Arsenal are in Germany tonight to take on Bayer Leverkusen in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie.
Mikel Arteta’s side set the standard in the league phase - they were the only team not to drop a point - and must now bear the cross of being considered the tournament’s favourites as they face up to the knockout stage.
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That should not faze them, though, given they have not tasted defeat in any competition for 11 straight matches and are making steady progress towards a historic quadruple.
Leverkusen, meanwhile, reached this stage of the competition via a knock-out play-off after finishing 16th in the league phase.
An unconvincing 2-0 aggregate defeat of Olympiacos saw them through to the last 16, and they will be confident of seeing off Arsenal after going unbeaten through two meetings with Premier League sides already this season.
Kasper Hjulmand's side beat Manchester City 2-0 at the Etihad midway through the league phase before drawing 2-2 with Newcastle.
Date, kick-off time and venue
Bayer Leverkusen vs Arsenal is scheduled for a 5.45pm GMT kick-off tonight, Wednesday, March 11, 2026.
The match will take place at the BayArena in Leverkusen.
Where to watch Bayer Leverkusen vs Arsenal
TV channel: In the UK, the game will be televised live on TNT Sports 3, with coverage starting at 5pm GMT ahead of a 5.45pm kick-off.
Live stream: TNT Sports subscribers can also catch the contest live online via the Discovery+ app and website.
Live blog: You can follow all the action on matchday via Standard Sport’s live blog, with expert analysis from Matt Verri at the ground.
Bayer Leverkusen vs Arsenal team news
Arsenal were handed a triple injury boost as William Saliba, Leandro Trossard and Riccardo Calafiori all trained in front of the media at London Colney on Tuesday.
However, there was still no Martin Odegaard or Ben White, while Mikel Merino is a long-term absentee after he underwent surgery on a rare foot injury.
David Raya, Gabriel, Declan Rice and Martin Zubimendi are all fit after being rested completely at the weekend.
Hjulmand is dealing with a defensive injury headache, with Arthur, Loic Bade and Lucas Vazquez all sidelined.
Their absences will heighten the scrutiny on England’s Jarell Quansah, who will be left to do much of the heavy lifting against a formidable Arsenal attack.
Elsewhere, key striker Patrik Schick, winger Nathan Tella and goalkeeper Mark Flekken are all now back in training for Leverkusen.
Bayer Leverkusen vs Arsenal prediction
While injuries are continuing to pile up in the Arsenal squad, Arteta will only accept one outcome from this match.
The Gunners are in fine form, and showed their strength in depth last time around as they rotated heavily to face Mansfield and won, largely without issue.
This Leverkusen side’s results have been mixed this season - victory away at Manchester City is in stark contrast with a seven-goal drubbing at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain. Name a full-strength side in Germany and Arsenal should hope for a result closer to the latter.
Arsenal to win, 3-1.
Head-to-head (h2h) history and results
Arsenal and Leverkusen were Champions League groupmates in the 2001/02 edition of the tournament. The Gunners won the home leg 4-1 but were held to a 1-1 draw in Germany.
Bayer Leverkusen wins: 0
Arsenal wins: 1
Draws: 1
Bayer Leverkusen vs Arsenal match odds
Bayer Leverkusen to win: 5/1
Arsenal to win: 4/9
Draw: 11/4
Odds via Betfair (subject to change).
