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Arsenal v Shakhtar Donetsk
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Kick Off: Tuesday 22nd October at 20:00
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Competition: UEFA Champions League
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Watch Live: Amazon Prime Video
Arsenal’s egos were bruised at the weekend when they suffered their first loss of the Premier League campaign at Bournemouth, though the Gunners have a swift opportunity to muster a response on Tuesday evening in what should be a routine home fixture against Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League.
⭐ Arsenal v Shakhtar Donetsk Best Bets
Shakhtar Donetsk have been priced at a mammoth 23.00 to spring a major surprise at The Emirates Stadium on Tuesday, though there is little evidence to suggest the Ukrainians have what it takes to take such a big scalp in London.
The Miners have looked ill-equipped to meet the required standards of a highly competitive Champions League Group Stage so far and they failed to score in both of their first two assignments in the competition against Bologna (0-0) and Atalanta (0-3).
Shakhtar have looked alarmingly devoid of quality in the final third and they currently rank last for shots on target mustered (zero) and joint-last for overall shots attempted (nine) in the UCL, while only two clubs have been conceding more attempts at the opposite end per 90 minutes (19.50).
Arsenal meanwhile, are chasing their third Champions League clean sheet in as many outings this term and the Gunners are likely to be untroubled by this ordinary Shakhtar outfit. Back Arsenal to win to nil.
👕 Arsenal v Shakhtar Donetsk Predicted XI
🔍 Arsenal v Shakhtar Donetsk Players to Watch
🔴 Gabriel Martinelli
Atalanta’s Ademola Lookman had plenty of joy and racked up five attempts in La Dea’s comfortable win over Shakhtar Donetsk earlier this month and Arsenal’s Gabriel Martinelli, who occupies a similar position, could trouble the Ukrainians in a similar style in North London.
The 23-year-old has been averaging 2.00 shots per 90 minutes in the Champions League this season and the Brazilian, who has been an ever-present in the competition for Arsenal since the summer, can cut in from the left to good effect again on Tuesday evening.
🟠 Taras Stepanenko
Veteran midfielder Taras Stepanenko is a hard-hitting operative for Shakhtar, though the 35-year-old is getting on in years and he looked short on pace when trying to get to grips with the running power in Atalanta’s midfield on matchday two.
Stepanenko committed two fouls and failed to stop players going past him six times in Shakhtar’s resounding 3-0 loss to La Dea on October 3rd and he could toil again against the technicians in this possession-hungry Arsenal side at The Emirates Stadium.
🔴 Gabriel Magalhaes
Arsenal have been a consistent threat from set pieces this season and they could manufacture more opportunities from dead-ball situations against Shakhtar. In the Ukrainian’s last UCL fixture against Atalanta, two of La Dea’s three centre-halves lodged an attempt on goal and Arsenal have the physical prowess to target the same weaknesses on Tuesday.
Brazilian Gabriel Magalhaes, who clocked four shots on target across his last three domestic appearances for the Gunners, is a powerful aerial presence and the defender will be tough for Shakhtar to mark during Arsenal’s well-crafted set-piece routines.
📂 Arsenal v Shakhtar Donetsk Cheat Sheet
The third week of the Champions League is littered with action and our signature football betting predictions are on hand to help. Make sure to check out our Champions League accumulator tips and Champions League bet builder tips to help you back a winner for the first week of the Champions League.
Not only that, but we also have a selection of both teams to score tips, along with player prop market predictions to fold into bet builders, like our card betting tips, player shots on target tips, fouls betting tips, and anytime goalscorer tips.
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💻 Arsenal v Shakhtar Donetsk Form and Tactics
Arsenal’s unbeaten start to the campaign in all competitions was ended by Bournemouth at the weekend and William Saliba’s first-half red card with the score locked at 0-0 was the decisive juncture in the Gunners’ eventual 2-0 loss on the south coast.
Despite a series of good results before that reverse to the Cherries, Arsenal’s performances have been far from note-perfect however, with Head Coach Mikel Arteta critiqued at times for cramming his team with too many defensive players.
Indeed, the Gunners seem to be suffering from an attacking perspective this season and sit sixth in the Premier League for xGF mustered (13.4) and fifth for shots per 90 (15.00), while the story has been similar on the continent with the Gunners averaging just 6.00 shots per 90 minutes in the Champions League so far.
Arsenal probably won’t have to purr in the final third to oust an ordinary Shakhtar Donetsk side on Tuesday evening, however. The Miners were soundly beaten by Atalanta in their last UCL outing (0-3) where they failed to score for the second group game on the spin following September’s 0-0 draw with Bologna.
Head Coach Marino Pusic has seen his team win four of their last five matches in the Ukrainian Premier League while scoring buckets of goals in the process, though Shakhtar have adopted a risk-averse approach in Europe under the Bosnian manager and they are the only team in the Champions League yet to land a single shot on target.
Shakhtar were set up in a defensive 3-5-2 formation on matchday two against Atalanta and they were too easy to pin back as a consequence. They shipped three goals, conceded 22 shots, and allowed La Dea to register 2.60 in xGF on that occasion and they could be dominated just as convincingly by Arsenal.
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🏁 Arsenal v Shakhtar Donetsk Ref Watch
- Referee: Benoît Bastien
- French referee Bastien has taken charge of two European fixtures this season and he handed out at least four cards on each occasion.
- Bastien last took charge of a fixture featuring an English side when he officiated West Ham’s Conference League win over FCSB in September 2022. He brandished six yellow cards in that contest.
- The 41-year-old handed out an average of 4.87 cards per game across his last eight fixtures overall.
Football Predictions at Andy’s Bet Club
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* I recommend waiting for confirmed team line-ups before placing any bets.
* All odds displayed correct at the time of publishing.
Written by an Andy verified content writer
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