Arsenal vs Barcelona: Champions League Round of 16

La Liga league leaders, Barcelona, are at the Emirates this evening in hopes of crushing Arsenal in the first leg of their Round of 16 matches. The visitors have been rolling on a stretch of 32 games without a single loss, since back in October 2015 in all competitions. The defending Champions League Champions are huge favorites to run away with the title again this year, and with teams as inconsistent as Arsenal, it could be easier to attain than they think.

For the past five years, Arsenal has been knocked out of the Champions League in this very stage. The curse of the round of 16 weighs as heavy as the curse of being left with a 10-man squad, as the Gunners have had someone sent off in virtually all matches against the Blaugrauna. Arsene Wenger is the first person to say how good Barcelona really are and what a huge task his team faces tonight.

One of the most interesting matchups tonight will be between Lionel Messi and Petr Cech. The reigning Ballon d’Or winner has never been able to score on Cech, but with the help of Suarez and Neymar, the goalkeeper will undoubtedly be under heavy fire regularly tonight. Suarez, Messi and Neymar have 91 goals altogether. Suarez is the top Barca scorer with 41, including 4 hat-ticks and 1 quadruple. In fact, the entire Barcelona roster should instill fear into any opponent with name like Pique, Rakitic, Alves and Iniesta.

The Gunners’ woes will carry on until the second leg of the round of 16, as they face United, Swansea, Tottenham, Hull and West Brom over the next 14-days prior to a trip to Camp Nou to finish this saga.

Maximize Profits with Online Wager

It is quite tempting to put heavy cash on the Gunners ahead of the match tonight, as bet365 has them listed at 5.00. A victory could very well be in Barcelona’s immediate future at 1.72, but this match could very well end in a draw (4.00). There are dozens of Props Bets available and bet365 will as always be offering live in play lines throughout the match.

Risk-free In-play Bet at bet365 Sports

bet365 Sports will be offering a risk-free in-play bet on the same stake for this exciting match. Punters are required to place one pre-match bet before kickoff and to place an in-play bet when the game gets underway. In case the first in-play bet placed is lost, the biggest pre-match bet will be refunded by bet365 (up to $50 currency equivalent). In the case that there's more than one in-play selection, the first bet on the slip will count as the risk-free one.