Real Madrid v Arsenal: Predictions, tips and bet builder as Gunners dream of a European semi-final

Arsenal stunned the footballing world when they handed Los Blancos a 3-0 spanking at the Emirates last Tuesday night.

Declan Rice was the chief protagonist in the opening leg after converting not one but two direct free kicks in a space of 12 minutes.

Before his Champions League heroics, Rice only attempted 12 free kicks in his 338 professional matches. Now, goalkeepers across Europe will be quivering between the sticks at the very sight of Rice with the ball in his hands.

You’d like to think that Arsenal won't need any more goals to progress into the semi-finals. Then again, we are talking about Real Madrid… at Santiago Bernabeu.

Los Blancos are not firing on all cylinders – far from it. Their 1-0 win over Alaves at the weekend was a result which ended their three-match losing run. It’s not often you say that about Carlo Ancelotti’s men.

But for all their dodgy results recently, you simply cannot dismiss Real Madrid. Not at the Bernabeu.

The famous ground has a way of making opposition crumble under the pressure. It also has the ability of bringing out the very best of the Madrid outfit.

Here, we take a closer look at Wednesday’s encounter and pick out some of the best bets along the way.

Good luck, and please gamble responsibly.

(All odds are correct at the time of article publication)

Real Madrid v Arsenal bet builder

Over 2.5 goals – 4/7

Over 10.5 corners – 4/6

Over 42.5 booking points – 4/5

Vinicius Junior +2 shots on target – 11/10

Over 2.5 goals

Researching this fixture helped us uncover an unimaginable statistic. Are you ready? In three previous meetings, Real Madrid have failed to score a single goal against Arsenal.

It would be rather incredible if Arsenal could somehow keep that run going, but we doubt that.

The Gunners have conceded goals against Brentford, Everton and Fulham in recent weeks – we expect Real Madrid to join that list.

Let’s not forget, Los Blancos are three goals down on the aggregate and need to go on the offensive from the very beginning.

What’s more, Ancelotti’s men are playing at home and Real Madrid have scored in every Bernabeu game since October’s 4-0 defeat to Barcelona. 

When you couple that with the fact Arsenal are more than capable of breaking down Real’s defence, the over 2.5 goals market seems very realistic. 

Over 10.5 corners

With Real Madrid needing to get on the front foot from the very beginning, we’re expecting a large number of set pieces – including corners.

There were a total of eight corners in the opening leg but in all honesty, Real were not the same team after being left shellshocked by Rice and his free kick magic.

With the hosts needing to pile on the pressure, we’re backing over 10.5 corners.

Over 42.5 booking points

Real Madrid have got a real disciplinary problem at the moment, conceding red cards in back-to-back games.

When you couple Real’s recent card problems with the fact Arsenal are likely to be doing most of the defending on Wednesday night, we’re backing over 42.5 booking points.

Vinicius Junior +2 shots on target

Vinicius Junior had three shots in the opening leg over at the Emirates. Imagine how many more he can get when Real Madrid are on the attack and are playing at home.

The Brazilian forward has got a goal and a couple of assists from his last four outings, and we’re backing the 24-year-old to have another busy evening.

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Planet Sport has a rich history of providing quality, engaging and creative user-friendly content across a wide range of sports.

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