17th April Champions League Preview: Bayern vs Arsenal

---

It was midweek defeat for Arteta at the Emirates, at the hands of his predecessor Unai Emery – a hammer blow in the title race. No time to dwell on past mistakes, as there is a Champions League semi-final on the line.

Pick 1: Saliba O0.5 Tackles + Goretzka O0.5 Fouls (1.75, bet365)

Predicted Line-ups

Bayern Munich (4-2-3-1): Neuer, Kimmich, Dier, De Ligt, Guerreiro, Laimer, Goretzka, Musiala, Muller, Sane, Kane

Arsenal (4-3-3): Raya, White, Gabriel, Kiwior, Jorginho, Rice, Odegaard, Saka, Havertz, Martinelli

---

Pick 1: Saliba O0.5 Tackles + Goretzka O0.5 Fouls

It’s a difficult game to call here, so I’m just going to do with the single bet builder, using similar research as last week.

Saliba had a proper battle with Harry Kane at the Emirates, finishing with 4 fouls and 2 tackles. The Frenchman has seen a noticeable uptick in defensive duels recently, particularly in more competitive games.

This will be the third time backing Saliba for a tackle in a row, but the price is still there, and I’ll happily oblige. You can view the prior research in this article.

Goretzka has a solid track record for fouls this season, and made exactly one in the reverse fixture in London.

The German enforcer has made the most fouls for Bayern this season, at an average of 1.29 fouls / 90. That includes a foul in twelve of his last fourteen starts.

I expect Goretzka to once again have a fair bit of defensive work to do in midfield against the likes of Jorginho, Rice and Odegaard. It’s poised to be a massive game, being pretty much a season-definer for the Bavarian outfit, so they should be really up for it.

Bet 1: Saliba O0.5 Tackles + Goretzka O0.5 Fouls (1.75, bet365)

---