Arsenal vs Kairat Almaty prediction and betting tips January 28, 2026

By Klimentijs Konevs | Published: 27 January, 2026

Arsenal host Kairat Almaty in the final match of the UCL league phase. The Gunners are on course to complete a flawless campaign with a perfect eight wins from eight matches. Having already navigated their toughest tests earlier in the competition, Mikel Arteta's side now face a debutant playing purely for pride.

For Kairat, simply reaching the Champions League has been the lone bright spot in their journey. Bottom of the table with just one point, the visitors are considered massive underdogs, sitting at 41.00. Read on to see just how dominant Arsenal are expected to be on the night.

There's not much new to say about Arsenal at this point. They've simply been dominant across the board. So dominant, in fact, that many were waiting to see them stumble. That finally happened over the weekend, when Manchester United managed to halt their momentum, winning 3-2 in London. It was the first defeat since an away loss to Aston Villa at the start of December, and more of a bump than a warning sign.

The Gunners still sit top of the Premier League, four points clear of Manchester City. They're also leading the UCL league phase as the only side to win seven matches, and remain the only team to beat Bayern Munich (3-1). The numbers are ruthless: just two goals conceded and 20 scored in Europe. Arteta is clearly building toward a first major trophy in years. Mikel Merino and Declan Rice will miss this match due to suspensions, but these are minor concerns. The opposition should not require the full force of the squad.

Kairat in the Champions League is something we didn't expect a year ago, but here we are. The farewell, however, comes with just one point on the board, earned in a hard-fought draw against ten-men Pafos. To be fair, their route through the league phase placed them alongside giants such as Real Madrid and Arsenal, leaving little to no chances of earning some points.

Kairat have managed to score five goals across the campaign, but defensive gaps proved costly, conceding 19. This is the worst goal difference in the tournament. A lack of match sharpness has also played its part. The Kazakh domestic season ended back in October, and since then, Kairat have played just one friendly fixture in January. Squad-wise, only forward Azamat Tuyakbaev is sidelined through injury. Still, the bigger picture is positive: the fans are proud, the country is behind them, and credit is due to a team that showed up every match and played with belief until the very end.

• This will be the first competitive meeting between Arsenal and Kairat.
• Arsenal are on a seven-game winning streak in European competitions, the longest run in club's history.
• Kairat are winless in their last 10 Champions League games, suffering seven defeats during that stretch.

Despite being without a victory in their last three Premier League matches, Arsenal were flawless in the Champions League, winning every league-phase game so far. This match offers the perfect platform to finish the campaign with momentum intact.

Kairat were always expected to struggle at this level. They've conceded 19 goals, and now they face arguably the strongest side in the tournament, away from home. Arsenal should dominate from the first whistle, though it will be interesting to see how long Kairat can resist. Our pick is Arsenal -3.0 Asian Handicap at 1.67.

An alternative betting angle would be over 9 corners at 2.00. Corner kicks are the most dangerous weapon for the Gunners, as they have already scored 20 goals from them in all competitions.

Also, consider both teams to receive a card at 2.00 as your betting option. Both sides are regularly booked at least once in the Champions League, and the referee Urs Schnyder has shown cards to both teams in eight of his last nine matches.

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