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CSKA Moscow vs Arsenal: Early preview & betting tips

By on April 10, 2018

alexandre lacazette

Arsenal head to Russia on Thursday night to take on CSKA Moscow in the second leg of our Europa League quarter final clash.

We are in control of the tie after easing to a 4-1 first leg victory at the Emirates Stadium last week and in all honesty it should have been a lot more convincing.

CSKA were one of the worst sides to come to north London this season and Arsene Wenger may be a little frustrated we didn’t put at least 6 past the Russians to really secure our place in the semi-finals.

The problem is, CSKA can be a dangerous side at home and we can expect a hostile atmosphere so we shouldn’t be taking anything for granted just yet.

Wenger has certainly got the troops back on track after a disastrous run as we’ve now won our last six games in all competitions following the 3-2 victory over Southampton on Sunday.

Despite that win, we’ve still got no chance of finishing in the top four in the Premier League so winning the Europa League is our only hope of returning to Europe’s elite competition next year.

We’ve certainly got a great opportunity to reach the last four and we just need to get the job done in Russia on Thursday night. An away goal should settle any nerves and book our place in the next round.

Team News

Unfortunately Henrikh Mkhitaryan has been ruled out for at least two weeks with a knee ligament injury but Danny Welbeck returned to form with a brace at the weekend so hopefully he’s ready to step up.

David Ospina is also out so Petr Cech will continue in goal while Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is ineligible meaning Alexandre Lacazette should start up front.

Betting Tips

A look at the Arsenal vs CSKA betting odds shows us we’re 1/100 to qualify so there is no point betting on that particular market. However, we’re the even money favourites to win the game on Thursday – which seems like a solid bet to me considering how poor CSKA were in the first leg and Wenger is expected to field his strongest side.

Both teams to score at 11/20 is also a decent bet while over 2.5 goals at odds of 5/4 is tempting considering how poor both teams were at the back in the first leg. For those who like to bet on exact scores, I like Arsenal to win 3-1 at odds of 12/1 and if we throw in Lacazette to score at any time in a 3-1 win we get excellent odds of 22/1.