there are some massive games taking place this week in the champions league and it promises to be quite a feast of football for the neutrals. with bayern munich travelling to paris to face psg and the european champions real madrid heading to germany to take on borussia dortmund, we will know a lot more about the complexion of the groups come thursday.
here we bring you brief previews of those two matches along with two moscow sides hosting english opponents. we’ve got betting tips, the latest live odds comparison and more to help you pick out some winning bets – at the biggest odds!
we begin with real’s trip to face peter bosz’s dortmund. the spanish and european champions haven’t had things all their own way on the domestic front so far this term, and we fancy they could be in for a tough evening in germany.
zinedine zidane’s men posted a routine 3-0 victory over the cypriot side apoel nicosia in their first champions league group match, though things are likely to be tougher out in germany. dortmund are currently top of the bundesliga having won five and drawn one of their matches so far, scoring 19 and conceding just once.
of course, the 3-1 defeat to tottenham at wembley in their first group game was far from ideal for bosz’s side, but we fancy they will have the grit and determination to get into real and cause them big problems at the westfalenstadion.
the bookies have unimaginatively priced real madrid as the 5/4 favourites (betfair) but we feel there is far more value to be found in the betting odds of 2/1 with bet365 for the home side to prevail, and that is our betting tip for this one.
liverpool’s trip to massimo carrera’s spartak moscow will tell us all we need to know about whether jurgen klopp’s men have a chance of making an impact in this season’s champions league. spartak can of course be tricky opposition on their day, but they are currently down in ninth place in the russian premier league after 11 games and they’ve only won one of their last five.
liverpool posted a decent enough 2-2 home draw against sevilla in their opening group game, but with the other game (between spartak and maribor) also finishing all-square we feel a win here is vital if the reds are to have a realistic chance of winning the group.
the bookies think klopp’s men will get the job done and they are available to back at best betting odds of 7/10 with coral and others. given liverpool’s propensity to fluff their lines, however, we’re not all that tempted by that price. instead we are going to back goals.
liverpool have kept just two clean sheets all season, and have conceded two or more goals in five games thus far. over 2.5 goals to be scored in the game looks a far safer bet than the liverpool win at the same odds (7/10 with bet365), but if you are confident the reds will get the job done, how about combining the two: back liverpool to win and over 2.5 goals at betting odds of 6/4 with unibet.
cska v man united – mourinho’s men to avoid defeat at all costs
another english side – manchester united – travels to moscow in this round of champions league group matches, to face cska. jose mourinho’s men have won their last four games including a 3-0 victory over basel in their first group game. they are certainly in solid form at the moment and their fans will be eager for them to cruise to victory in the russian capital.
while mourinho would also clearly love for his side to win in moscow, his pragmatic approach suggests that he will first and foremost set his side up to avoid defeat, hoping to nick the winner as they did at southampton on saturday. this, for us, suggests a low-scoring encounter, in which a packed midfield allows few clear-cut chances to be created.
victor goncharenko’s men earned a fine 2-1 victory when visiting benfica last time out and we get the impression the home side would be reasonably happy with a draw from this one. backing under 2.5 goals in the game could be a prudent move at decent betting odds of 8/11 with coral.
if you are looking for bigger odds, you could do worse in our view, than plumping for the half time correct score of 0-0 at odds of 9/5 with betvictor. in what we predict will be a tight and congested affair, in which neither side will want to give much away, backing the match to be goalless at the break could bring home a tidy profit.
two of europe’s giants meet in paris this week for a match that could enthral all who watch it. with so much attacking talent on display, we could be in for quite a show. edinson cavani, neymar, robert lewandowski and kylian mbappe are just a few of those likely to be creating and taking chances on the night, but which of these top-quality sides will get the vital three points?
both sides won to nil in their opening group games. psg travelled to glasgow and hammered celtic 5-0, while bayern put in an assured display to win 3-0 at home against anderlecht. nothing much can be read into either of those wins, of course.
the bookies are strongly veering towards the home side getting the win. william hill and others have psg priced at 19/20 to beat carlo ancelotti’s men. the germans, meanwhile are out at an attractive-looking 14/5 with bet365 to take victory. on balance though, we think this one could definitely end all-square and backing the draw at 3/1 with betfred could be the way to go.
both these teams could be seen as real contenders to go all the way in this season’s champions league, and there is not much between them in the outright winner odds for the tournament: psg are second favourites (behind real madrid) at 11/2 with bet365, while bayern are third favourites at 13/2 with paddy power). though psg will be busting a gut to steal a march on their group b rivals, we predict this will ultimately be a frustrating night for unai emery’s side. so, back the draw at 3/1 or how about the better odds available for betting on the game to end 1-1 at 9/1 with 10bet?