ALEX CROOK PREVIEW: Champions League Tuesday
Star Sports football ambassador ALEX CROOK previews Tuesday night’s Champions League fixtures involving Premier League sides Arsenal and Aston Villa…
🏴 ARSENAL v SHAKHTAR DONETSK 🇺🇦
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Arsenal have an immediate chance to bounce back from their first defeat of the season when they welcome Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk to the Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners succumbed to a 2-0 defeat at Bournemouth on Saturday, paying the price for defender William Saliba becoming their third sending off in their last six Premier League games.
While Mikel Arteta clearly has some disciplinary issues to address, this is not a match-up that should cause the Arsenal boss too much anxiety as poor travellers Shakhtar currently sit outside the play-off places after being thrashed by Atalanta and drawing 0-0 with Bologna in their first two matches.
They also find themselves a lowly fourth in the Ukrainian Premier League having struggled to put together a consistent run of results while Arsenal have racked up four points from their first two Champions League games, drawing away at Atlanta and then putting in a really impressive display to topple Paris Saint-Germain 2-0 at home last time out.
You also have to go back some nine years for the last time the North Londoners have lost a non-knockout game in this competition.
Arteta will once again be without his captain Martin Odegaard, but there is a hope that another key man, Bukayo Saka, will be fit to return, having sat out the trip to the south coast, which left Arsenal looking toothless and managing just one shot on target in the 90-plus minutes.
Against Bournemouth, Kai Havertz failed to score for the first time in five games in all competitions, and I wonder if Arteta may use this as an opportunity to rest the German for Sunday’s big Premier League heavyweight clash at home to Liverpool.
If he does, then Gabriel Jesus to score the first goal at 7/2 with starsports.bet looks worth a play.
Arsenal are yet to concede a goal in the Champions League this season and should be confident of continuing that record here.
A build-a-bet on Arsenal to win be winning at half time, both teams to score no, Arsenal to have over 5.5 corners and Jesus to score any time returns just over 3/1 with starsports.bet.
🏴 ASTON VILLA v BOLOGNA 🇮🇹
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Tuesday night’s other game involving a Premier League team sees the first ever meeting of Aston Villa and Bologna.
In-form Villa will be out to extend their 100% record in this season’s Champions League after a seamless reintroduction to Europe’s top club competition for the first time since 1983.
A comprehensive victory away from home in Switzerland against Young Boys was followed by a historic 1-0 triumph at home to German giants Bayern Munich at a bouncing Villa Park.
Many people questioned whether Unai Emery’s side would be able to balance their European commitments with domestic ambitions, but the answer has been an emphatic yes.
Saturday’s impressive comeback 3-1 win at Fulham took Emery’s men up to into the top four, having lost just one of their first eight matches.
You have to go back to October 1981 for the last time Villa won three successive matches in the European Cup, but this feels like a good opportunity to do just that as Bologna are without a win in their last four European games, and yet to score in the Champions League this season.
They’ve also managed just one victory in their first eight Serie A games so are not the force they have been in recent years.
While Villa have not conceded a goal in Europe yet they have only managed one Premier League clean sheet this season so Aston Villa to win and both teams to score at 23/10 with starsports.bet is my main selection.
Morgan Rogers has scored two goals in his last four games so Rogers at 6/1 with starsports.bet to score the first goal looks a tad on the generous side.
RECOMMENDED BETS
BACK Gabriel Jesus to score the first goal 1pt at 7/2 (⭐️
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Build-a-bet: Arsenal to win be winning at half time, both teams to score no, Arsenal to have over 5.5 corners and Gabriel Jesus to score any time 1.5pts at 3/1 with starsports.bet
BACK Aston Villa to win and both teams to score 1pt at 23/10 (⭐️
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BACK Morgan Rogers to score the first goal 1pt at 6/1 (⭐️
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