Champions League Week Two: Will Moneybags Arsenal heap misery on the bankrupt Greeks?

Champions League Picks

There are some big names from around Europe involved in Champions League action this Tuesday evening and we’re taking a look at some of the biggest and best matches. At the Emirates both Arsenal and Olympiakos need to kick their seasons into action after losing last time out, while Leverkusen will fancy their chances against a Messi-less Barcelona in Catalunya. The final game we’re previewing with online sportsbook 10bet.com sees Jose Mourinho travel to the Portuguese capital to face one of his old sides. Find our top Champions League Picks below.

Arsenal v Olympiakos: 1.46 – 4.75 – 6.65

Arsene Wenger and his degree in economics have made Arsenal a club with one of the biggest cash reserves in world football and this evening sees them welcome the winners of the last five titles from the cash strapped country of Greece as both sides are looking for their first points in the Champions League this season. Arsenal were beaten in Croatia by Dinamo Zagreb two weeks ago as they performed badly and saw Oliver Giroud red-carded after just 40 minutes while the visitors to North London tonight were beaten 3-0 at home to Bayern Munich in a match that saw two late goals to make things look more presentable for the Germans.

Arsenal have bounced back from their back to back losses to Zagreb and Chelsea the weekend after that as they collected three red cards in this pair of games with wins over fierce rivals Tottenham in the Capital One Cup and Leicester in the EPL with them netting seven goals. However, things might be as easy for the home side as these results may suggest as the Greek champions have won back to back games in the league with eight goals scored to see them having won five from five domestically.

Both Arsenal and Olympiakos come into the match with large numbers of injuries and suspensions, with the home team for affected, and we feel that this will affect the defensive performances of both sides. With both teams motivated to avoid back to back losses at the start of their Champions League campaigns we are backing goals in this match.

Our Arsenal v Olympiakos Pick is back both teams to score @ 1.83 with 10bet.com.

Barcelona v Leverkusen: 1.40 – 4.75 – 8.25

The side sitting fifth in the German Bundesliga could not be visiting the Camp Nou at a better time for them as they are welcomed by a Barcelona side that has been struggling for goals this season and is now missing talismanic attacker Lionel Messi for at least the next two months. The current European champions could only draw their opening match at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome as Roma bagged a 31st minute leveller ten minutes after Luis Suarez had opened the scoring and with Messi netting ten times in Europe last season you can be sure that he will be a massive loss. How will this wounded animal perform on home soil though?

The German side have lost all of the last five meetings with the Spaniards in Europe since they claimed a 2-1 win on home soil in 2001 and their last clashes during the 2011/12 last 16 stages saw Barca claim a 10-2 aggregate win. Leverkusen do bring some confidence into this match with them having won 4-1 in their European opener at home to BATE Borisov and they have beaten Mainz and Werder Bremen without a goal conceded before this match, but will it be enough to see them upset the odds?

Barcelona are without a clean sheet in five games and we can see this match going the same way as the Arsenal game with goals coming from both teams.

Our Barcelona v Leverkusen pick is back both sides to score at odds of 1.86 in the 10bet Sportsbook!

Porto v Chelsea: 2.60 – 3.20 – 2.90

Jose Mourinho returns to the club that he guided to the Champions League title in 2004 this Tuesday evening looking to extend the lead at the top of Group G following their 4-0 at home to Maccabi Tel Aviv two weeks ago. However, to claim all three points the Portuguese manager’s side will need to get past Iker Casillas in goal, a player that he clashed with in his time at Real Madrid. Will it be Mourinho or Casillas that wins the day?

Porto sit top of the Portuguese Liga having won four and drawn two of their six domestically games this season, but they were unable to win their opening match in Europe as they drew 2-2 in Ukraine against Dynamo Kyiv. Chelsea were dominant in their opening match in Europe and this kickstarted their season as they have since netted eight goals in three matches. They defeated Arsenal in the league and Walsall 4-1 in the League Cup, but they do arrive in Portugal having only rescued a point away at Newcastle with two late goals.

We see this game being as close as the 10bet.com odds suggest and our money for this clash at the EstΓ‘dio Do DragΓ£o is for both of these sides to share the spoils as Porto have not been beaten on home soil in 2015.

Our top Porto v Chelsea pick is back the game to finish as a draw @ 3.20 with 10bet.