Football betting tips: Champions League
1pt Bukayo Saka 2+ shots on target at 9/4 (bet365)
*All bets settled in 90 mins
Like many of Arsenal's games this calendar year, the first leg of this tie was a grind. Ultimately an 89th-minute penalty, won by Noni Madueke and converted by Kai Havertz against his former club, meant it was a job well done.
With the teams level at 1-1 after 90 minutes, Arsenal are now 1/12 favourites to progress past Bayer Leverkusen and in to a Champions League quarter-final with Bodo/Glimt or Sporting as they look to move closer to being crowned champions of Europe for the very first time.
It's likely to be another match where Mikel Arteta's team require patience, discipline and the quality of a world-class attacking player.
This has been far from the most breathtaking of campaigns for BUKAYO SAKA with him a long way short of his usual goals and assists numbers. He keeps plugging away, even in the face of constant supervision from opposition defenders.
The Gunners captain for the night barely got room to breathe last week, managing just one shot (which was blocked) before being replaced on the hour. He bounced back to have four efforts against a stubborn Everton on Saturday.
Up to this point, though, the England winger has been able to get far more shots off in Europe than he has domestically.
He is averaging 2.07 shots on target and 4.15 shots per 90 in the Champions League compared with 1.17 and 2.83 in the Premier League.
Whether the opposition are too slow to stop him, or they are more wary of potential bookings from referees, Saka is being fouled much more in league matches (2.29 times per 90) than in the UCL (1.24).
Backing him to have 2+ SHOTS ON TARGET is therefore advised at 9/4 and rates a better bet than the 13/8 for him to score anytime given he has only found the net nine times in 40 appearances this season - that despite being the Gunners' penalty taker.
This is also selection worth backing with a firm who offer Supersub (or similar) to ensure it stays in play if he is replaced by another of Arsenal's attacking players.
Odds correct at 16:30 GMT (16/3/26)
More from Sporting Life
- Fixtures, results and live scores
- Home of This Week's Acca
- Football and other sports tips
- Download the Sporting Life app
- Podcasts and video content
Safer gambling
We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.
If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.
Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.
