Oh boy, the semifinals of the Champions League both more or less look like wet dreams for any football fan. Four super teams with massive fan support that will battle it out for the finest of all club football’s trophies to find. Tonight’s game could be called a clash between the two “almost” teams. Arsenal and PSG share the not so flattering nickname as both teams have a history of almost making it all the way, especially in terms of success in European tournaments. Given the schedule, at least we know that one of the almost teams will make it to the finals this year. The big question though is which one of them? Arsenal displayed an enormous and impressive effort when eliminating Real Madrid from a proper underdog position, but they enter the pitch with a decimated squad tonight. PSG on the other hand arrives in London with what looks like a totally intact squad and a round of almost flawless appearances in the latest European matches. This is a tough call indeed.
When trying to predict the outcome of a game, no other category is harder than the “Almost teams”. They have a tendency to win when they are already counted out, like Arsenal against Real Madrid in the last round, and then they suddenly get the shivers and fail to perform, like Arsenal against Crystal Palace last weekend... And for this game, this is not just true for Arsenal, PSG have just as much of a soiled history them. So, as I think have already understood I will not have a go at predicting a winner for tonight. Personally, I think that a draw is the most likely outcome, but don’t take my word for it. Of course there is still good value to find, as always. But before coming to a conclusion let’s take a look at squads and stats. While PSG are reported to have a completely intact squad to choose the starting eleven from, Arsenal continues to having to rely on a heavily decimated squad. For tonight’s match, Havertz, Jesus, Jorginho and Tomiauzy are all unavailable through injuries. Calafiori could potentially be brought back into action, but his ability to a part of the starting eleven remains very much in doubt. And, on top of that, Partey is suspended after taking quite an unnecessary card in the game against Madrid. So, in short there is one heavily decimated team facing a 100% fit one and both have roughly the same capacity. Shouldn’t be too hard to predict this one then? Oh, definitely so as we are talking almost teams and we are talking semifinals of the Champions League. That means no proper logic really applies. But there is one logic I think will hold tonight to. The logic shown to us through the latest statistics delivered by the teams. These paints quite a clear picture of two teams with lots of offensive power and the will to use it. Both sides have scored more than 2 goals per match in average each throughout the season. And I am pretty sure both sides will get a chance to celebrate a goal or two tonight.
Conclusion: My conclusion is basically; who knows how this will end? Again, if I had a gun to my head I would say a draw but as I don’t, my suggestion is to play safe and find decent value in the team’s goal scoring capabilities. My prediction is the: Both teams to score & Over 2,5 goals. Regardless of outcome, this has the potential to be a very entertaining match to watch, so don’t miss it. Bet: Both teams to score & Over 2,5 goals.
