Bayern vs Arsenal betting tips: Champions League picks, odds, line-ups

Bayern Munich host Arsenal in the Champions League on Wednesday night, with the German champions eager to respond after a surprising 3-3 stalemate against Viking FK last week (8pm, TNT Sports 1 and HBO Max). The Norwegian outfit raced into a 2-0 home lead against the six-time European champions. Harry Kane then struck twice and Luis Diaz added another to swing the contest in Bayern's favour. However, Michael Olise received a second booking and was dismissed, and Herman Haugen capitalised by levelling in stoppage time with his first goal in 22 outings. Bayern now occupy 12th place in the table with four points from their first two fixtures. Arsenal, by contrast, boast a perfect record after defeating Napoli and Lille. Bookmakers rank Arsenal — last season's runners-up to Paris Saint-Germain — as third favourites for the European Cup, trailing PSG and Barcelona but sitting just ahead of Wednesday's hosts.

Head-to-head history

Wednesday's clash in Munich will be the 16th encounter between the clubs. Bayern lead the overall series with eight victories to Arsenal's four, while three meetings have finished level. The sides met in last season's group stage at the Emirates, where the home team claimed a 3-1 win through goals from Jurrien Timber, Noni Madueke and Gabriel Martinelli, ending a five-match winless streak against the Germans. Mikel Arteta's men have triumphed only once in seven visits to the Allianz Arena — a 2-0 round-of-16 victory in 2012/13 courtesy of Olivier Giroud and Laurent Koscielny. That result came after a 3-1 first-leg home defeat, and Arsenal exited on the now-abolished away goals rule. Their struggles in Germany extend beyond Bayern: Arsenal have recorded just one win in their past eight away matches there, with five losses and two draws. Bayern have claimed victory in each of their last nine home group stage/league phase fixtures. Unsurprisingly, football betting sites install them as favourites at 21/20, while Arsenal are priced at 12/5 to maintain their perfect record in the competition. The contest appears finely balanced, yet Bayern's previous eight Champions League matches have yielded 44 goals — 5.5 per game on average — which merits attention. Over 5.5 goals is available at 8/1, and three of the last six meetings produced six goals as Bayern won all three 5-1. Could another repeat unfold tonight?

Kane's record against the Gunners

Given his scoring output, Harry Kane tends to boast a strong record against most opponents, and his numbers versus Arsenal are particularly notable. He has netted 15 times in 22 appearances, including in the 2024 quarter-finals, when he converted a penalty in the 2-2 draw in London before Joshua Kimmich struck the only goal in the second leg to send Bayern through. The England captain, favourite for this year's Ballon d'Or, has already registered 15 goals for club and country in just 14 games this term, including three in this competition. Betting apps offer 21/20 on him scoring at any time and 6/1 on him netting two or more.

Team news

Bayern: Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer is expected to return after sitting out the weekend match with a foot problem, but Michael Olise is suspended following his red card against Viking FK. Arsenal: Martin Zubimendi is available again, and Arteta has confirmed he will feature in Munich. However, Piero Hincapie (ankle), Christos Tzolis (hamstring) and William Saliba (back) remain sidelined. Bayern: Neuer; Laimer, Upamecano, Tah, Davies; Pavlovic, Kimmich; Karl, Saibari, Diaz; Kane Arsenal: Raya; Timber, Konsa, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly; Rice, Guimaraes; Saka, Odegaard, Madueke; Gyokeres Bettors should always gamble responsibly online. Always remain within a budget and never exceed it. Never chase your losses. Anyone can lose a bet even if they know a lot about football. It is easy to get carried away with betting on football, so remain in control of your time and betting when claiming free bets or any other betting offers. Bettors can use responsible gambling tools provided by gambling sites UK, such as deposit limits, loss limits and self-exclusion, among others. Should you wish to seek help for gambling-related issues, there are several charities, organisations and healthcare providers who offer support and information: We may earn commission from some of the links in this article, but we never allow this to influence our content. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent. We aim to offer every online gambler and reader of The Independent a safe and fair platform through unbiased reviews and offers from the UK's best online gambling companies. Gambling can be addictive, always play responsibly and only bet what you can afford to lose. Gambling sites have a number of tools to assist you to stay in control, including deposit limits and time outs. If you think you have a problem, advice and support is available for you now from BeGambleAware or Gamcare. Any offers or odds listed in this article are correct at the time of publication but are subject to change. Terms & Conditions apply to all offers.