Our football writer previews Wednesday’s set of fixtures for gameweek six of the UEFA Champions League.
The final round of group stage fixtures offers plenty of value. Wednesday’s eight matchups includes a mouth-watering tie between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund.
However, there isn’t much to benefit from for either side as the German’s have already topped the group. Anyway, let’s not make this about just two teams, find out what’s worth backing in all eight of Wednesday’s encounters.
Wednesday 7 December
Group E
Tottenham 5/10 | Draw 31/10 | CSKA Moscow 5/1
What a disappointing season it has been for Tottenham. Mauricio Pochettino’s side came into the UEFA Champions League with high hopes after their Premier League title challenge last season. It has been anything but as Spurs could find themselves out of a European competition with a loss. Top two is out of reach, but anything but a loss would see Spurs through to the Europa League.
CSKA Moscow are winless in the group, but will have the slightest bit of confidence knowing that Spurs haven’t won a game at Wembley so far. It’s tough to call, but Spurs should do enough to claim a vital victory.
Bayer Leverkusen 8/10 | Draw 26/10 | Monaco 32/10
Both Bayer Leverkusen and Monaco are through to the next round of the Champions League. It’s the French giants who sealed top spot, though, with a 2-1 win over Spurs last time out. Leverkusen may have drawn against CSKA last game, but they have been a joy to watch this season.
Both sides are undefeated and Monaco have been Europe’s highest scoring team with 43 goals in the French Ligue 1. Over 2.5 Goals is priced up at 15/20 and looks well worth a strike!
Group F
Legia Warsaw 32/10 | Draw 28/10 | Sporting 15/20
Legia Warsaw come off a resounding 8-4 defeat against Borussia Dortmund, while Sporting were also left disappointed in their 2-1 loss to Real Madrid. For these sides, there’s just third spot to fight for now. Sporting are two points ahead of Legia, which means a win for the home side could see the Portuguese giants kicked out of any European competition.
Sporting claimed a 2-0 win over Legia on Matchday 2 and will be looking to replicate that feat. It’s proven that there is likely to be goals in a game that Legia are involved in, with Over 3.5 Goals tipped at a valuable 29/20.
Real Madrid 17/20 | Draw 29/10 | Dortmund 26/10
Real Madrid have been excellent so far this season and face a stern test against Borussia Dortmund who come off a record-breaking 12-goal thriller against Legia Warsaw. Los Blancos are two points behind Dortmund, meaning that they have to win to ensure top spot in Group F.
At the time of writing, Real Madrid are 31 games unbeaten and have scored in 24 consecutive matches. Dortmund are the highest scoring team in the Champions League with 19 goals in five games. I like the look of a 2-2 draw at 9/1, but play it safe and back a straight draw at 29/10.
Group G
Porto 3/10 | Draw 39/10 | Leicester City 17/2
Porto come into the final Matchday just two points ahead of third-placed FC Copenhagen. Leicester City are already through to the knockout stages, claiming top spot. Porto know that they need nothing less than a win as Copenhagen have a better head-to-head record over them and are likely to beat Club Brugge.
However, Leicester are no pushovers in the Champions League and are still expected to lineup with a lot of their first team players. Both Teams to Score: No is my prediction at 6/10.
Club Brugge 5/2 | Draw 24/10 | FC Copenhagen 21/20
Club Brugge have had a dismal Champions League campaign. Michel Preud’homme’s side are yet to pick up a point, conceding 12 goals in five matches. At the time of writing, FC Copenhagen have kept four clean sheets in their last five games in all competitions.
Not to mention, they’ve kept two consecutive clean sheets in the group stages, drawing blank with both FC Porto and Leicester City. Copenhagen have a head-to-head advantage over Porto on away goals so will come second if they win and Porto do not. I’m chasing value here, with the Away Win to Nil market tipped at 22/10.
Group H
Lyon 14/10 | Draw 23/10 | Sevilla 37/20
After some superb display in the Champions League this season, Sevilla are still not entirely safe. Lyon must overcome the Sevillistas by a margin of two goals or more to grab second spot ahead of their visitors. Lyon will be chasing second place, while Sevilla still have an eye for the top of the pile, being just a point behind Juventus.
Jorge Sampaoli’s Sevilla outfit won 1-0 the last time these sides met and will be looking to replicate that performance. However, in the city of Lyon, it could be tough. That said, these sides are tipped to split the spoils at a valuable 23/10.
Juventus 1/10 | Draw 7/1 | Dinamo Zagreb 22/1
Juventus have the more favoured fixture in the final Matchday. Dinamo Zagreb are statistically the worst team in the tournament, conceding 13 goals, while failing to score a single goal. Juventus are undefeated in the group and can afford to let a few of the second-string players get the opportunity to play.
That said, I get the feeling that Zagreb could break their goalscoring draught. Dinamo have no chance of getting anything out this group and will finish rock-bottom. Once again, I’ll be chasing value here, backing Juventus to Win + Both Teams to Score at 5/4.
Wednesday TREBLE @ 5/1
Tottenham Win 5/10
Juventus Win & BTTS 5/4
Bayer Leverkusen vs Monaco Over 2.5 Goals 15/20
Written by Jesse Nagel for @Hollywoodbets
