Arsenal vs Kairat Almaty Prediction & Betting Tips (28 January)

Semi-finalist last year, Arsenal returned with ambition to this Champions League. The English have also assumed their status as one of the favorites of this competition by progressing throughout the league phase and winning all of their first 7 matches. The Gunners were indeed able to win against Bilbao 0-2, Olympiakos 2-0, Atlético Madrid 4-0, Slavia Prague 0-3, Bayern Munich 3-1, Club Bruges 0-3 and finally against Inter 1-3 last week. Of course, with such a record, they are at the top of a ranking which now seems promised to them. On the national scene, Mikel Arteta's men are also on track to win a title that has eluded them for more than 20 years since they are 7 steps ahead of their first pursuer. Hanging by Forest 0-0, the Londoners hope to revive against Manchester United on Sunday.

As one could expect, Kairat Almaty did not manage to do well for the first participation in its history in this Champions League. Too limited, this team only collected one small point during the first 7 days, in numerical superiority against Pafos 0-0. Otherwise, the Kazakhstanis had to lose against Sporting 4-1, Real Madrid 0-5, Inter 2-1, Copenhagen 3-2, Olympiakos 0-1 and finally against Club Brugge 1-4 last week. In the ranking, this team therefore finds itself at the bottom without the slightest chance of being able to make the play-offs from now on. Still on break in its championship, Kairat won a new championship title last year by beating FC Astana. 

With the Gunners, the international defender Italian Calafiori, the substitute Hincapié and the very young midfielder field Dowman (16 years old) will not be able to play this match. A priori, the best defense in the English championship but also in this Champions League should be able to count on the excellent hinge Saliba and Gabriel even if Mosquera had started against Inter. In midfield, Zubimendi, Rice (4 goals and 4 assists in PL) and Odegaard (1 goal and 3 assists in PL) are the cornerstones of Mikel Arteta's system. At the front, Saka (4 goals and 3 assists in PL, 2 goals in C1) and Trossard (5 goals and 4 assists in PL) could be renewed. At the forefront, Gabriel Jesus (1 goal in PL, 2 in C1) scored points last week by scoring a double against Inter, which should not do Gyokeres' business (5 goals in PL, 3 goals in C1).

 Opposite, Kairat Almaty will go to the Emirates Stadium deprived of the young Kazakh international striker Satpaev (17 years old, 14 goals and 6 assists in the championship) which had been one of the best performances of this team on the national scene. To this we add that the interesting midfielder Baybek (20 years, 12 league games) and the young striker Tuyakbaev (18 years old, 1 goal in 3 league matches) are also injured. Arriving this winter from Bolivia, the Argentine striker Zeballos is not qualified while former starting defender Arad left the club to join FCSB. On the other hand, the Portuguese Jorginho, author of 10 goals and 7 assists in the league should be able to hold his place just like Brazilian striker Edmilson (4 goals in the league) and the sentinel Sadybekov who scored the first and only goal in the history of Kairat at home in the Champions League.