English Premier League Arsenal look to make it three wins from three Europa League group matches but face a tough task away to Red Star Belgrade, who are also looking to preserve their unbeaten run in the competition.
UEFA Europa League – Group H, Stadium Red Star Belgrade – Wednesday 19th October – 18:00 UK Time
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Draw Best Odd of: 14/5 at Ladbrokes |
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Red Star Belgrade
ArsenalRed Star Belgrade
Crvena Zvezda, commonly known as Red Star Belgrade, currently sit atop the Serbian SuperLiga having won ten of their twelve league games this season. This match will be their eleventh in this competition this term, having started their campaign in the first qualifying round back in June. They fought their way through against solid opposition and have had a fantastic start to the group stage phase. A 1-1 home draw against BATE was followed by a 1-0 win over FC Koln in Germany.
Although everyone at the club knows this is a tough encounter against a team full of quality players, they also know a win would put them in pole position to make it through to the knockout stages for the first time since groups were added to this competition. They may not be the force they were when they became European champions in 1990/91 but they still have the quality to trouble any opposition on their day. Ghanaian Richmond Boakye will be their dangerman, having netted eight of his twelve goals this season in this competition.
Arsenal
Arsenal are struggling again this season, with defeat at Watford this past weekend making it three league losses after just eight games. They already sit nine points off the top of the Premier League table, which is already looking out of their reach. That loss a few days ago ended a four-match unbeaten run, in which they didn’t concede a goal, so the management will not be panicking just yet. In this competition, they have looked every bit contenders for the trophy. A 3-1 home victory over Koln was followed by a 4-2 win away to BATE, which puts them top of the group after two matches.
Obviously, they cannot afford any slip-ups but will be confident of picking up a positive result here to move them one step closer to the group stage.
Manager Arsene Wenger has used a rotated squad system in their two group matches so far so this may be another chance for several fringe players to steal the limelight.
Head to Head
This match will be the first competitive fixture between these sides.
Betting Odds and Predictions
Despite the fact Arsenal have only won once in five matches away from home, in all competition, they are a clear betting favourite to pick up the victory here. Ladbrokes have the English side priced at 4/5, with Red Star at 15/4, and the draw at odds of 14/5. Red Star are unbeaten in thirteen matches in all competition at home this season, so they will be no pushovers. With Arsenal expected to field a number of fringe players again, we believe the home side have a big chance of getting something from this game.
Therefore, we recommend anyone looking to back Arsenal should at least cover themselves against the draw. Punters can do this by using the ‘Draw No Bet’ market. The away side are slightly lower odds, at 30/100, but the potential for profit is there and you will not lose anything if the home side can hold out for a draw.
We don’t think Red Star will pick up the victory here, although a draw is possible. Therefore, we would look at backing Arsenal with a +1 handicap at odds of 2/9. This doesn’t provide much value, but this game is all about profit and we think this is the best way of ensuring one. Arsenal have netted the first goal in seven of the eight games they’ve scored in this season, so we are confident they will score the first goal here. Again, this doesn’t provide much value, especially for low-stake punters, but it is available at odds of 11/20.
Top Betting Tip
Our top betting tip for this match, being cautious due to Arsenal’s poor away form this season, is Arsenal to win with a +1 handicap.
This is available at odds of 2/9 at Betway, so provides the potential of only a small profit, but it’s the bet we believe is most likely to come in.