Champions League
2024-12-11 - Arsenal vs Monaco
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: UEFA Champions League Group Stage
Wednesday 11th December 2024 - Kick Off 8pm
This game is live on TV
Arsenal
Two more points were dropped in the Premier League as Arsenal failed to take advantage of a weekend where Liverpool were not in action and there is some frustration about the quality being shown in the final third. Mikel Arteta and the players will not be too concerned about the League table with just fifteen games played, but the fans will be aware that a long, winning run is needed to get Arsenal closer to Liverpool in the title race.
The busy festive period will continue with another round of Champions League games and there is a real benefit of finishing in the top eight to avoid having to play an extra Knock Out tie in February. The win over Sporting in Lisbon has put Arsenal back in a position to secure one of those top eight places and they have back to back Champions League games at the Emirates to effectively ensure earning a place directly in the Last 16.
Arsenal looked to have momentum having won 4 straight games in all competitions following the 1-1 draw at Chelsea, but another 1-1 draw in West London has snapped that run. The Gunners have won 7 of their last 8 games at the Emirates Stadium in all competitions and have three big fixtures in a row coming up as Arsenal look to make progress in three different competitions.
Gabriel, Riccardo Calafiori and Oleksandr Zinchenko all missed out on Sunday and have to be considered doubts with risks unlikely to be taken considering the amount of fixtures coming up. Rotation has to be expected from the manager to just keep things fresh enough.
Monaco
If you were to say one of the French contingent playing in the Champions League Group Stage were looking good for a top eight place, most would expect Paris Saint-Germain to be that team. However, it is Monaco leading the way out of the four teams from Ligue 1 taking part in the Champions League, while the fans will also enjoy seeing PSG in 25th place in the big Group table.
Match Day 5 proved to be a frustrating one for Monaco as they were reduced to ten men and then conceded two goals with less than 10 minutes left to fall to a 2-3 home defeat to Benfica. It has just dropped the team into 8th place in the Champions League Group, but Monaco are still in a decent position, albeit with three tough fixtures left to play.
Monaco had lost consecutive games against Benfica and Marseille, but a 2-0 win over Toulouse has just ensured the team are still firmly in the domestic title mix. The side had won 3 of 4 away games in all competitions before blowing a lead in the 2-1 loss at Marseille, while Monaco have drawn 2-2 at Dinamo Zagreb and won 0-1 at Bologna in away Champions League games.
Wilfried Singo was the man sent off in the defeat to Benfica and will serve his ban and he is joined by Christian Mawissa who is also suspended. The away team are dealing with a pretty long injury list ahead of this fixture.
Head to Head
These two clubs met in the Last 16 of the Champions League in 2015, a tie that was won on away goals by Monaco.
Arsenal were beaten 1-3 at the Emirates Stadium before winning 0-2 in Monaco in the Second Leg.
Prediction
It looked like a late Bukayo Saka goal was going to earn Arsenal three priceless points in the London derby at Craven Cottage, but a narrow offside call meant that goal was ruled out and the side dropped two more points in the Premier League.
This will be frustrating with the chance to move to within 4 points of leaders Liverpool, but Mikel Arteta will want his team to be calm and to bounce back on Wednesday.
Injuries in defensive areas are hurting Arsenal, but they were not really troubled by Fulham and it was more the wastefulness in the final third that proved to be costly.
The attacking players just need to find a spark that helps them cause more problems from open play and once again the talk is that Arsenal are lacking a natural striker that could make all the difference for them.
Right now there is nothing they can do to address that and instead the manager and the players have to work through some of the issues that is making creating chances in open play more difficult than from set pieces.
This feels a good chance to address some of those issues with Arsenal facing a Monaco team hit hard by suspension and injury. Being able to host is another bonus for Arsenal and they should have the quality to beat this French club, much as they did Paris Saint-Germain when the French Champions visited earlier in the Group Stage.
Monaco have been in decent enough form of late, but the home loss to Benfica on Match Day 5 will have hurt and leaves them vulnerable in the race for a top eight finish. Winning here will change the momentum, but Monaco might just struggle to cope with the English Premier League host, especially with a number of squad members absent for different reasons.
They were 2-0 down at Dinamo Zagreb earlier in the Group before fighting back for a 2-2 draw, but this feels like a fixture that may end up being a pretty routine win for Arsenal. The home team should have the top names out to start before Mikel Arteta makes changes with the Premier League fixture against Everton in mind and Arsenal can cover the Asian Handicap in a home win.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Arsenal 3-0 Monaco
FIXED ODDS BETTING TIP :
I'll back Arsenal - 1.5 Asian Handicap at 1.90 with Bet365
