Top of the Group, a Night to Seal: Arsenal Host Kairat Almaty in a Champions League Showdown

Match Preview

Emirates Stadium in London hosts a match that appears lopsided on paper as Arsenal welcome Kazakhstan's Kairat Almaty to the final group game of the 2025-26 UEFA Champions League.

Opta notes that Arsenal are the only side in the group to have never trailed in a match this season, while Kairat have conceded 19 goals—the most in the group—and possess an expected goals against of 19.6.

Arsenal arrive unbeaten and with the group already wrapped up, sitting on 21 points from seven games, needing only a point to seal top spot.

By contrast, Kairat are enduring a difficult first Champions League campaign, currently bottom with a single point from a goalless draw with Pafos.

The format remains: the eight group winners go straight to the last 16, while the runners-up join a playoff round to reach the knockout stage, with eight more clubs joining the last 16 from other routes.

Kick-off is scheduled for 21:00 local time on January 28, 2026.

If you're curious about deployment and stats, this one leans Arsenal, yet football is never short on surprises.

Punchline: As the great comedians would put it, Arsenal's group is a one-way street—until it becomes a roundabout; keep your seat belts on, folks.

Punchline: If Kairat pull off the upset, the internet will finally understand that math in football is just a suggestion with extra drama.