Football Bet of the Day: Shock in Champions League semi?

We’ve got a stack of football action coming our way this Saturday including loads of Premier League matches and fixtures from all over Scotland. However, the game that has caught my eye this Saturday is a Uefa Women’s Champions League semi-final between Arsenal and Lyon (12:30, TNT Sports 1).

Read on to see why I think the Gunners offer some serious value for our Football Bet of the Day.

What a mouth-watering semi-final we have in prospect. Just days after the men created a brilliant European moment by dumping Real Madrid out of the competition, the women will try to make some magic of their own. 

They face a test arguably even more substantial than the one Los Blancos offered Mikel Arteta’s men, as serial winners Lyon come to town. The French champions are the favourites to win this game at 19/20, and the favourites to win this tie - with good reason. Their pedigree in this competition is unmatched, as since their first run in 2007/08, they have reached 11 finals and won eight Champions League titles. 

That’s twice as many as the next-best team, Eintracht Frankfurt. Meanwhile, Arsenal have found this stage of the competition too much to handle in recent years, losing six of seven UCL semi-finals and they are hoping to end a run of four consecutive semi-final defeats. Now although I would want to back Lyon to win this tie over two legs, I just think Arsenal can cause a shock at the Emirates - especially when we consider what happened in the quarters. 

Arsenal were 2-0 down against Real Madrid, but staged an impressive comeback in front of their own fans to win 3-2. In front of a baying Emirates crowd, I think they can stun Lyon as well. There’s several reasons why I think this game will be closer than Betfred’s odds suggest. Let’s start with Arsenal’s form. 

Since Renee Slegers took over from Jonas Eidevall back in November, no WSL team has won more points than the Gunners (40). In Europe things have gone brilliantly as well, with Slegers guiding Arsenal to six wins out of seven, and the only blip coming on that shocker of a pitch in Madrid in the first leg. 

Football Odds

Lyon are Lyon and they will obviously pose a threat. They’ve kept the most clean sheets in the Women’s Champions League (six), and conceded just two goals so far, so their dominance is obvious. It’s hard to back against a side that contains legendary figures such as Wendie Renard, Eugenie Le Sommer and Ada Hegerberg.

However, that is exactly what I’m going to do in this first leg. I think Arsenal have plenty of attacking quality of their own with Alessia Russo having bagged six already in this year’s competition - levelling the record set by Fran Kirby and Danielle Carter by an English player. She’s a major threat, while Chloe Kelly has now registered six assists across her last nine Women’s Champions League appearances, even though only five of those have been starts. 

Arsenal Women vs Lyon Women Odds

Two came against Real Madrid in that second-leg comeback, and I think there is enough in this Arsenal attack to put Lyon under pressure they haven’t experienced so far in this season’s competition. Last season’s runners-up have won their Champions League fixtures by an aggregate scoreline of 25-2 to prove their dominance, but they haven’t played a team as intense as Arsenal yet. Slegers has taken this side forward and now they are ready to fight it out with the big guns. 

Lyon beat Bayern 6-1 on aggregate in their quarter-final, but I think there is massive value backing Arsenal to get the job done. These two last met in the 2022/23 group stage, and Arsenal secured a seismic 5-1 win away from home, a scoreline that remains Lyon’s biggest loss in Europe. Lyon came out on top by one goal to nil in the reverse fixture, but I do just believe this game is tighter than many people believe. 

I don’t think this will be a draw, given that none of Lyon’s last 28 European matches have ended all-square. So let’s back Arsenal to get the job done at home in what should be an intriguing encounter, packed with quality. You don’t want to miss it. 

Offers

Acca Flex: Place a pre-match 5+ leg Football accumulator and get a CASH bonus up to 100% if all of your selections win or your money back as CASH if one leg lets you down

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