Bordeaux Begles vs Bath Predictions: English champions ready to test Europe’s best

Champions Cup holders Bordeaux tallied a perfect 20 points from their Pool 4 campaign to take top seeding into the knockouts, where they have blown past Leicester 64-14 before taking down Toulouse 30-15 in a quarter-final classic.

While not at their usual home of the Stade Chaban-Delmas, they remain in their home city for Sunday's semi-final against Bath at the Stade Atlantique.

The English champions won last season's Challenge Cup and have qualified for the semi-finals of this tournament for the first time since 2006.

Winners in 1998, Bath have assembled a squad capable of taking on both the Prem and Champions Cup's best.

After outlasting Saracens 31-22 in the last 16, they came from behind to edge Northampton 43-41 in the quarters, and heavily rotated against the same opposition in the league last weekend. Fresh and firing, Johann van Grann's side are well able to push the current European champions. 

Team News

Bordeaux are without loosehead prop Jefferson Poirot, who has been banned for two weeks for a high tackle against Montpellier.

Matis Perchaud takes his spot and could be targeted by Bath's 2019 World Cup-winning prop Thomas Du Toit, who starts at tighthead.

Bath have also been boosted by the news that scrum-half Ben Spencer is fit to captain a much-changed side after rotating for last weekend's defeat at Northampton.

He partners Finn Russell in the halves, with Santi Carreras favoured at full-back over the benched Tom de Glanville.

Bordeaux vs Bath Odds

Bordeaux are just 1/4 to reach their second successive final, with the draw 22/1 and Bath 3/1 to cause an upset.

Bath +9 @ 11/10

Bordeaux's back-line can blow teams away, with scrum-half Maxime Lucu controlling the tempo and playmaking colleague Matthieu Jalibert moving the ball wide when appropriate.

However, Spencer and Russell are arguably just as good at their jobs and Bath's depth, with Ted Hill and Sam Underhill among their replacements, means they can push opposition sides for 80 minutes.

L'UBB beat Northampton 28-20 in last season's final and have only appeared to get stronger this season, with some of their attacking play breathtaking.

Bath, though, are the real deal and Van Graan purposely rotated last week at Northampton, while Lucu and Jalibert both started Bordeaux's home defeat to Montpellier.

That was their second loss in a row in the Top 14 and Sunday may not be as straightforward as the traders think.

Henry Arundell to score a try @ 11/10

With an open game forecast, the speedsters should thrive. Bordeaux pair Louis Bielle-Biarrey and Salesi Rayasi have each scored seven tries in this season's Champions Cup, but Henry Arundell's three scores in two knockout matches mean he is arguably in better form.

Arundell's defensive shortcomings make him an easy target, yet the way he zips across the turf with the ball in his hand is almost unique, often struggling to get involved in games before diving over out of nowhere.

Being on the right side of evens in the try scoring markets makes him a real player to target, while teammate Ollie Lawrence is another value candidate at 13/5.

Lawrence looks to be over his injuries and his footwork, strength and speed against outside centre opponent Damian Penaud, who is another awesome attacker who can go missing without the ball.

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