LONDON, Sporting Alert – Arsenal head into Tuesday night Champions League Group F clash with Olympiakos at Emirates Stadium as the 2/5 favourites.
The are 6/1 to win the game 1-0.
Watch Arsenal v Olympiakos Live Stream On UEFA.com
The Gunners suffered a shocking 2-1 defeat at Dinamo Zagreb in Match Day 1, but Sky Bet is backing the English Premier League outfits to bounce back with a victory at home against Olympiakos who themselves were beaten by group favourites Bayern Munich in their opener.
Sky Bet is listing Olympiakos at 13/2 to pull off the win on the road, but Arsene Wenger has also warned his Arsenal team that it must take full advantage of playing at home – citing that maximum nine-points at the Emirates is a must if they are to move past the group stage.
“You have to win your home games if you want to qualify from the group stage – it’s as simple as that,” Wenger said on the www.uefa.com. “We cannot afford to drop points now against anybody at home.”
The odds of the game ending in a draw is 15/4.
In their six previous head-to-head meetings, Arsenal have won three and Olympiakos won the next three, with none ending in a draw.
TEAM NEWS
In Arsenal team news, Mathieu Flamini and Mikel Arteta were both given outside chances of being ready for this game, with Wenger saying they “have slight muscular problems,” but “they are not big injuries.”
However, Arsenal are now confirming that the midfielders will not play.
Flamini has been ruled out with a hamstring injury, while Arteta is carrying a muscle problem.
Defensive midfielder Francis Coquelin has apparently recovered from a knee injury and is set to return to the side.
“[Francis Coquelin has been] back since yesterday and now we have to see how he responds to two days of training,” the Frenchman said.
Forward Olivier Giroud is unavailable though as he will serve a one-match ban for his red card against Dinamo Zagreb. Midfielder Jack Wilshere (fibula), forward Danny Welbeck (knee) and Czech midfielder Tomas Rosicky (knee) are also out of the game.
LAST TIME OUT: Arsenal beat Leicester City 5-2 in the English Premier League this past weekend with wide forward Alexis Sánchez grabbing a hat-trick in the contest.
Sanchez is now being backed at 7/4 to score and Arsenal to win in 90 mins, while the Gunners are 11/1 to win the 3‐0.
For more visit the Sky Bet website.
