19th Feb 2013 | Football
Arsenal v Bayern Munich Tip
The team dubbed 'FC Hollywood' in Germany still have glitz, but their defensive resolve is most remarkable.
For those who aren’t close observers of the Bundesliga, the most startling statistic to emerge ahead of this huge Champions League showdown must surely be this. Bayern Munich have only conceded 7 goals in their 22 domestic league matches to date and only conceded ONCE away from home all season.
Of the 11 teams to host Bayern in 2012-13, only FC Nuremberg have found the net. That was on 14 December and Jupp Heynckes’ boys have kept five consecutive clean sheets since then. In total, Bayern have won 16 of their 18 domestic league matches to nil. Now consider the odds for tonight. The visitors are 10/11 (Skybet) to win on the night, yet the far more appealing 5/2 (Ladbrokes) to do so to nil.
Arsenal have every reason to be concerned. Forget that they lost 1-0 to Blackburn with a weakened side; more importantly they were beaten at home without scoring against Man City in January, Swansea in December and Schalke, most pertinently of all, in the Champions League group stages.
The main reason why Bayern have become defensive titans is £34m summer signing Javi Martinez. The Spanish international has been a beast since arriving from Bilbao, sitting defiantly just in front of the back four, letting very little past him, while allowing Bastian Schweinsteiger to flourish. He has been declared fit for Tuesday after sitting out his team’s last game with a minor knock. With that piece of team news, the value bet picks itself for this one.
* The 3/1 with PaddyPower has now gone. Just click on the 5/2 in the live odds box at the top to be taken directly to this bet.
Odds correct at time of publishing: 14:28 19th Feb, 2013 but subject to change
