Arsenal and Chelsea Facing Interesting Champions League Fixtures

There are a handful of key Champions League fixtures unfolding today as the Group Stages come to a somewhat dramatic end. A few different groups are still up for grabs and one of the most notable is Arsenal- who need to take all three points against Partizan Belgrade to assure themselves of progression to the next stage.

Marseille vs Chelsea looks interesting, mostly due to Didier Drogba’s dramatic return to the club that helped catapult him to the upper echelons of world football. It’s a bit of a dead-rubber as both sides will progress, although Marseille could be pipped on goal different by Spartak Moscow if they manage to put thirteen goals past Zilina. Chelsea are well-priced for this one at 15/8 while Marseille are at 7/4- expect Carlo Ancelotti to play a more second string side.

Real Madrid vs Auxerre will kick off at the Bernabeu with Auxerre being already eliminated from the competition. They were outclassed in Group G with just a single victory to their credit although you can’t really fault the French side as they were tasked with dispatching AC Milan, Real Madrid and Ajax- all sides that have won the Champions League in previous years. Cristiano Ronaldo and the boys are priced at 2/5 with the French at 7/1 for the shock upset.

Basel have it all to play for against Bayern Munich and if the Belgians can take all three points then they will likely progress at the expense of AS Roma, who are sitting second three points ahead of Basel but with a negative goal difference. Should the Italians drop points to the tricky CFR Cluj, then it is definitely Basel’s to win. Bayern should, by all stretches of the imagination, outclass them and their 8/13 price shows the bookies are confident.

Arsenal vs Partizan Belgrade is likely to be the most watched fixture of the day in England with the Gunners requiring a victory to ensure progression. They suffered a real dip in European form by dropping points in their last two to allow Shakhtar Donetsk to take an unexpected role as group leaders. Luckily for Arsenal, Partizan are total pants and the 1/10 outright listing on the Gunners indicates that this one could be over quickly.