Our football scribe takes a look at Wednesday’s eight Champions League ties including the game between Manchester City and Barcelona.
Matchday 3 of the UEFA Champions League left us with plenty to smile about – the first part at least. Last week’s Tuesday Treble was tipped at 13/2, while Wednesday’s Double went out because of Barcelona’s lack of first half goals in their 4-0 victory over 10-man Manchester City. The first set of fixtures are done and we’ve got a better understanding now as to where each team will finish in their group. Spanish giants, Atletico Madrid and Barcelona, have won all three of their games so far – along with English champions, Leicester City. This promises to be another cracking week of the UEFA Champions League; so let’s see where we can find those winners!
Tuesday 1 November
Group A
FC Basel 17/4 | Draw 32/10 | Paris Saint-Germain 11/20
Swiss runaway-leaders, FC Basel, host Paris Saint-Germain hoping to get their first victory of the campaign. Basel are 12 points ahead of the second-placed team in the Swiss Super League with just 12 games gone. In the Champions League, though, Urs Fischer’s side have managed just one point – that came against Ludogorets at home on Matchday 1. Although PSG haven’t been at their very best this season, Unai Emery’s side could never be ruled out. In the group stage, the Parisians have won two of their three matches, drawing the other to Arsenal. As much as I think PSG have got a good chance of winning this one; Both Teams To Score is priced up at 15/20 and offers a bit more in the betting front.
Ludogorets 8/1 | Draw 9/2 | Arsenal 3/10
Arsenal claimed top spot in Group A with a goal difference of +8. Six of those goals came in their last match against their opponents, Ludogorets, after Mesut Ozil inspired the Gunners to a convincing 6-0 win, with the German bagging his first-ever hat-trick. Despite the loss, Ludogorets actually shocked me, keeping more possession than the Gunners in the game and could have found the net on three occasions if it wasn’t for David Ospina in the Arsenal goal. In the Bulgarian league, the Eagles have won all five of their home games, but suffered a 3-1 defeat against PSG on Matchday 2. Arsenal are currently on a run of 12 games undefeated, at the time of writing, and really shouldn’t suffer a setback here. Over 2.5 Goals offers more value at 5/10 and that’s where my money will be at – besides, we did see six goals the last time these sides met.
Group B
Besiktas 24/10 | Draw 24/10 | Napoli 21/20
Group B is looking wide open after Matchday 3. Besiktas claimed an emphatic 3-2 victory away to Napoli and will look to build on that performance. Vincent Aboubakar was the star of the show for the Turkish giants, bagging a brace to seal all three points. Much of Napoli’s downfall in recent weeks is through Arkadiusz Milik, who is still months away from returning from injury. A win for either side will see them claim top spot in the group. Besiktas are the only undefeated team in Group B, and are actually undefeated in their domestic league as well. At 24/10, Besiktas are well worth a punt to claim top spot with a win over Napoli.
Benfica 13/20 | Draw 26/10 | Dynamo Kyiv 17/4
Benfica claimed their first win of the UEFA Champions League campaign with an impressive 2-0 victory away to their opponents, Dynamo Kyiv. The win put the home side in a much better position heading into Matchday 4, and are now just two points behind leaders, Napoli. That said, things are not looking good for Dynamo. They’re five points adrift from the leaders and face a tricky fixture away to Benfica. Kyiv have lost both their home games so far, meaning third spot into the UEFA Europa League might be the best way out for them. For this game, Benfica at 13/20 is the tip.
Group C
Manchester City 19/10 | Draw 51/20 | Barcelona 5/4
Having drawn against Southampton on the weekend, Manchester City are now on a run of five games without a win in all competitions at the time of writing, including a 4-0 loss to their opponents, Barcelona, in the reverse fixture. The same form cannot be said for Barcelona, with the Catalans winning their last six matches in all competitions – at the time of writing. The only positive for the Citizens right now is the injury list that Barca have been hit with. Andres Iniesta, Arda Turan, Gerard Pique, Jasper Cillessen, Jordi Alba and Rafinha have all been hit with injuries, while Jeremy Mathieu will miss the clash after being shown red in the reverse game. Claudio Bravo also saw red, which will see Willy Caballero replace him in goal. Just like the first game, this match should produce goals! Both Teams To Score – First Half is tipped at 22/10.
Monchengladbach 5/10 | Draw 33/10 | Celtic 47/10
In Group C, many expected the likes of Manchester City and Barcelona to go clear ahead and leave Monchengladbach and Celtic behind. Gladbach refuse to let that happen, though, and are just a point behind Man City. A win for the Foals will see them go ahead of City, unless Pep Guardiola’s side do a job over Barca. Celtic are still down under the dirt with just a point and have conceded 12 goals in their three games played. Gladbach claimed a 2-0 away win over Celtic in the reverse fixture and should do it once more at Borussia-Park. The home win is tipped confidently at 5/10.
Group D
Atletico Madrid 1/10 | Draw 7/1 | FC Rostov 24/1
Atletico Madrid have been superb in the UEFA Champions League this season. Three wins, three clean sheets and just three goals scored in in the group so far means that Atleti sit firmly on top with a run of three 1-0 victories in a row. Rostov defended well in their clash against Atletico and forced the Spanish giants into a goalless break at half-time. It was only until the 62nd minute where Yannick Carrasco thwarted all Rostov fans. Diego Simeone’s side look destined for the next round of the tournament. Atletico to Win To Nil is tipped at 4/10.
PSV Eindhoven 52/10 | Draw 36/10 | Bayern Munich 9/20
PSV are now five points adrift of their opponents, Bayern Munich, with just three games to go in the group. However, if Bayern win this one, it’s all over for PSV who will only have third spot to fight for. The Bavarians claimed an emphatic 4-1 win over PSV and will need to be half as good in this tie in order to qualify. Carlo Ancelotti’s side claimed a much-needed 2-0 win on the weekend against Monchengladbach, while PSV also won, beating Sparta Rotterdam 1-0 at home. We’ve seen before that there are goals in this match, with Over 2.5 Goals tipped at 5/10.
Written by Jesse Nagel @Hollywoodbets
