Basel vs Arsenal Preview, Team News, Line-Ups, Betting Tips & Predicted Score

Arsenal will be looking to secure the win we need to stand any chance of finishing top of our Champions League group when we take on Basel at St. Jakob-Park this evening.

We’ve already booked our place in the knockout stages of the competition having amassed eleven points from our 5 Group A games so far and currently sit level on points with Paris Saint-Germain in the table.

However, after being held to a frustrating 2-2 draw at home to the Ligue 1 champions at the Emirates two weeks ago, we sit second as PSG have a superior head-to-head record thanks to their two away goals.

Therefore, not only do we need to get a positive result in Switzerland against Basel but we also need to rely on Ludogorets getting at least a draw at the Parc des Princes tonight to stand any chance of snatching top spot.

Basel head in to the game sitting bottom but with Ludogorets expected to get a hammering at PSG, coach Urs Fischer knows his side can secure third and a place in the Europa League if they get a result against Arsenal, so they won’t be here just to make up the numbers.

Betting Tips

Betting on football is never easy as it’s such an unpredictable sport but we hope to provide you some insight so you can use the tips and place a winning wager on a sports match. Arsenal are the 6/5 favourites to win this game and the Gunners should be in confident mood so we expect an away win. I also like the look of both teams to score at 13/20 while a 2-1 Arsenal win looks tempting at 8/1. If we throw in Mesut Ozil as first goal-scorer we get even more value at 40/1.

Team news

Arsene Wenger has taken a full strength squad with him to Switzerland and has hinted he’ll resist the temptation to rest Alexis Sanchez after he scored a stunning hat trick against West Ham on Saturday.

However, there could be other changes to the side with David Ospina, Kieran Gibbs, Carl Jenkinson and Aaron Ramsey all pushing for starts if Wenger looks to mix things up.

Olivier Giroud is back in contention after recovering from a minor groin problem while Mohamed Elneny could come in for the suspended Francis Coquelin in midfield.

Hector Bellerin is back in light training but isn’t ready to return just yet while Santi Cazorla has been ruled out until at least February after undergoing surgery on an Achilles injury.

Per Mertesacker and Danny Welbeck are both back in light training but the pair are still some way from being considered fit enough to make their first team comebacks after serious injuries.

Likely Line-Ups

Possible Basel XI: Vaclík; Lang, Suchý, Balanta, Traoré; Xhaka, Zuffi; Bjarnason, Delgado, Steffen; Šporar.

Predicted Score

Basel 1-2 Arsenal: We warmed up for the game with a superb 5-1 win at West Ham at the weekend and we beat Basel comfortably 2-0 at the Emirates in the reverse fixture in September so we should be confident of getting a result tonight. Obviously we’ll have one eye on how things are going in Paris but I think we’ll do our part by getting all three points in Switzerland. Unfortunately it’s unlikely to be enough to secure top spot.