The annual International Champions Cup in the USA kicks off this week, and there’s a terrific matchup on Wednesday night as Arsenal of the English Premier League takes on Bayern Munich of the German Bundesliga. It’s a late-night start from L.A. with Bayern Munich favored on the soccer odds.
Arsenal vs Bayern Munich 2019 International Champions Cup Odds & Pick
- When: Wednesday, 11 PM ET
- Where: Dignity Health Sports Park, Los Angeles
- TV: ESPN2
- Live Stream: WatchESPN
- Soccer Odds: Bayern Munich -123 / Arsenal +281 / Draw +291 (Total 3)
2019 International Champions Cup Betting Preview
Why Bet on Arsenal?
Star Laurent Koscielny has refused to travel to the United States for this tournament. The club captain, heading into the final year of his contract at the Emirates, has angered the club by refusing to participate in this tour of the USA. The 33-year-old is believed to be angry at a supposed broken promise from Arsenal that would have allowed him to leave for free this summer. Instead, the Frenchman has another 12 months to run on his deal at the Emirates and the Gunners have set a price tag of around £8.8m for his services.
It appears that this long and mostly-successful relationship is headed toward an ugly end. The Gunners have few options at center back at this time so Koscielny does have more leverage than the average 33-year-old center back.
Arsenal is without defenseman Hector Bellerin, who will miss the start of the 2019/20 Premier League campaign as he continues his recovery from a serious knee injury. He ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament against Chelsea in January. The team reportedly is interested in signing Dani Alves. With the Gunners having a limited budget of reportedly just £45m to work with this summer after missing out on the Champions League for a third season in succession, a move for the 36-year-old may represent good business. Alves showed he can still compete at the highest level after captaining his country to success in the Copa Ameri ca earlier this month for the 40th trophy of a stellar career. The Gunners’ only signing so far this summer is Brazilian teenager, Gabriel Martinelli, while Aaron Ramsey has left for Juventus.
Meanwhile, Arsenal have sent medical staff to Brazil in order to assess the physical condition of transfer target Everton Soares. The Gunners have been linked with a £36m move for the Gremio forward, and it’s believed that the deal is close to being finalized. The transfer could be completed within the next few days, as Everton revealed he may not be playing the Copa de Brazil quarter-final against Bahia on Wednesday. The Gunners are still trying to sign a number of players, including Celtic’s Kieran Tierney, Crystal Palace forward Wilfried Zaha, and Lille winger Nicolas Pepe.
Expected Line-Up
- 33-M. Macey
- 25-C. Jenkinson
- 21-C. Chambers
- 49-Z. Medley
- 20-S. Mustafi
- 41-R. Burton
- 52-J. Olayinka
- 77-B. Saka
- 9-A. Lacazette
- 45-T. John-Jules
- 10-M. Ozil
Why Bet on Bayern Munich?
Bayern Munich was the 2018-19 Bundesliga champion with 78 points, two ahead of Borussia Dortmund. The side has bid goodbye to legendary player Arjen Robben, who has retired. Injury-prone throughout major parts of his enormously successful career, Robben missed most of his Bundesliga farewell tour in 2019 as he once again battled several injuries. In his last match at the Allianz Arena, Robben was on target for Bayern as the German giants sealed a seventh consecutive Bundesliga title, before going on to win another domestic double the following week.
After stints with FC Groningen, PSV Eindhoven, Chelsea, and Real Madrid, Robben joined Bayern Munich in 2009 and went on to become one of the club’s greats in the decade to follow. Featuring in 201 Bundesliga games, he scored 99 goals and set up 62.
Bayern Munich has added a few members from its reserve team to fill out the roster for the International Champions Cup. One was 20-year-old Sarpreet Singh. Singh arrived from Wellington Phoenix over the summer and is the first New Zealander to don the club’s shirt. The 20-year-old featured 27 times in Australia’s A-League last season, scoring five and providing seven assists. He is already a full international, having earned four senior caps for New Zealand.
A few notable omissions from the list include Chris Richards, Lars Lukas Mai, and Christian Früchtl. Richards has been hobbled by an ankle injury and has been resting from his impressive U-20 World Cup showing, while Mai and Früchtl likely have stayed behind to work with their Bayern II teammates to prepare for the upcoming season.
New signing Lucas Hernandez will miss the tour due to his knee operation and instead work on an individual rehab program in Munich. The 23-year-old defender was given a five-year contract until 2024 with Atletico Madrid receiving an €80 million fee for the transfer. Hernandez, who can play at both centre-back and left-back, has made 67 La Liga appearances at Atletico and won the Europa League and Super Cup. Hernandez enjoyed his finest hour last summer when he won the 2018 FIFA World Cup with France, beating Croatia 4-2 in the final.
These matches will be important indicators for manager Niko Kovac ahead of the new German domestic season. “We want to use these three fixtures to practice certain approaches to our game so that we will be able to see that in the Bundesliga too,” explained the 47-year-old. That is also to be reinforced in daily training sessions. “We have to train well to be prepared for the new season.”
Expected Line-Up
- 26-S. Ulreich
- 4-N. Sule
- 44-R. Türkkalesi
- 43-K. Senkbeil
- 22-S. Gnabry
- 35-Renato Sanches
- 19-A. Davies
- 46-M. Zaiser
- 25-T. Müller
- 34-O. Meier
- 9-R. Lewandowski
Expert Pick for Arsenal vs Bayern Munich
These teams last played each other in July 2017 in this same competition and they tied 1-1. We think the same happens Wednesday.
