ARSENAL VS PORTO CHAMPIONS LEAGUE BETTING TIPS

Arsenal drew Porto in December’s draw and were arguably handed the easiest Champions League draw of all the English teams, yet they are priced up as the least likely to take a lead into their second leg. Logic suggests a bet on Arsenal but do rhyme and reason back this up?
First of all it is worth noting that Andrey Arshavin will miss out through injury, but his absence may not be such a big setback as the little Russian has been lacking form a bit in recent weeks and has looked far from his best. Eduardo will also remain sidelined and will be joined in the physio room by William Gallas, Alex Song and Manuel Almunia but defender Thomas Vermaelen will once again play through the pain barrier of a bruised bone in his leg. Arsene Wenger will have to earn his money by proving that he has assembled a squad capable of competing in Europe.
The perceived negatives continue when analysing Arsenal’s away from in Europe this season but I prefer a more positive outlook than the bare results suggest. They only managed one victory on their travels in the group stages but they showed great resolve to come back from two goals down against Standard Leige for that victory. That was followed up by a draw in Alkmaar and a defeat against Olympiakos in the final group game but again there are excuses for both those results. In Alkmaar they conceded a last minute equaliser which was totally against the run of play then in Greece they had already qualified and fielded an extremely young and inexperienced team. Their lack of potency away from London is a cause for concern but all things considered and available to back at 3.2 (11/5) with Betfair, I think they have to be worth taking a chance on.
The other (and more conservative) angle of attack would be to back Arsenal to qualify for the next round where Betfair punters have them down as a 1.5 (1/2) shot. You’d have to fancy the Gunners to turn over any deficit on home soil and if they can get an away goal or two on the board in Porto this week then that price will shorten considerably ahead of the return leg.
European power houses Bayern Munich look to begin reasserting their prominence in Europe with a round of 16 tie against Fiorentina. They go into the game on the back of a 12-match winning streak which has moved them level at the top of the German Bundesliga and made them massive favourites to take victory here. Since the winter break in German football Bayern have scored 20 goals in six games with striker Mario Gomez moving onto ten for the season. Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery are also in devastating form down either wing and they shouldn’t find getting past the Italians difficult on current form.
At 1.5 (1/2) it may not be too appealing to back Bayern Munich in the match odds market but goals have been aplenty in recent weeks and with home advantage in the Champions League they’ll be looking to take maximum gain. I’ll be looking to back Over 2.5 goals at 1.9 (10/11) and Over 3.5 goals at 3.2 (11/5) as my main plays of the night.