can be backed to win the match 2-1 at 11/1 with bet365 and if fit, Aaron Ramsey is 9/1 to open the scoring.

The draw is available at 13/5 for those who like to sit on the fence, however, out of their last 10 matches, Dortmund have won 6 and lost 4, which suggests they are a team that goes out to win matches, even if it results in them being opened up at their own end of the pitch. The final score may suggest a fairly tight game but do not expect Dortmund to sit back and be happy to accept a point.

Currently, both Borussia Dortmund and Arsenal are 25/1 with ladbrokes to win the Champions League this season.

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13/09/2014     © Frixo 2024