Shakhtar Donetsk vs Arsenal – Fabregas out of Gunners squad
Published:Arsenal travel to the Ukraine knowing that a win will send them through to the knock-out stages, but the Gooners are without Cesc Fabregas who has suffered a hamstring strain.
Match Odds
Fabregas joins Andrei Arshavin, Alex Song and Denilson on the sidelines as Arsenal search for the win that would allow them to rest key players in the final two group games.
But Shakhtar are unbeaten at home against English teams with two wins and a draw, and considering Arsenal have never won in the Ukraine, the 2/1 available for Shakhtar to beat Arsenal seems good value.
Arsenal edge the favouritism at 11/8 to win, but the Gunners have gone 13 consecutive away games without keeping a clean sheet and Arsene Wenger may settle for a draw, priced at 9/4, if offered to him.
Total Goals
Marourane Chamakh is on a Champions League hot streak, scoring eight goals in his last nine Champions League appearances and has scored in the last six in a row – he is 7/4 to score any time.
Arsenal won 5-1 in the Emirates but it will be a lot tougher at the Donbass Arena where Shakhtar have’t lost since October 2008.
Despite Arsenal being the leading scorers in the competition, Shakhtar have conceded just two goals in 15 home games and a 1-1 draw is available at 11/2, with under 2.5 goals at 1/1 and a Shakhtar clean sheet available at 5/2.
Partizan Belgrade vs Braga
Partizan are in the unfortunate position of having never won a Champions League game, but Braga offer them their best opportunity of breaking that duck and they are 11/8 to win.
Braga won the reverse fixture 2-0 and are 2/1 to win, but the 41/50 on offer for under 2.5 goals looks the safest bet in this game.
Braga are 9/4 to come away from the Ukraine with a point. See the full UEFA Champions League betting odds here.
