Sevilla vs Arsenal prediction: EUROPE: Champions League – Group Stage betting tips on match 2023-10-23 19:00.
A 1-1 draw against Real Madrid in La Liga at the weekend showed Sevilla have the stomach for the fight against football’s big-hitters, another of whom rolls into town here in Arsenal. Sevilla interestingly won their only prior home game against the Gunners back in the 2007/08 UEFA Champions League (UCL), part of a respectable home record against English clubs (W5, D2, L3).
A mere four victories from their last 14 UCL home matches (D4, L6) suggests that building upon that may not be straightforward for a side unbeaten in their last five outings at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium (W2, D3). New boss Diego Alonso admitted after the Real Madrid game he is aware of the size of the challenge that awaits here, but with this his first-ever managerial match in the UCL, he’ll hope to have beginners luck on his side.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta is only marginally more experienced on the UCL managerial stage (W1, L1), but he’ll know tipping the balance in favour of that win column here will put his side in a strong position to claim a top-two spot. He’ll be expecting a reaction from his players here too after what he described as a “below par” performance in Saturday’s 2-2 draw at Chelsea, despite the fact they battled from 2-0 down to claim a point.
Pleasing their manager here may be easier said than done for Arsenal, who have a rotten travelling record away to Spanish opposition (W3, D3, L11). Albeit with the caveat of having not partaken in the UCL since 2016/17, the Gunners’ last win on the road in this competition came in December 2016, and they now risk losing three successive UCL away games for the first time since 2010/11, with the third game in that run ominously also coming in Spain against Barcelona!
Players to watch: A familiar face to the referee, Sevilla’s Lucas Ocampos has collected a yellow card in four of his last five home club appearances. Scorer of Arsenal’s equaliser at the weekend, Leandro Trossard has seen four of his five Gunners goals come after the break, the sole exception being his UCL strike against PSV.
Hot streak: Sevilla haven’t scored in their last three home UCL games against English opposition.