The Champions League is here. One of Bundesliga’s championship contenders, Borussia Dortmund, will open their Champions League campaign at home against the Premier League’s Arsenal.
Will a thinned Dortmund side succumb to Arsenal’s formidable attack? Or will their home fans power them enough to turn back their English foes?
Another clash between the best of the Bundesliga and the Premier League pits German champions Bayern Munich against English champs Manchester City in a pivotal match. You can view the preview of that game here.
[sc:Soccer ]
Arsenal vs. Borussia Dortmund Prediction and Betting Preview
Arsenal open their UEFA Champions League campaign on the road, where they’ll be without their go-to striker Olivier Giroud who succumbed to injury. But even with Giroud out of the picture, the Gunners possess a wealth of attacking options, starting with midfielder Alexis Sanchez. The Chilean forward has a goal and an assist in three Premier League appearances thus far, and he also scored the lone goal to see Arsenal through their Champions League group stage qualifier against Turkish club Besiktas.
[sc:Soccer240banner ]Sanchez is experienced in the Champions League. He scored two goals in seven starts for his former club Barcelona in the competition over the past three seasons.
Meanwhile, English striker Danny Welbeck takes the forward position vacated by Giroud. Welbeck showed some impressive form in a breakout performance for England against Switzerland, where he scored England’s two goals. In Welbeck, Alexis, and talented German Mesut Ozil, Arsenal possesses a three-pronged attack that will be incredibly technical and versatile, which should pose a major threat to a Dortmund defense which has conceded four goals in their first two Bundesliga matches.
And at the back, Arsenal’s defenders caught a big break in not having to deal with Dortmund’s star striker Marco Reus, who is currently out with an ankle sprain.
Arsenal leads the head-to-head matchup against Borussia Dortmund 3-2-1, including winning their last match in Westfalenstadion.
Betting on Borussia Dortmund
Borussia Dortmund would have been a force to be reckoned with in the Bundesliga and international club play alike in the last year. However, German club rivals Bayern Munich gutted them of talismanic striker Robert Lewandowski in the offseason while the talented midfielder Marco Reus is currently out with an injury.
The team is also without Nuri Sahin, Oliver Kirch and Dong-Won Ji with all three players nursing leg injuries. Meanwhile, defender Mats Hummels has not returned to training after injuries ruled him out of Germany’s 2-1 win over Scotland on September 8. With all the injuries, Dortmund will be severely hampered heading into their UEFA Champions League opener against a strong Arsenal side.
Nevertheless, Dortmund will have Japanese midfielder Shinji Kagawa back after an unsuccessful stint with Manchester United. A return to his old club may just be what Kagawa needs to rediscover the form that helped him scored 21 goals and nine assists in 46 appearances in the Bundesliga.
With Reus out of play, Kagawa will be one of Dortmund’s primary weapons against Arsenal. Dortmund’s best chance of scoring a goal will come from the counter attack, especially with Arsenal known to go forward, even away from home. If Dortmund can steal possession with Arsenal stretched out on the attack, Kagawa has the ability to cut into Arsenal’s defenses to create crucial scoring opportunities.
Joining Kagawa on the attack will be strikers Ciro Immobile and Adrian Ramos. Of the two, Ramos has already converted for Dortmund in their 3-2 win against Augsburg on August 29. Meanwhile, Immobile is yet to score for his new club, but figures to be on point after scoring in Italy’s Euro 2016 qualifying game against Norway.
Borussia Dortmund is 3-1 against English clubs in the past two UEFA Champions League seasons.
Writer’s Prediction
Borussia Dortmund without a healthy Reus will be outmatched against Arsenal. The Gunners take an away win in Dortmund, 2-1. Soccer only gets hotter from here on out. Create a betting account now and get into the thick of the action.
