Uefa Champions League Round 6 continues on Tuesday night when our focus is on Arsenal v Monaco, Dortmund v Barcelona and Juventus v Manchester City
Prices below from Sportingbet are correct at the time of writing but subject to change
Arsenal 3/10 Draw 4.75/1 Monaco 8.75/1
Arsenal finished the previous round in seventh spot, 1 of 7 teams on 10 points in the thick of the fight to secure a top 8 finish and automatic qualification for the knockout rounds. After this they host Zagreb and finish up away to Girona. They found top form to put Sporting away 5-1 in Lisbon last time out and they have won both earlier home games, 2-0 against PSG and 1-0 against Shakhtar.
Monaco also have 10 points and an identical record to Arsenal although their goal difference is marginally inferior and after this they host Villa and then visit Inter. Their only defeat came in Round 5, 3-2 at home to Benfica whilst away from home they have drawn 2-2 in Zagreb and won 1-0 at Bologna.
The Verdict
Any loser here almost certainly slips out of the top 8 and Monaco look to have by far the tougher run in. Still, the Gunners will want to get the job done and focus on a busy period of EPL football to come, not too much stands out so I will head for the price boost for a home win with both sides scoring.
Bets: Arsenal to win and both teams to score? (yes) was 1.95/1 now 22/10 with Sportingbet
Dortmund 21/10 Draw 29/10 Barcelona 11/10
Dortmund finished Round 5 in fourth spot with a record of 4 wins and 1 defeat and are closing in on a top 8 finish with this game, a visit to Bologna and a home game against Shakhtar to come. Their only defeat came in Madrid where they crashed 5-2 to Real but other than that its been pretty straight forward.
Barca also have 12 points and they are third, ahead of their opponents here on goal difference with a visit to Benfica and home game against Atalanta to follow. After losing for their opening game 2-1 at Monaco they have reeled off 4 straight wins, the pick of which was a 4-1 home victory over Bayern.
The Verdict
Barca's recent La Liga form has been a little bit erratic including a couple of 2-2 draws away to Betis and Celta Vigo and I'm going to have a small and speculative play on that outcome coming up here.
Bets: Correct Score 2-2 at 9.5/1 with Sportingbet
Juventus 28/10 Draw 24/10 Man City even money
Juve finished the round in 19th position with 8 points and they have little room for error if they are to force their way into the top 8 rather than run the gauntlet of the play offs. After this they visit Brugge and then host Benfica. They won their first 2 matches and then lost 1-0 at home to Stuttgart before playing draws at Lille (1-1) and Aston Villa (0-0).
City are in the same predicament as Juve with 8 points although their goal difference is superior. They still have to visit PSG before they finish at home to Brugge. City took 7 points from their first 3 matches but part of their collapse in form included a 4-1 defeat at Sporting and a 3-3 draw at home to Feyenoord, a game they led 3-0 at one stage.
The Verdict
Juve have drawn 7 of 9 across all competitions (they won the other 2) and City have only won 1 of their last 9, again, across all competitions. Throw in the fact both sides are way lower in the standings than they would like and it's an interesting conundrum.
A draw might not do either side any favours and I see scope for goals so I'm with both teams to score and either team to win.
Bets: Both teams to score and either team to win? (yes) at 17/10 with Sportingbet
Note, prices quoted are subject to change
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