Slavia Prague vs Arsenal Prediction: Merino to fill in for Gyokeres

Arsenal have had a flawless start in the Uefa Champions League, winning all three of their fixtures thus far without conceding. On Tuesday they travel to face Slavia Prague at Fortuna Arena (17:45 GMT, TNT Sports 1).

The hosts are winless after their opening three European matches but they have drawn two of them. Read on for my Slavia Prague vs Arsenal predictions, alongside the latest team news and match odds.

Team News

Ivan Schranz (muscle), Filip Horsky, Petr Sevcik (both ACL), Dominik Javorcek (knee), Tomas Holes (knee), Igoh Ogbu (hamstring) and captain Jan Boril (unspecified) are all out of contention for Slavia Prague, which is going to make Tuesday's clash even more difficult.

With Boril ruled out, creative focal point Lukas Provod will be given the armband, while former Luton Town defender Daiki Hashioka is set to be named on the bench.

Football Odds

Viktor Gyokeres and Martin Zubimendi were substituted with injuries in Arsenal's win at Burnley on Saturday and both are deemed doubts for Tuesday. But the latter was already going to miss this clash due to a suspension for an accumulation of yellow cards.

This should lead to Christian Norgaard making his UCL debut in midfield.

Kai Havertz, Noni Madueke, Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Jesus all remain out of action with knee problems.

Boss Mikel Marteta may opt to rest his key central defenders Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba, so Piero Hincapie and Cristhian Mosquera may feature on Tuesday.

Today's Football Fixtures

Slavia Prague vs Arsenal Odds

Slavia Prague are still waiting for a win in the Champions League and they are 9/1 to stun Arsenal here.

They have experienced two draws thus far, and the stalemate is marketed at 4/1.

Arsenal are the 1/4 favourites to prevail, having won all three games to date. They have all been to nil, though, with this market a better price of 9/10 - which has an implied probability of 52.6%.

BTTS - No is priced at 4/6, while an Arsenal clean sheet is 4/5.

Arsenal to win to nil @ 9/10

Arsenal have the best defence in Europe in my opinion. It may not be as flashy as Paris Saint-Germain's with the attacking full-backs of Nuno Mendes and Achraf Hakimi, but they are so defensively sound and their record to date this term highlights that.

They have conceded three goals in 15 matches across all competitions this season, so I am expecting the Gunners to be resolute once again in their latest European encounter.

And when it comes to attacking, they are not short of players who can step up and deliver in the final third. I think backing them to win to nil is the smart play, which has been a winning bet on 12 occasions already in 2025/26.

Mikel Merino anytime goalscorer @ 11/4

With Havertz out of action, and Gyokeres likely to miss out, Arteta may turn to Mikel Merino to operate as a false nine in Prague, a role which the Spain international has been effective in playing in the past.

Merino has shown to be a goal threat at Arsenal, scoring nine goals in all competitions last term, with two coming in the Champions League. The midfielder has one to his name this campaign, which came at Newcastle United in the Premier League.

Given attacking license here, I am predicting the Spaniard to have an impact in attack for Arsenal and I like the 11/4 price for him to find the net on Tuesday evening.

Offers

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