the champions league is back and after some relatively meaningless international friendlies this is great news for football fans. our live odds comparison brings you all the best betting odds for the major markets on each game. if you aren’t yet sure what you want to bet on read on and hopefully our analysis, tips and predictions will help you land some lovely midweek winners!
tuesday night’s most fascinating clash is a repeat of last year’s final and is a clash worthy of a final. one of these two european heavyweights will be exiting this competition early and we predict a cagey affair in turin.
real beat juventus 4-1 in cardiff last season but it’s quite possible that whilst the italians have moved forward somewhat, zinedine zidane’s troops have regressed a little.
after a slow start domestically juve have moved to the top of the serie a table after a brilliant run in which their defence has been staggeringly efficient. real madrid also started their campaign slowly and, like their opponents, they have improved a little recently. that said, they are still just third, some 15 points adrift of barcelona and their key attackers have struggled at various times throughout the campaign.
juve come into this clash full of confidence and we suspect they would be happy with a 0-0 on home soil. we fancy this one will be a typical first leg clash and the fact that the sides know each other so well only adds to the feeling they will cancel each other out.
we don’t think there will be many goals in this one and so our betting tip is under 1.5 goals to be scored in the game. at best betting odds of 23/10 with unibet that offers real value and covers the three most likely scores in our opinion.
sevilla did fantastically well to eliminate man united in the last round and their european pedigree is superb, albeit more usually in the second tier competition. however, they face a huge test here against the german champions-elect and we predict it will be the end of the road for them at this stage of the champions league.
bayern are romping to yet another german title and are clear favourites to win on the night and to qualify. they are 3/4 (unibet) to win this first leg and despite the strong home form of united’s vanquishers we think that offers very decent value.
the spanish outfit are struggling down in sixth in la liga, some 14 points adrift of valencia in fourth. they have done well to get this far but their defence just isn’t up to this test and we fancy the visitors to win with relative ease.
barcelona v roma: tournament favourites to show class
wednesday night’s action sees the two champions league favourites in action and first up we looking at the overall favourites, barcelona. city drawing liverpool, along with the great form of the catalans, has seen ernesto valverde’s men shorten to 11/4 (sportingbet) in the outright market. city are currently available at best betting odds of 7/2 with ladbrokes.
before talk of who will go all the way, lionel messi and co must overcome roma. the italians are big outsiders to qualify, available at 29/5. in contrast barca are priced at 1/6 with paddy power, so it’s clear how the odds men see this going over two legs.
we have to agree with that assessment all in all. we won’t be putting our entire bank on the home side at odds of just 1/4 (coral) here but in truth that’s not the worst bet you could make and the odds look more than fair.
roma are priced at 12/1 with bet365 but even at those odds we aren’t tempted and we predict a routine home win. barca are in fine form, are virtually unbeatable at home and look a great bet with a -1.5 goal handicap at nice odds of 13/17 with betvictor. if you fancy something offering a bigger return, up that to a -3.5 handicap at huge odds of 43/10 with unibet, as we certainly don’t rule out a home win by four or more.
the tie of the round for many neutrals is the all-premier league battle between liverpool and city at anfield. these are two of the most exciting, attacking outfits in europe, let alone the english top tier and we have to predict goals aplenty, even in the typically cagey first leg.
the bookies are favouring city to win on the night, despite the electric atmosphere of european nights at anfield. pep’s boys are priced at best betting odds of 7/5 with william hill. liverpool can be backed at 19/10 with bet365 and the odds on the draw are 5/2 (ladbrokes).
it’s easy to see that the home side might just offer a little value at those odds. they won the league fixture at anfield 4-3 earlier in the season. with mo salah in such unstoppable form it seems highly unlikely city will keep a clean sheet and with the home crowd urging them forward, we fancy the reds to really get at the champions-in-waiting. moreover, jurgen klopp has a very strong record against his managerial counterpart and could even be viewed as guardiola’s nemesis.
we won’t put you off backing liverpool but our tip is to play it safer and plump for goals. the two league clashes between these free-flowing outfits averaged six goals this term. with both full of confidence we predict plenty more here so back over 3.5 at nice odds of 7/4 with betvictor.