Europe Champions League Round 1

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Athletic Bilbao vs Arsenal Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Athletic Bilbao:
Simon; Areso, Vivian, Paredes, Berchiche; Vesga, Jauregizar; I. Williams, Sancet, Berenguer; Sannadi

Arsenal:
Raya; White, Mosquera, Hincapie, Lewis-Skelly; Merino, Zubimendi, Rice; Madueke, Gyokeres, Martinelli

Athletic Bilbao will welcome Arsenal to San Mames on Tuesday night in the Champions League opening round. The hosts will try to upset the favorites, although a draw is definitely a good result for them. Coach Ernesto Valverde's men started the season in fantastic way, with three consecutive victories. They beat Sevilla, Rayo Vallecano and Betis and some of the fans start dreaming about the title. Nevertheless, the perfect record was "brutally" stopped on Sunday night when Athletic suffered a painful defeat. They lost 1:0 to Alaves at home, courtesy of an unfortunate Alex Berenguer's own goal. I believe the defeat spoiled the atmosphere in the squad. To be worse, Valverde has some important players out of this clash due to injury. The biggest handicap is the absence of the former Arsenal target Nico Williams due to an adductor injury. The ex-Manchester City star Aymeric Laporte has been left out of Bilbao's squad for the Champions League league phase. Benat Prados and Unai Egiluz are also sidelined due to knee and ACL injury respectively, while experienced defender Yeray Alvarez is serving a lengthy doping ban. Finally, Inigo Lekue is rated as doubtful.

Arsenal have a similar record to Athletic Bilbao - three victories and one narrow defeat after the opening four rounds in domestic league. They beat 1:0 Manchester United at Old Trafford. In the next rounds the Gunners demolished Leeds United and Nottingham Forest at Emirates, but lost to the reigning champions Liverpool at Anfield. Despite the defeat, the fans are enjoying and dream about the title. It seems Arteta brought the right players this summer. Viktor Gyokeres came from Sporting Lisbon and he immediately start with goals. Three in four matches, we have to respect his record. But that's not all. Martin Zubimendi was brought as defensive midfielder and he already has two goals to his name. Madueke is just brilliant, nobody was expecting the injured Bukayo Saka to be replaced so smoothly. Saka will miss the trip to San Mames, but could be ready for Sunday's derby with Manchester City. Captain Martin Odegaard, departed after just 18 minutes on Saturday due to a shoulder injury. Key centre-back William Saliba is also struggling with injury and he is rated as doubtful. Finally, Kai Havertz is a long-term injury victim.

Athletic Bilbao vs Arsenal Prediction:

Arsenal are very strong this season. I think they are genuine pretenders to lift the trophy in the Champions League. Furthermore, the Gunners have won the last five matches against Spanish opposition in Europe, having taken down Real Madrid (twice), Sevilla (twice) and Girona. Maybe the reason is connect with the fact several key figures in Arsenal squad are Spaniards - manager Arteta, goalkeeper Raya, versatile midfielders Merino and Zubimendi etc. On contrary, Athletic have big problem with English sides. They were humiliated in last year's Europa League semi-finals, losing 7:1 on aggregate to Manchester United. It is clear Arsenal are class above Bilbao. The injury situation is also on Arteta side. Valverde will be missing the key player Nico Williams due to an injury. His absence is a huge handicap for Athletic. Arteta also has some injury issues (Saliba, Odegaard and Saka are struggling with injuries), but he has adequate replacements.

Athletic Bilbao vs Arsenal Pick: Arsenal to win @ 1.91 with Everygame

 

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Liverpool vs Atletico Madrid Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Liverpool:
Alisson; Frimpong, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Szoboszlai; Salah, Wirtz, Gakpo; Ekitike

Atletico Madrid:
Oblak; Llorente, Le Normand, Lenglet, Ruggeri; Simeone, Barrios, Koke, Gallagher; Griezmann, Sorloth

The Reds started the season in fantastic way, securing four victories in the opening four matches of the Premier League. The reigning champions first beat Bournemouth at Anfield. It was a hard victory secured in the finish of the match thanks to Chiesa. In the second round Slot's men beat Newcastle at St James Park. The 16-years old Rio Ngumoha was the hero on that game after scoring an injury time winner. In the last two rounds Liverpool narrowly won 1:0, against both Arsenal and Burnley. Szoboszlai deserved the glory with his fantastic free kick against the Gunners, while Salah converted a penalty at Turf Moor. The atmosphere in the squad is good following the successful start, but I must admit nobody is impressed. Wirtz is far from his best, Kerkez is struggling, while Ekitike failed to score on the last two matches. Finally Isak is yet to play for his new club and won't start here. The maximum he could hope is playing some 15-20 minutes. In addition, Slot has some injury issues. Alexis Mac Allister came off at half time against Burnley after receiving a crunching challenge from Ugochukwu. Curtis Jones is also on the injury list, while Federico Chiesa has been left out of the Champions League squad.

Atletico Madrid didn't start the new season according to the expectations. In the first round they lost 2:1 to Espanyol. The defeat was surely painful, but it isn't a catastrophe. I was expecting coach Diego Simeone to gave "a lesson" to his players, and better results in the next period. But wasn't like that. The Rojiblancos dropped four points in the next two rounds after played 1:1 draw with both Alaves and Elche,. Finally, the first success came in the fourth round when they beat 2:0 Villarreal. Pablo Barrios and Nico Gonzalez found the back of the net, but Oblak should also be mention for his first clean sheet. Victory surely brought a big relief for the Argentinian coach, but at the same time produced a lot of injury worries. No fewer than four players were forced off - Julian Alvarez, Gonzalez, Robin Le Normand and David Hancko. The latest will miss the trip to UK due to an ankle injury, while the remaining three are rated as doubtful. Jose Gimenez, Alex Baena and Thiago Almada are definitely sidelined.

Liverpool vs Atletico Madrid Prediction:

Liverpool will welcome Atletico Madrid to Anfield in another Anglo-Spanish battle. I expect a big tactical battle between Slot and Simeone, but I do not expect more than two goals. Liverpool managed to beat Arsenal and Burnley in the last two fixtures, though both victories were narrow. One goal made the difference on both matches. Atletico, meanwhile, are known as tough opponents. They are very experienced side that are competing in the Champions League for the 13th straight season Their matches are not too efficient and most of them finish with Under 2.5 goals. This season is not an exception, three of their four competitive games ended that way. Atletico beat 2:0 Villarreal, played 1:1 draw with Alaves and Elche, but lost 2:1 to Espanyol. The H2H record is also with my pick. Atletico have visited Anfield twice so far. In March 2020 Liverpool won 1:0 after the regular 90 minutes (but lost after 120 minutes), while in November 2021 the Reds won 2:0. Considering those facts, I expect a low scoring match again.

Liverpool vs Atletico Madrid Prick: Under 2.5 goals @ 2.25 with Everygame