Champions League Betting – Arsenal at Bayern Munich

Arsenal (+600) at Bayern Munich (-250), Draw (+375)

Arsenal saved their Champions League season last weekend, upsetting Bayern Munich (2-0) in the third fixture of the tournament. But the Gunners aren’t out of the woods yet, having dropped their first two matches. They’ll likely need at least a point from their rematch with Bayern in order to advance to the knockout stage. Arsenal and Bayern will square off in Munich next Wednesday (November 4 at 2:45 PM Eastern).

The win over Bayern Munich is unprecedented territory for Arsene Wenger’s squad, which has long underperformed against top European teams. It was Arsenal’s first win at home against Bayern in three chances.

Though the two UCL setbacks had them behind the eight-ball, Arsenal remained confident thanks to a strong start in the Premier League.

“We have been fantastic in the [Premier] League, the two games before in the Champions League weren’t great, but the confidence is flowing through the team and you can just sense that, and I think a lot of teams are starting to be a bit wary of that,” said forward Theo Walcott in a press conference after the win.

Despite the loss, Bayern Munich still lead Group F with six points; the setback in London was their first of the season, including both the UCL and Bundesliga. Olympiakos are also on six points after beating Arsenal and Dinamo Zagreb, while the Gunners are third with three points, leading the Zagreb on goal differential.

Bayern head into Wednesday’s rematch as heavy favorites and deserve to be. Not only have they only suffered one loss on the year, they’ve won seven straight UCL matches at home. Their last setback came in the 2013-14 semifinal against eventual champions Real Madrid (4-0). The team has averaged an astounding 3.8 goals per game since then, while surrendering a paltry 0.4 goals against.

Oddly enough, Arsenal’s best games against the Bavarians have come in Munich, drawing (1-1) in 2014 and winning (2-0) in 2013. But don’t expect that trend to continue. Arsenal’s win won’t be repeated in Munich.  Bayern is one the top teams in the World and are almost unstoppable at home.

Pick: Bayern Munich (-250). 

(Photo credit: Singha94 [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.)