UCL: Athletic Club Bilbao vs Arsenal- Betting Tips, Odds & Prediction

The 2026 Champions League kicks off this Tuesday with an exciting contest between Athletic Club Bilbao and Arsenal. Arsenal were beaten semifinalists in the competition last season and will hope after a great summer of investment thay can lay down a real challenge yet again this season. 

Athletic Club Bilbao

Athletic Club Bilbao will play their first Champions League tie on over ten years and kick off this year’s competition as they welcome Mikel Arteta and Arsenal to the Estadio San Mames. After finishing fourth last season, the team had started well in this year’s La Liga winning their first three matches. However, the international break seems to have come at the wrong time and Bilbao will head into this match having lost 1-0 at home to Alaves. That was Bilbao’s second consecutive home defeat, and they won’t want to make it three in a row when Arsenal arrive on Tuesday.

Team News: There will be several absentees from the Bilbao lineup on Tuesday with Nico Williams, Aymeric Laporte, Benat Prados, Unai Egiluz and Inigo Lekue all missing from this crunch clash. 

Predicted Lineup: Simon; Areso, Vivian, Paredes, Berchiche; Vesga, Jauregizar; I. Williams, Sancet, Berenguer; Sannadi

Arsenal

Having reached last year’s Champions League semifinal and finished as Premier League runner ups for the third consecutive season, the pressure is on Mikel Arteta and Arsenal to deliver a trophy and so far it’s been a strong start to the season. Having already played Manchester United and Liverpool, Arteta will be delighted that his team have picked up three win from their first four Premier League games. They head into this game full of confidence following their 3-0 demolition over Nottingham Forest at the Emirates and they hope to kick off their UCL campaign with a similar type of victory. 

Team News: There will be several absentees from the Arsenal side on Tuesday with Martin Odegaard, William Saliba, Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka all set to miss out on the trip to Spain. Pierro Hincapie could be handed his debut.

Predicted Lineup: Raya; White, Mosquera, Hincapie, Lewis-Skelly; Merino, Zubimendi, Rice; Madueke, Gyokeres, Martinelli

• This will be Bilbao’s first Champions League tie in ten years. They last played in the UCL back in 2014/2015. 
• Arsenal haven’t tasted defeat in the opening game of a UCL campaign for eight seasons. 
• This will be the first ever competitive meeting between the two sides.  

Most football betting sites believe that despite travelling away from home, Arsenal will be the heavy favourites for victory. 

Handed a tough start to the season, Arsenal’s activity in the summer transfer window as bolstered their squad significantly and they look capable of having yet another deep UCL run. 

Stingy at the back, Arsenal have conceded just one goal this season and you have to wonder whether Bilbao have the attacking fire power to cause the Gunners issues. Going forward, Arsenal have a wealth of options and despite the loss of several stars, they should threaten the Bilbao goal on several occasions.  

This won’t be easy but Arsenal should have enough quality to emerge victorious in what will be a cagey and tight affair.

Arsenal to win 1-0

Arsenal have a proud tradition of winning games 1-0 and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Arsenal scrape through this tricky encounter by a single goal. They will be hard to breakdown and should have enough quality to take one of the chances that they are bound to create.