The international break took the focus off club football for the start of September, but that’s all changing this week. The Premier League is back in action at the weekend, and then the Champions League group stage kicks off on Tuesday night. The return of Europe’s biggest club competition is surely one to get excited about.
We’ve got a host of great action to look forward to across Tuesday and Wednesday, with all four English sides in action. Can they all make it out of the group stage and into the last 16? They’ll need to start well to boost their chances, so they’ll all be hoping for opening day wins. On the looks of it, we could see a winning start for every Premier League side, though some have easier tasks than others. Here are our previews and tips for each of the big four’s opening group games.
Tuesday 15th September 2015
Manchester City v Juventus (19:45) – City to win (4/5 with Sky Bet)
The toughest task for any of the English sides comes at the Etihad, as Man City host last season’s finalists Juventus. The Premier League leaders have once again been lumbered with a difficult group, but it is one that they should be capable of manoeuvring. After the way they’ve started the domestic campaign, they really should be amongst the favourites to win the trophy, so you’d expect them to be able to make it through the group stage at the very least. A win here should really boost their chances of going through, but can they see off the Italian champions?
Juve are far from the side they were last term, as they lost several key members of their team over the summer. The group that brought them to the verge of completing an incredible treble was broken up, and the replacements have yet to settle. They lost their opening two games in Serie A, and they’ve looked a shadow of the team which has dominated Italian football over the last few seasons. That should give City the chance to get off to a great start here, and we see them picking up three points in their opener.
PSV v Manchester United (19:45) – United to win (23/20 with Bet365)
Elsewhere on Tuesday, City’s neighbours are in action, too. United face one of Louis van Gaal’s former clubs, PSV. On top of that, this is the side from whom the Red Devils signed Memphis Depay during the summer, so there will certainly be a bit of spice in this one. The Dutch side are the seeds in this group, after they won the Eredivisie last term. United could take a big step towards qualification with a win here, and it would be a great way to mark their return to the group stage.
PSV suffered a lot of departures last term following their title success, and that’s left them a lot weaker going into this group. Had they kept their top stars, we might have seen them really push United in this game. Given how they’ve been pulled apart over the summer, we think the Premier League side should be able to record a comfortable win in Eindhoven. They’d certainly take control of the group with three points here, and we’re backing them to do it, given the gulf in class between the two teams. An away win here is well priced, at 23/20 with Bet365.
16th Wednesday September 2015
Chelsea v Maccabi Tel Aviv (19:45) – Both teams to score (21/10 with Coral)
Chelsea haven’t had the best start to the new Premier League season, but luckily for them they’ve been handed a straightforward group in the Champions League. They got the easiest possible opener here, and they’re currently 1/10 to take the three points. Their shaky performances up to now clearly aren’t enough to make punters or bookies give the visiting Israeli side a chance. But, with little value on the winner market, just where should you look in this game?
We’ve taken an outside punt on both teams to score here, purely because of the huge price. Chelsea’s poor defensive record so far this term is well documented, and they’ve looked far from the force they were at the back last season. Maccabi may not be near the Blues level, but they showed in their qualifiers that they’re capable of scoring a goal or two. While we see the hosts winning this one easily, we don’t see them doing it to nil. We’re backing both teams to score in this one, as it’s priced a lot bigger than it should be.
Dinamo Zagreb v Arsenal (19:45) – Arsenal to win to nil (11/8 with Sky Bet)
The Gunners head to Zagreb on Wednesday night as they look to make a good start to their Champions League campaign. With Bayern Munich in their group, Arsene Wenger knows his men have no room for error in games like this. They are usually quite good at dealing with the minnows, although they can have the odd off day. As last 16 regulars, it’s hard to see the FA Cup holders getting anything but a victory in Croatia, and that’s why they’re priced so short in this game.
It’s odd to think that we’d be praising Arsenal’s defence and not Chelsea’s, but the Gunners have been solid at the back this season, bar that West Ham game. Petr Cech seems to have improved them, and their performance at Newcastle in their last away game shows they can grind out a result and keep things tight at the back. They shouldn’t need to grind too much against Dinamo in this one, but they are more than capable of shutting the hosts out. Our tip in this game is a win and a clean sheet for the visitors, which should complete a great week for English sides in the Champions League.