In this Champions League preview Arsenal look to register their opening win of the campaign at home to Basel. With Borussia Monchengladbach looking to do the same against Barcelona, after their heavy defeat against Manchester City.
Arsenal vs Basel – Wednesday 28th September 2016 – 19:45 - BT Sport
Arsenal welcome Basle to the Emirates Stadium, in the second round of matches from this season's Champions League group stage games .
Arsenal come into this match on the back of a 3-0 win against Chelsea, with goals from Sanchez (11), Walcott (14) and Ozil (40).
This was an excellent result, to keep a clean sheet and get three points coming into this match will be massive for their confidence.
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They had a poor record against Chelsea prior to this result, it is a massive victory for the Gunners as they bid to prove they can be title contenders.
Great Season So Far
They have also enjoyed an excellent domestic season, they find themselves third in the Premier League with just the one defeat so far.
Their last match in the Champions League was a 1-1 draw against PSG at the Parc des Prince, with the French Champions missing a hatful of chances.
Edinson Cavani's goal in the 1st minute gave the hosts the lead, with the Uruguayan wasting several chances after that to extend the Parisians lead.
Alexis Sanchez' equaliser in the 77th minute gave Arsenal a share of the spoils, a point that PSG will feel they didn't deserve.
Hard Start For Arsenal
PSG away was the hardest possible start for the Gunners, and given that they escaped with a hard-earned point they will be confident of progressing as group winners.
Arsene Wenger's side have exited the Champions League at the last 16 stage for the last five successive seasons.
They will be targeting top spot in the group to ensure an easier tie, with the last few seasons seeing them knocked out by Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
Arsenal are 4/11 with Alexis Sanchez at 100/30 to open the scoring.
Basel come into this game on the back of a 3-1 win away against St Gallen in the Swiss Super League.
Goals from Delgado (25), Gelmi og (75) and Seydou Doumbia (90) were enough to see the Swiss Champions register their 9th successive win this season
St Gallen took the lead in the 14th minute, with a goal from Aratore but that was as good as it got for the home side.
They find themselves top of the Swiss Premier League by a distance, with 9 wins enough to ensure a cushion of 13 points between them and Young Boys.
Great Season So Far
Such has been their dominance that they not only have the 13 point cushion, but that is effectively 14 with their +22 goal difference.
To have that after just nine games is incredible, with an average of 2.44 goals per game and that is without conceding.
They have won five of their last six games in all competitions including their opening game against Ludogorets.
Another Great Season Ahead?
They didn't enjoy the best of campaigns in last season's Champions League but as early as 2014/15 they got to the last 16.
Considering their resources the last 16 is an excellent achievement, if they were to progress to that stage this season would be one of the greatest achievements in their history.
Basel drew their opening game against Ludogorets, with Cafu of Ludogorets opening the scoring in the 45th minute.
Steffen equalised for the hosts in the 78th minute, to give the hosts a good start to their Champions League campaign.
They will find it very hard to cope with Arsenal at the Emirates, with the Gunners in superb form, capped off by the 3-0 win against Chelsea at the weekend.
Basel are 15/2 with Marc Janko at 17/2 to score first.
Borussia Monchengladbach vs Barcelona – Wednesday 28th September 2016 – 19:45 - BT Sport
Borussia Monchengladbach welcome Barcelona to the Borussia Park, in the second round of matches from this season's Champions League group stage games .
Monchengladbach come into this match on the back of a 2-0 win against Ingolstadt, with goals from Stindl (42) and Wendt (76).
This was an excellent result, to keep a clean sheet and get three points coming into this match will be massive for their confidence.
Great Season So Far
They have also enjoyed an excellent domestic season, they find themselves fourth in the Bundesliga with just the one defeat so far.
Their last match in the Champions League was a 4-0 hammering at Manchester City, with Pep Guardiola's side easily brushing them aside.
Three goals from Sergio Aguero (8, 28 pen, 77), and a Kelechi Iheanacho effort in the 91st minute ensured a perfect start for Guardiola.
Hard Start For Gladbach
Borussia Monchengladbach endured a tough start and this fixture will not be any easier, with the Catalan side one of the favourites to win the tournament.
Barcelona are in excellent form, it is likely that the top two spots will be occupied by City and Barcelona, with Monchengladbach and Celtic left to scrap for the third spot.
The Catalans record in Germany isn't that great, with just 8 wins from 27 attempts.
Monchengladbach will be hoping to ruin former keeper Marc-Andre Ter Stegen's return to Borussia Park as well.
Monchengladbach are 5/1 with Raffael Caetano at 8/1 to open the scoring.
Barcelona come into this game on the back of 5-0 thrashing of Sporting Gijon away from the Camp Nou.
Goals from Luis Suarez (29), Rafinha (32), Neymar (81, 88) and Arda Turan in the 85th minute completed an emphatic scoreline for Luis Enrique's side.
They drew their heavyweight clash against Atletico 1-1 prior to that huge win, they have had a mixed start to their La Liga campaign so far.
Despite that they find themselves second in La Liga, just a point behind rivals Real Madrid.
Great Season So Far
Barcelona have started the season in mixed fashion, with four wins, one draw and one defeat from their opening six matches.
Their only defeat this season has been a surprise 2-1 defeat at home to Alaves, with a much-changed Barcelona side suffering to the newly promoted side.
In three of their last four matches, Barcelona have scored more than five goals, with a 5-0 win against Gijon, a 5-1 win against Leganes and a 7-0 win over Celtic in their previous Champions League tie.
Another Great Season Ahead?
Their last win in the Champions League saw Barcelona demolish Celtic 7-0 at the Camp Nou.
A Messi hattrick (3, 27, 60), Neymar (50), Iniesta (59) and a double from Luis Suarez (75, 88) completed the route.
This will give Barcelona confidence heading into this match, particularly with their La Liga form currently, despite the absence of Lionel Messi through injury.
They will be looking to make it two wins from two in this season's group stages, Barcelona will be looking to win the competition outright this season, looking to take the title from bitter rivals Real Madrid.
Barcelona are 4/9 with Luis Suarez at 5/2 to score first.
Betting Tips
Tip 1 – Sanchez to score first @ 100/30 and Arsenal to win 3-1 @ 9/1
Tip 2 – Alcacer to score first @ 100/30 and Barcelona to win 3-1 @ 9/1