Champions League preview: Galatasaray vs Man Utd, Arsenal vs Lens
Galatasaray vs Man Utd
Does an epic in Istanbul await on Wednesday night? Galatasaray famously won the reverse fixture at Old Trafford back in October, but since then they’ve lost twice to Bayern Munich; Bayern’s dominance aside, this group remains pretty open.
The German team have surged unstoppably to the top, eight points clear of the pack. But Copenhagen and Gala each have four points, with Man Utd a point behind those sides; in other words, Erik ten Hag’s men could still progress to the knockout stage.
United are ostensibly in a decent place, beating Everton 3-0 at the weekend to take five wins from their last six league outings. For all that, the team aren’t playing brilliant football, and have lost three of their four Champions League matches. Last time out, they lost 4-3 away to a modest Copenhagen side.
In fact, three of United’s four CL games have featured at least five goals, and this could be no exception. Backing over 3.5 goals at 11/8 is worth a look; otherwise, Wilf Zaha may be able to make his mark for the hosts once again.
The former Man Utd player scored against his old club in the previous meeting, and has found the net four times in his last four appearances for Gala. Zaha is 13/5 to score at Rams Park.
Arsenal vs Lens
Lens surprised some people in their initial meeting with Arsenal, winning 2-1 in France. That setback hasn’t stopped the Gunners from rising to the top of Group B, and Mikel Arteta’s side can guarantee their place in the round of 16 with a draw here.
Even that result may not be necessary, if PSV Eindhoven lose the other group encounter to Sevilla. But with the Gunners currently top of the Premier League, and unbeaten at the Emirates this season, the hosts will surely fancy themselves to take a measure of revenge against the Ligue 1 side.
Lens have failed to win either of their previous two away games in this Champions League group. While Franck Haise’s side may be able to frustrate the Gunners for a while, you’d expect Arsenal to find a way through this defence eventually. Combine Arsenal to win and under 3.5 goals in a double at Evens.
Assuming he starts, you could also take a chance on Leandro Trossard to score for Arsenal; he did so in both his previous Champions League appearances at the Emirates this season, and is 12/5 to find the net on Wednesday.
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