Champions League
2010-10-19 - Arsenal vs Shakhtar Donetsk
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football : Champions League Matchday 3
Tuesday 19 October 2010 - Kickoff 7:45pm
This game is live on TV
Arsenal (6 Points)
Arsenal will be looking to cement their place in the last 16 of this competition as soon as possible, and will know if they can pick up 4 points from their double header against the Ukranians, they will have qualified and virtually locked up top spot in the Group. This is imperative for Arsene Wenger who will want his squad to have as much rest as possible before the notoriously hectic Christmas schedule in England. Arsenal beat Sporting Braga 6-0 at home before an impressive 1-3 win in Partizan Belgrade.
The Gunners sit in 3rd in the English Premier League with only a 5 point gap to Chelsea at the top of the table. This is not a bad position to be in considering the injuries the side has faced at this early stage, although a trip to the City of Manchester Stadium on Sunday should tell us more about the team. Arsenal are 3-0-1 at the Emirates in England, scoring 12 goals and conceding 5.
Arsenal had failed to win 3 Premier League games in a row before the win over Birmingham City here on Saturday. However, they continued their success in the Champions League and the Carling Cup during that time. They have won 4 of 5 games played at the Emirates Stadium this season. The Gunners have lost just 1 out of 25 Champions League games at their new home, and no team outside of England has won here.
The injury issues seem to be clearing up a little for Arsene Wenger who will be able to welcome back his Captain Cesc Fabregas. Nicolas Bendtner and Theo Walcott are also available and Jack Wilshire is only serving a domestic suspension. Laurent Koscielny, Thomas Vermaelen and Bacary Sagna remain sidelined.
Shakhtar Donetsk (6 Points)
Shakhtar Donetsk are in the same position as Arsenal at this stage of the competition and will also be well aware of the importance of picking up 4 points from this double header. They scraped a 1-0 home win over Partizan Belgrade before a thumping 0-3 win at Sporting Braga.
The team currently leads the way in the Ukranian Premier Division, compiling an 11-1-1 record to go 5 points clear at the top of the League. Shakhtar are 4-1-1 away from home, scoring 9 goals and conceding just 4.
Shakhtar will have gained some confidence from the 0-2 win they gained at local rivals Metalurh Donetsk on Friday. They have won 13 of their last 14 games and are currently riding a 7 game winning run coming into the game. Shakhtar have won 3 in a row away from home, including at Braga, since losing 1-0 at Obolon.
Dmytro Chygrynskiy and Yaroslav Rakitskiy both returned from injury in their last game and should be good to go here. Fernandinho is out while Douglas Costa, who was linked with a move to England before signing for the Ukranian giants, has been included in the squad although his fitness is a concern.
Head to Head
These two sides met at the start of the century when both shared home wins during the group stages of this competition. On that occasion, Arsenal had to come from a goal down to win 3-2 against Shakhtar.
Arsenal have met fellow Ukranians Dynamo Kiev on 3 occasions at home and recorded 2 wins and a draw. Shakhtar have played English opposition in each of the last 2 seasons. They beat Tottenham Hotspur on aggregate after earning a draw in London, while last season they were knocked out of the Europa League to Fulham after losing 2-1 in London.
Prediction
Injuries are beginning to clear up for the Gunners and there is a lot of quality in the squad for Arsene Wenger to pick from. I would be concerned with their defensive issues, issues that were highlighted by Birmingham City on Saturday, but what you can guarantee is goals from Arsenal at the Emirates.
Shakhtar Donetsk are obviously full of confidence due to results they have obtained in recent weeks and they come to London to pick up a positive result. The team has some real quality players at the disposal of the manager and I can see them causing problems here.
I think the Ukranian team might just score here, but I also think Arsenal score too often at home and will do enough to win. I would be more confident if Cesc Fabregas plays as anticipated, but I will take the price on the home win and for Arsenal to put one foot into the last 16.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Arsenal 2-1 Shakhtar Donetsk
FIXED ODDS BETTING TIP :
Take Arsenal to WIN
