*matches in all competitions

Marseille last 5 matches: 

Marseille last 3 home matches: 

Arsenal last 5 matches: 

Arsenal last 3 away matches: 

Group F table positions: Marseille  - 1, Arsenal - 2

Thursday in the Champions League with the remaining matches taking to the field and a very interesting and apparently close contest as Olympique Marseille welcomes Arsenal.

Marseille currently top Group F as they total 6 points by defeating Olympiakos Piraeus and Bundesliga champions Borussia Dortmund in the latest one scoring a total of 4 goals and keeping a clean sheet.

Different story for them in the Ligue 1 where they struggle in the lower part of the table managing only 9 points in 10 matches played with the prospect of any performance fading fast in a tournament dominated so far by PSG.

Arsenal is second in Group F with a total 0f 4 point after a one all draw against Borussia Dortmund and a victory against Olympiakos at home.

A similar situation for them as well in the domestic league where they are currently on the 10th spot of the table but unlike their opponents they are after a series of good matches.

My pick:  Draw ( under 2.5 goals )

*matches in all competitions

Dortmund last 5 matches:

Dortmund last 3 home matches:

Arsenal last 5 matches:

Arsenal last 3 away matches: 

Champions League group stage begins on Tuesday with some interesting fixtures to chose from, among them this one in which Bundesliga champions Borussia Dortmund welcomes Arsenal.

Borussia Dortmund has a hesitant start to the new season as they sit only on the 11th spot of the Bundesliga table with a total of just 5 points in 5 matches played.

They lost their weekend game, rather surprisingly as they hosted Hertha Berlin but failed to impress in a match dominated by their adversaries.

Arsenal with a rather similar situation to their opponents. They have lost top players this summer and from their current results it seems they are far from any top spots in the Premier League.

They sit on the 11th spot in the league but with only 4 points gathered in all 4 played, 3 of them managed this weekend against Swansea City by the slightest of margins.

My pick:  Borussia Dortmund to win ( over 2.5 goals )

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*matches in all competitions

Barcelona last 5 matches:

Barcelona last 3 away matches:

Arsenal last 5 matches:

Arsenal last 3 away matches:

Second round of the Champions League stage with Barcelona welcoming Arsenal and the Catalans in need of a victory after their spectacular defeat.

Barcelona suffered a painful defeat in the first leg of the knock out as they where defeated 2-1 in the last 12 minutes of play after dominating and leading by one goal for most of the game.

They have since recovered and managed to win all 4 matches played recently, although fatigue may have been a factor in their edgend victory last week against Zaragoza.

Arsenal showed real morale in the first match and managed to win a game that many thought lost with goals from van Persie and Arshavin.

They have a long injury list for this match as van Persie, Walcott, Fabregas and Song to name just their top players are set to miss out on this very difficult trip to Barcelona

My pick:  Barcelona to win ( over 2.5 goals )

Arsene Wenger has fielded stronger teams than usual in this competition in an attempt to win a trophy for the first time in almost six years, he is expected to once again go with a strong line up as he attempts to justify the odds on Arsenal winning the game which are 4/9, alternatively Arsenal can be backed at 1/4 to lift the trophy, whether it be with a win in 90 minutes, in extra time or on penalties.

Birmingham are currently fourteenth in the Premiership and have been involved in a relegation battle in recent months, although good recent form has seen them pull slightly clear of the bottom three. Birmingham’s recent good form includes five wins in seven games in all competitions and that might make their odds of 8/1 to win in 90 minutes or 7/2 to lift the Carling Cup look pretty generous.

One of the main forces behind Arsenal’s strong 2011 has been the return to fitness and form of Robin Van Persie. The Dutchman has nine goals in his last five Premiership matches and he looks a good bet to open the scoring at 7/2, his anytime goalscorer odds of 10/11 also offer some value in Sunday’s match.

The main man recently for Birmingham has been Nikola Zigic, the lanky Serbian seems to finally be finding his goalscoring touch in England and he should also be backed to small stakes to open the scoring, just to cover the possibility of Birmingham taking a shock lead, Zigic is a more than fair price at 10/1 to score first, the fact that Arsenal have the six favourites in the first goalscorer market shows just how well fancied Arsenal are for this match.

Arsenal may be well fancied for this match, but Birmingham are rarely a side who are beaten by too many goals, especially on a great occasion such as this one. Arsenal’s winning margin is most likely to be two goals and that should be worth a bet at around 10/3, if you fancy the winning margin to be bigger you could get the same price on three or more goals.

