Arsenal are playing well enough to beat Braga 3-1.

But don’t bet on that score. I never bet on scores.

I fancy Fabregas to be the star tonight. He might be spending more time in the Braga penalty area than in the centre circle.

And I think Arshavin will score to make up for the chances he missed against Bolton. Yes, Braga are better than Bolton but Arshavin is better than he was on Saturday.

Chamakh should take this game in his stride, having played two seasons in the Champions League with Bordeaux. He’s linking well, laying the ball off beautifully, and scoring goals rather than missing chances. If Chamakh had joined Arsenal a year sooner, last season would have been different

Clearly, Braga are an unknown quantity and we don’t know good  they will be in a game like this.

Their coach Domingos Paciencia, 41, is a former Porto striker who played 35 times for the national team and won seven titles as a player. Last season was his first with Braga and they led the league for a long time, finished second to Benfica, and went on to qualify by beating Sevilla 5-3 on aggregate in two exciting games.

Portuguese clubs can be clever tactically.They can change a game by switching systems in mid-match and mess you up.

Braga had a tough battle at Porto on Saturday, scoring first but losing 3-2.

Tonight Braga will play on the break using a 4-2-3-1 and taking turns to support lone striker Lima, a 27-year old Brazilian who is a bit similar in style to Henrik Larsson, but not as good. Lima came on as a sub in the second leg against Sevilla and scored a hat-trick.

I reckon Spurs would have won in Bremen last night if William Gallas had played.

But we’ll never know. Rafael van der Vaart showed his pedigree early with a pinpoint cross which Peter Crouch knocked down nicely. Then Bale broke to the line and crossed for Crouch but makeshift centreback Pasenen got there first and scored an own goal. Crouch headed in a fine cross by Rafael van der Vaart for 2-0 but bad defending cost Spurs the game. Really shabby defending by Kaboul, King, Cudicini and the rest.

Still, a 2-2 draw is a decent result in what was Tottenham’s first game back in Europe’s top competition since 1962. I was at school then and Spurs used to be battling Burnley for the First Division title. Burnley had epic games against Hamburg, whose legendary centre forward Uwe Seeler was a balding human cannonball who threw himself at any ball in the box.

Every week we’re reminded that football is very unpredictable.

Nobody could have guessed that Sir Alex would drop ten of the players who let slip a 3-1 lead at Everton on Saturday.

Did he over-react? I think so.

Rangers know how to go away from home and shut a game down. Two years ago they got to the Uefa Cup Final without scoring a goal, virtually. If you don’t have talent or money, you have to get by on fiercely organised defending and hard work. That’s what Rangers did two years ago and they did it again at Old Trafford and got a 0-0 draw. A lot of the time Rangers were passing the ball in tight situations better than United were passing it. We do not expect to see that. The game was marred by a horrific injury to right winger Antonio Valencia, who dislocated and fractured his ankle after catching his studs in the turf. Sky decided not to show close-up replays of the injury.

Champions Inter Milan could only draw 2-2 against Twente in Enschede.

Barcelona went a goal down to Panathinaikos and then took over – making a Champions League record 792 passes in a game – and won 5-1.

With Drogba suspended and Ashley Cole rested, Carlo Ancelotti has already announced his team to face MSK Zilina of Slovakia. Daniel Sturridge will start on the right of the attack with Malouda on the left. Malouda was rested at the weekend, which tells us how important Ancelotti thinks he is. Benayoun in central mid? Not sure about that. The balance might work : flair player alongside two powerhouses, Essien and Mikel. What odds on Essien to score the first goal?

Seven years ago Chelsea played Zilina in Abramovich’s first game and won 2-0. The oligarch wanted to win the Champions League in Moscow but lost it on a JT penalty miss. He’d settle for winning it at Wembley and thinks his team are better than Arsenal or Tottenham. Maybe they are and maybe Spurs or Arsenal will play the Blues early next year

Barcelona or Real Madrid might stop Chelsea. So could other teams. Anything can happen in football.

Big teams can draw 0-0 at home.

Enjoy Matchday 1, wherever you are !

You may want to check out A Shot that captured the bigger meaning in sports, by Rob Hughes.

Today I think football is a game of sequences.

Birmingham have lost their last two, Arsenal have won their last six.

Last time they played, on October 17, Arsenal had won their last six games in all competitions, and Van Persie scored after 16, Diaby scored after 18 and Lee Bowyer pulled a goal back in 38 for 2-1 at half-time when keeper Vito Mannone made a mistake.

The only goal of the second half was scored by Arshavin in 84.

So Arsenal won 3-1.

Wenger says the next game is the big game and that’s right. It’s absolutely right.

I hope he means it. His team selection will tell us whether he means it. He has said Sol will play. Nobody I know thinks Silvestre should play in this game. But he might be selected.

The argument for playing Silvestre is that Song is doing very well in the anchor role. The last time Arsenal played Birmingham the man of the match was Song.

I can’t see Arsenal beating Barcelona over two legs, and even if they did they will not beat Inter over two legs. So Birmingham is more important than Barcelona.

That’s where I am right now : I really don’t think this team can beat Barcelona, but I’m convinced that they will beat Birmingham.

If Arsenal can’t beat Birmingham without Vermaelen, we were right all along: the squad is too thin and too young. End of story, we were right, Wenger was wrong.

Trouble is, Chelsea will probably beat Villa. I gather that Anelka will start and that gives Villa a chance of a 1-1 draw because Anelka hides in midfield and slows the attack down and Carlo Ancelotti’s substitutions are very, very poor. 

And at 5.30, Manchester United should win at Bolton. If United do slip up, Arsenal might yet sneak the title.

Here’s something you might not know. Last October the Big Three all played the same clubs as they play today.

On the weekend that Arsenal last played Birmingham, Chelsea were at Aston Villa and lost 2-1, and Manchester United played Bolton at Old Trafford without Wayne Rooney.

Rooney was not even on the bench. But United still won 2-1. With Rooney at the Reebok, they should get three points.

Yes, football is a game of sequences. But it’s also a game of mistakes, a game of accidents, injuries and surprises.We shall soon see. It looks like three wins to me. If one club drops points, it’s serious/

On our Reviews page I’ve posted Marrakech is mopeds, mosques and massage.