Football betting tips: Champions League
2pts Arsenal to win and under 4.5 goals at 21/20 (Coral, Ladbrokes)
0.5pt Gabriel Magalhaes to score anytime at 9/1 (Coral, Ladbrokes)
Arsenal kick off their Champions League campaign with a trip to Naples.
Mikel Arteta’s side finished as runners-up last season, losing on penalties to PSG in the final, but were faultless in the group stage and look even stronger this time around.
The Gunners took maximum points from eight games and didn’t concede a goal until the visit of Bayern Munich in gameweek five.
They kept five clean sheets in the league phase, nine in total and didn’t lose any of their 15 games in 90 minutes across the entire competition (W11 D4).
Arteta’s improved the squad this summer and they have made a perfect start to their domestic campaign winning all four of their games and have kept three clean sheets.
They started the season with a 3-0 win against Manchester City in the Community Shield and came from behind to beat Chelsea 2-1 in their most recent Premier League game.
It doesn’t make good reading for hosts Napoli, who will be without talisman Scott McTominay on Wednesday evening. The former Manchester United man faces a spell on the sidelines after undergoing heart surgery.
Massimiliano Allegri’s side beat Genoa in their first Serie A game of the season but have since lost against Como and Inter, conceding a total of five goals.
For context, Arsenal went to San Siro and beat Scudetto holders Inter 3-1 last campaign, a side Napoli finished 11 points behind in the Italian top flight.
In this competition last term, Gli Azzurri lost 2-0 at the Etihad and 3-2 at home to Chelsea. Their only wins came at home to Sporting and Qarabag.
Although the price for ARSENAL to win is tempting at a general 3/4, backing the visitors TO WIN AND UNDER 4.5 GOALS appeals much more at odds against.
It’s clicked in all four of Arsenal’s wins this season, 10 of their 11 wins in this competition last season and 82% of their 44 wins in all competitions.
At 9/1, GABRIEL MAGALHAES' price TO SCORE ANYTIME is also worth a punt.
He’s scored two goals across his last 21 Champions League appearances (0.10 goals per 90) and has a domestic goals per 90 average of 0.09.
The Brazilian is yet to open his account for the campaign but has racked up an expected goals (xG) of 0.49.
It’s also worth noting Napoli have shipped 2.22 worth of expected goals against (xGA) from set-pieces this term with Inter’s back three combining for 0.48 worth of xG on Saturday.
Odds correct at 13:30 BST (08/09/26)
More from Sporting Life
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.
