ALEX JONES (@AlexJ0nes9) analyses the odds as Arsenal take on Slavia Prague in the Europa League on Thursday night.
Arsenal vs Slavia Prague | Thursday 8th April 2021, 20:00 | BT Sport
Arsenal welcome Slavia Prague to the Emirates, with the away side already winning in both Glasgow and Leicester on their way to this quarter-final.
Arsenal continued their poor run of form last time out as Liverpool ran out 3-0 winners. The Gunners recorded just 0.09 Expected Goals against the Champions. They had three shots, but it was their lowest xG return since records began in 2014, according to the xG Philosophy.
Arsenal now haven’t kept a clean sheet since January when they faced Manchester United, that’s 13 games to be exact, and that is deeply worrying. Slavia Prague will smell blood across these two legs and will be looking to add to the home side’s woes.
With Arsenal having a few injury worries, with Kieran Tierney joining David Luiz on the side lines, the away side look underrated in the market.
Arsenal are going off at 4/7 and I simply can’t get my head around it. Slavia have already beaten Rangers and Leicester, not losing any of the four ties, and despatched Nice and Bayer Leverkusen in the group stages.
They are no walkovers. It is tempting to back the away side at 5/1 but given they will be over the moon with still being in the tie come the second leg, I’d rather take a more cautious stance.
Back Slavia Prague +1 on the Asian Handicap at 10/11 (1.91) with Gentingbet
We can almost double our money should Slavia avoid defeat in London and get our full stake back should they lose by one goal. 9/10 (1.9) is prevalent with Bet365 and BetVictor.
I do fancy the away side to score. As mentioned, Arsenal haven’t kept a clean sheet since January. Even if they don’t, both their away wins in Britain came by the 0-2 score line.
Arsenal have their captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang completely out of form, have a few injuries blows and their youthful, energetic young duo Emile Smith-Rowe and Bukayo Saka major doubts.
The Stitched have troublesome players in attack with young talent Abdallah Sima, just 19 years old, impressing this season. Nicole Stanciu, the Romanian, is also a very technical player operating behind the Senegalese man with Peter Olayinka, and the triplet will cause Arsenal multiple problems on Thursday evening.
Best Bets
Arsenal vs Slavia Prague 0 Slavia Prague +1 Asian Handicap (10/11 Gentingbet)
