REUTERS
Arsenal kicked off a massive seven-day stretch with a 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur in the North London Derby on Sunday, but there’s still two more crucial matches ahead of the Gunners over the next few days.
First up is an away trip to Atalanta in the Champions League, but a showdown with Manchester City looms on the weekend.
Will the Gunners get caught looking ahead in Bergamo on Thursday afternoon?
Champions League: Arsenal vs. Atalanta odds, pick
Sometimes, it’s almost a detriment to step back and take a look at the big picture in handicapping soccer matches, but in this case, it does seem like a good idea to take this tricky schedule spot into consideration for Arsenal.
Not only are the Gunners coming off an emotional win over their fiercest rivals, but Mikel Arteta will need to keep his team’s match with Manchester City in mind as he plans for Atalanta on Thursday.
Of course, Arsenal will want to get off the mark with a win in the Champions League, but it’s just the first of eight matches and isn’t a must-win scenario by any stretch, so just getting out of Bergamo in one piece is vital for Arteta.
With that in mind, it’s fair to expect Arsenal — a team that values control above all else — will do everything in its power to keep this match tidy and predictable.
That won’t exactly jive with how Atalanta want to play, but Arsenal is one of the best teams in the world at controlling the tempo of a match so it’ll be tough sledding for the home side to get this match to open up and be more chaotic.
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The contrast in styles, the schedule spot and the fact that both clubs are missing key attacking players set this contest up to be low-event and tight.
That puts value on the draw, and a sprinkle on it to finish nil-nil at +1300 isn’t a bad idea, either.
The Bet: Draw (+280, DraftKings)
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Michael Leboff handicaps the EPL, NHL, golf and anything else that isn’t the NFL and NBA for the NY Post. He’s up 49.73 units betting EPL with a 7.17% ROI.