Real Madrid vs Arsenal 2019 International Champions Cup Odds & Preview

The International Champions Cup — a series of exhibitions for the top soccer clubs to prepare themselves for the coming season — enters its second week on Tuesday night. Participating clubs are chosen on the basis of their success in the prior year and their likelihood of drawing large audiences in the United States, Europe and Asian venues. On Tuesday night, Real Madrid, with Eden Hazard newly added to the roster, will take the field against Arsenal. Arsenal won both of its games in the first week, beating Bayern Munich, 2-1, on Wednesday and then shutting out Fiorentina, 3-0, on Saturday. Real Madrid has played one game in the ICC so far, falling to Bayern Munich, 3-1, in Hazard’s Real debut. Will Arsenal stay on a roll, or will Real Madrid pick up their first win of the tournament? We have your soccer betting preview here.

Real Madrid vs Arsenal 2019 International Champions Cup Odds & Preview

We’ve still got another week of ICC fixtures coming your way, starting with @realmadriden vs @Arsenal on Tuesday at 7:00pm EDT. Get your tickets to see the match live in Landover, Maryland at FedExField right here: https://t.co/NbPWT3XCE8

— International Champions Cup (@IntChampionsCup) July 22, 2019

• When: Tuesday, July 23, 2019, 7:00pm ET
• Where: FedExField, Landover, MD
• TV: ESPN
• Radio: None
• Live Stream: ESPN+
• Soccer Odds: Real Madrid -0.5 (-106)

Why should you bet on Real Madrid?

Real Madrid did not look in sync in their International Champions Cup opener, possessing just 45 percent of the match and completing 121 fewer passes than their counterparts. In addition to Hazard (who looked good up front, creating space and moving the ball well, just not generating much in the way of scoring chances), Real Madrid had such key players as Isco, Luka Modric and Toni Kroos on the field, making the drubbing they took a point of concern. Problems in the back line, particularly in the play of Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane, contributed to Bayern Munich’s relative ease of scoring. It is difficult to put together chemistry on the field after adding a number of players, and Real Madrid’s real goal here is to compete in La Liga and the other Spanish competitions next season after a couple of years finishing well behind Barcelona. The purpose of the International Champions Cup is to help clubs figure things out while playing before their global fans. With that said, Real Madrid will likely make adjustments to look more sorted out against Arsenal.

Why should you put your money on Arsenal?

Arsenal already has a win over the teams’ common opponent, Bayern Munich, who then turned around and drubbed Real Madrid. Then the Gunners went out and routed Fiorentina with a 3-0 clean sheet. In that match, Eddie Nketiah put together a brace, and Joe Willock scored the third goal. Arsenal possessed for 59 percent of the match, putting five shots on target. Fiorentina is one of the lesser clubs in this tournament, coming on when AS Roma pulled out, but Arsenal got a terrific match out of their skill players. Arsenal stayed under the radar in the English Premier League last season, but their 70 points left them in fifth place in the table — just two points out of third. Their disappointing finish, winning just once in their last five matches, including three losses, seems to have motivated them to make a better start to 2019-20, and their play so far in the International Champions Cup has shown that to this point, despite the fact that the transfer window has not brought any big names to the side yet. If you like Arsenal, you see them continuing the same aggressive play that has brought them wins in the first two matches, while Real Madrid continues to work on building chemistry, particularly on that back line.

Expert Pick and Final Score Prediction

Betting on exhibition games is always a tricky proposition, as there is really not much to play for in terms of prestige, and the emphasis is on preparation for the coming league seasons. However, Arsenal has the edge over Real Madrid in that they are not trying to compose chemistry with a number of new players and looks motivated to start this tournament. I predict a final score of Arsenal 2, Real Madrid 1.