The Carling Cup Final takes place at Wembley on Sunday and kicks off at 4pm GMT. We recommend OLBG.co.uk for todays football betting tips.

*matches in all competitions

Arsenal last 5 matches:

Arsenal last 3 away matches:

Barcelona last 5 matches:

Barcelona last 3 away matches:

No doubt the most anticipated match of the week in the Champions League as Barcelona will travel to Arsenal with two all offensive teams and many goals expected.

Arsenal, with it’s best season in a long time, sits on the 2nd spot of the Premier League table, 4 points behind leaders Manchester United and 4 above third in line Manchester City.

They managed to finish second in Group H after surprise Shakhtar Donetsk but scoring no less than 18 goals in all 6 matches played, proving a team that values an attacking game.

Barcelona was held to a one all draw in the last round of the Primera Division by Sporting Gijon, preventing the Catalans from achieving an historic winning streak.

It’s clear that they once again will go all out in all competitions involved and placing first in Group D of the UCL was no surprise.

My pick:  Barcelona to win ( over 2.5 goals )

*matches in all competitions

Barcelona last 5 matches:  

Barcelona last 3 home matches: 

Arsenal last 5 matches: 

Arsenal last 3 away matches:

The first leg of this clash surely left us wanting more and with a 2-2 aggregate scoreline miracles are still possible on Camp Now this Tuesday.

Barcelona dominated the first match with a crushing possession especially in the first half but failed to win the game as the last minutes caught them defending and trying to keep the ball as far away from they goalie as possible.

They are clear favorites to win this match and advance to the next phase of the competition especially with 2 goals scored away and this season’s performances on their home ground.

Arsenal pulled a very satisfying result especially when appreciating how the match hard but they have their work cut out as a victory on Barcelona’s ground will be very hard to achieve.

The team still shows some weakness in they away play in the Premier League and this match will be the first in 3 consecutive ones played whilst traveling, a schedule which can cause some discomfort for the Gunners.

My tip:  Barcelona to win

*matches in all competitions

Arsenal last 5 matches:  

Arsenal last 3 home matches: 

Barcelona last 5 matches: 

Barcelona last 3 away matches:

The Champions League is closing down to the big final with only top teams battling out in this stage as the case here where current champions Barcelona will travel to Arsenal for a match that announces itself as very spectacular.

Arsenal, with the third spot of the Premier League secured is trying the impossible in a championship battle against giants Chelsea and Manchester United, showing a great form with very good results lately in all competitions.

In the previous round of the competition they had a very though time in the first leg against FC Porto but recovered in time for the return to thrash the Portuguese side 5-0.

Only Birmingham managed last week to put an end to a superb 6 match winning streak with a one all draw but Champions League is a different matter and a match on home ground is very important for the overall outcome of the campaign.

Only on the second spot in the Spanish Primera Division due to Real’s better goal ratio, Barcelona is showing as well a fine form making me to believe that this match will be a real show especially as both teams have a great appetite for scoring goals and pushing on the offense.

A very similar situation for Barcelona in the previous phase of the tournament, after being held to a 1-1 draw by Stuttgart, the Catalan side got it’s revenge and marched over the Germans 4-0 at the final whistle.

My tip:  Barcelona to win (over 2.5 goals)

*matches in all competitions

Arsenal last 5 matches:  

Arsenal last 3 home matches:

Porto last 5 matches: 

Porto last 3 away matches: 

Second leg in this phase of the knock outs in the Champions League and Arsenal welcome FC Porto in their attempt to surpass a one goal deficit and make it to the next round.

A very close match in the first leg with FC Porto winning 2-1 in front of the home crowd but now things look very different as Arsenal is winning match after match in the English Premier League and sitting joust 2 points from leaders Manchester Unite and a Porto team that is having real difficulties in it’s domestic league with no chances for a championship title.

Arsenal is showing a superb form and with a total of 51 points their share the second spot of the Premier League with Chelsea ready to make a real surprise and aim for the first spot until the end of the season. The first leg results also favor the English side as the away goal could make a world of a difference but one threat for them comes from the growing list of injured players like Fabregas and Van Persie joust to name the top 2.

As expected FC Porto played a very good match in the first leg and managed the victory, but with joust 2-1 advantage their task is very hard on Arsenal’s pitch.

They are struggling in the Portuguese Liga having lost the derby match against Sporting Lisbon with an embarrassing 3-0 and last week managing only a draw against bottom side Olhanense.

My tip:  Arsenal to win (and qualify)