Ciaran Doyle gives his best bet on DraftKings Sportsbook for Tuesday’s Champions League match between Arsenal and Atlético Madrid.
The UEFA Champions League semi-finals continue on Tuesday as Atlético Madrid will travel to take on Arsenal in the second leg.
Arsenal are -150 favorites on the moneyline, while a draw is available at +295. Fancy an Atlético Madrid upset? They are +425 on the moneyline on DraftKings Sportsbook.
Each team scored a penalty in the first leg to leave this semi-final evenly matched at 1-1 heading into Tuesday’s game. Arsenal are the favorites to advance to the final at -280, while Atlético Madrid are listed at +215.
The first leg of this matchup was full of controversial decisions, as two penalties were awarded and one was overturned. 1-1 feels like a fair result, and now we have it all to play for on Tuesday at the Emirates Stadium.
I like Arsenal to win this one. They are still unbeaten in the entire Champions League campaign so far, and don’t forget that when these teams met in the League Phase in London back in October, the Gunners were 4-0 victors. Similar to the first leg, I don’t expect a lopsided result like that, but the Gunners should have enough to get it done.
Arsenal won their second straight Premier League game at the weekend, beating Fulham 3-0, and look to have regained some momentum after some struggles in April. Atlético Madrid don’t have much to play for in La Liga, so they were able to rest most of their starters ahead of this crucial matchup. Will Arsenal’s legs run tired, or will Atlético’s break in action prove to throw off their rhythm? We will see on Tuesday.
Arsenal have been good both at home and away in the UCL this season, but their home form is elite. In six games, they have won five and drawn one. The draw was in the second leg of the quarter-finals against Sporting Lisbon, where they already had a lead and did not need to win the game to advance.
Atlético on the other hand, have had some struggles on the road. Despite making it this far, they have only won one away match in the UCL out of seven. They have lost four times and drawn twice. That is not the kind of road form you want to bring into one of the best home teams in Europe.
I’m expecting this to be a closely contested nail-biter, similar to the first leg, but the Gunners have too much and will win the game and advance to their second-ever Champions League final.
Best Bet: Arsenal Moneyline (-150)