UCL Betting – Arsenal Meet PSG in Opener

Arsenal (+360) at Paris St. Germain (-133), Draw (+275)

Two teams off to less than inspiring starts will go head to head in the first fixture of the 2016-17 Champions League season on Tuesday when Arsenal travel to France to face PSG (2:45 AM ET at Parc des Princes).

Arsenal’s season started with heartbreak when they fell 4-3 at home to Liverpool in their first taste of EPL action. They managed an away draw against defending champion Leicester (0-0) next time out, though, and then battered an overmatched Watford (3-1 away) in their last game.

Santi Cazorla converted a penalty in just the ninth minute to put the Gunners on the board against Watford. Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil then put the game out of reach with two more first-half goals.

The Gunners litany of offensive weapons are bad news for PSG, who have gotten off to a slow start in Ligue 1. PSG have managed to keep only one clean sheet through four matches and sport a pedestrian 2-1-1 record.

While the loss of Zlatan Ibrahimovic was expected to impact the offense, the PSG D was supposed to stay strong this year, and the team was expected to cruise to another league title after finishing 31 points clear of second-place Lyon last season.

The squad seems to still be searching for a clear identity under new manager Unai Emery.

In terms of Champions League success, neither has had much to write home about in recent history. PSG were bounced in the quarters by Man City last year (3-2 on aggregate). Arsenal were routed in the Round of 16 by Barcelona (5-1 on aggregate). The sides haven’t met head-to-head since 1994.

PSG are still a tough team at home, but they’re clearly in some disarray. I don’t fancy laying -133 on the home side. Instead, I like the draw as the best value (+275).

Pick: Draw (+275). 

Photo credit: Ronnie Macdonald [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.