BATE v ARSENAL
Europa League
Thursday 14th February 2019
Kickoff: 1755hrs
Pick: Arsenal AH-0.75
Bookmaker: Marathonbet
Odds: 1.55 (odds taken at 07:52 GMT, 13 Feb 2019)
The knock-out rounds of the Europa League commence this week also as Thursday night features the first legs of the round of 16, and we take a look at BATE taking on Arsenal as the betting tips continue at the Borisov Arena as the Belarus hosts seek to gain a lead for the second leg.
Europa League Betting at Marathonbet
BATE Prediction
BATE came through a difficult looking group as they finished runners-up to runaway Group L winners, Chelsea, narrowly edging out Hungarian side Videoton and finishing six points ahead of bottom team, PAOK.
In truth, Chelsea were heads and shoulders above the rest of the group and BATE were the best of the rest and just about did enough to progress thanks to securing three wins against Videoton (home and away) and PAOK.
However, the worrying aspect for BATE is that they also lost the other three of their group matches with defeats to PAOK and Chelsea (home and away), with two of the three losses coming on home turf.
It wasn’t that long ago that they faced tonight’s opponents, Arsenal either as they suffered home and away defeats to the London club back in 2017, 4-2 and 6-0 respectively, which I suspect will be in the backs of their minds ahead of this round of 16 encounter on Thursday night.
Key-Facts – BATE v Arsenal
- BATE lost 4-2 and 6-0 to Arsenal back in 2017 in the Europa League
- Arsenal recorded a 100% winning record away from home in the group stages
- Arsenal have lost just 2 of their 10 away ties in the Europa League
Arsenal Prediction
It’s been an up and down ride for Arsenal in recent times in the Premier League as the Gunners have recorded wins over Chelsea, Cardiff City and Huddersfield Town but have lost to the two Manchester clubs, United and City also in quick succession.
However, Arsenal and Unai Emery turn their attentions to the Europa League and the round of 16 against familiar opponents, BATE, who they handed two defeats on the trot to back in 2017. A repeat performance and result this time around would be very welcome for a side who have once again lost their after making yet another promising start to a campaign.
The Europa League offers some hope though to Arsenal and their fans and the visitors came out on top in Group E ahead of runners-up Sporting CP which was effectively a two-horse race for top spot with Vorskla and Qarabag propping up the group with just three points apiece.
An encouraging sign for Arsenal during the group stages was that they recorded a 100% record on their travels with wins at Qarabag 3-0, Sporting CP 1-0 and Vorskla 3-0 which will give them a timely boost for their double-header against BATE.
Betting Tips Verdict
BATE probably can’t believe their bad luck, having to run into Arsenal again in the Europa League while The Gunners need to record some success after a couple of disappointing results in the league.
