Barcelona vs Arsenal Betting Tips & Predictions 

Barcelona seized control of this tie in North London 3 weeks ago when Lionel Messi scored twice to give the defending champions a 2-0 lead to take back to Catalonia. It leaves Arsenal with an absolute mountain to climb and it will surely take their greatest ever European performance to turn this around. They have to beat Barcelona by at least 2 goals and no side has done that at the Camp Nou in any competition since Bayern Munich won 3-0 in the 2013 Semi-Finals.

Realistically this is likely to be more of a damage limitation exercise for Arsenal. Since the 1st Leg they have taken just 1 point from 3 Premier League matches and exited the FA Cup at home to Watford. Their injury problems are mounting and the pressure on Arsene Wenger is approaching boiling point and a heavy defeat here will only add to the view that he is no longer the right man to lead Arsenal.

As for the Catalans, they have won all 4 matches in La Liga since their trip to their Emirates with Messi in sparkling form scoring 7 goals. Barca have scored 15 times in their last 3 games alone and their unbeaten run in all competitions now stands at 37 matches. They have won 18 of their last 19 in all competitions and their only failure to win in that period was when they put out a virtual reserve side for a Copa del Rey tie at Valencia.

The gulf in class between the sides could be very evident here particularly with Arsenal missing some key players. Barcelona are unlikely to take their foot off the pedal given they have an 8 point lead at the top of La Liga and have been in cruise control in recent weeks. Despite their healthy 1st leg lead, this is still a Champions League knock-out match and a big occasion for both clubs. Barca will be no doubt eager to send a message to the rest of Europe that they are still very much the team to beat.

One crumb of comfort for an Arsenal side that needs goals is the suspension of Gerard Pique and if they can get forward they are capable of causing Barcelona problems. Luis Enrique’s side have conceded in 4 of their last 6 home games so an away goal is a distinct possibility given Barca are without their best centre-back.

However it is at the other end where you really have to fear for Arsenal. Ospina, Mertesacker and Koscielny will be having sleepless nights about facing Messi, Suarez and Neymar. They are capable of tearing even the best sides to shreds and backing Barcelona to win and over 3.5 goals at 6/5 looks a good shout here.