The Champions League is back on our screens this week, with more top class action coming from around Europe. With the recent troubles for Premier League sides in Europe, there is a risk of them losing their fourth Champions League spot. Big performances will therefore be needed by England’s four representatives this week, with none of them in control of qualification in their group.
The big game of the week sees Arsenal hosting Bayern Munich, with the Gunners clinging to life in their group. Can they avoid defeat or will they take a step closer to elimination? Elsewhere there’s tough away ties for both Manchester United and Chelsea, while Manchester City fight their main rivals for second place. Here we have previews for all those games, with a betting tip included for each.
Tuesday 20th October 2015
Arsenal v Bayern Munich (19:45) – Bayern -1 handicap (21/10 with Coral)
Arsenal’s chances of making the last 16 are hanging in the balance here, after their poor start to their European campaign. Defeats at Dinamo Zagreb and at home to Olympiakos have left them bottom of the group, with qualification looking like it’s out of their grasp. With a double header against Bayern Munich to come, they could well be stuck on zero points after four games of the group. To avoid that, Arsene Wenger needs one of the biggest results of his career, but can he get it here?
It’s pretty difficult to see past Bayern in this one, seeing as they’ve hit eight goals without reply against the two teams who beat Arsenal. Having made the perfect start to this group, they could wrap up top spot and put out a potential rival, all with two games to spare. That’s what the Bundesliga side will be aiming to do here, and they should be able to win comfortably at the Emirates. If Olympiakos can put three past Arsenal, surely Bayern armed with the world’s most in-form forward, can do the same… or worse? Robert Lewandowski could hit three on his own on recent form, and that should lead to a big away win.
Dynamo Kiev v Chelsea (19:45) – Over 2.5 goals (11/10 with Coral)
Chelsea face a defining clash in their season, and Jose Mourinho’s second spell as manager, when they travel to Ukraine on Tuesday. The Blues dropped down to third in the group after defeat in Porto last time out, and another defeat here would be unthinkable. They desperately need to get back into the top two, which means winning both matches of their double header against Dynamo Kiev. Mourinho knows that managers who struggle in the Champions League group stage don’t stay at Stamford Bridge long enough to see Christmas. Right now, this is make or break for him.
Dynamo have made a good start to the group so far, although they’ll be a little disappointed with the 2-2 draw at home to Porto. They won their other game at Maccabi Tel-Aviv, and they sit on four points. Porto’s point in Ukraine and win against Chelsea means they have two difficult fixtures out of the way, lowering Dynamo’s chances of qualifying. After Chelsea’s poor start to the season, the Ukrainians will be targeting them in these next two games, aiming to pip them to a place in the last 16. So far, both sides have seen their fair share of goals, and we expect that to continue in this one.
Wednesday 21st October 2015
CSKA Moscow v Manchester United (19:45) – United to win (8/5 with BetVictor)
Wednesday night sees the turn of the Manchester sides as they try to secure their places in the next round of the Champions League. The Red Devils are in possibly the most open group of the tournament, as all four sides are locked on three points each. It’s hard to see the group continuing like that, especially as United will be targeting six points from these two games against CSKA. With a tricky game in Wolfsburg still to come, this might be United’s last chance to get some away points on the board, and it’s hard to see them progressing without getting anything on the road.
This is a difficult place to come, however, as PSV showed in the last round. The Russians raced in to a 3-0 lead and missed a penalty, before holding on to win 3-2. There are weaknesses in this CSKA defence, it’s just a question of how solid United can be at the back. If they hold off the hosts’ attack, they should be able to grind out a win. Louis van Gaal’s side are well priced for the victory, which looks like good value given that they have a much stronger team than the men from Moscow.
Manchester City v Sevilla (19:45) – City -1 handicap (15/8 with Coral)
This game kicks off a crucial double header for these two, who are effectively playing off for second spot in the group. They’ve each lost to Juventus, who look to be heading through in top spot. They’ve also both beaten Borussia Monchengladbach, who look to be on their way out. That leaves these two, one spot in the last 16 and two matches for them to make their claim. City should be able to take advantage in the first game, given that they’re at home.
Sevilla’s defeat in Italy against Juventus was an incredibly inept performance, and that’s something they’ve repeated in the league. The Europa League winners are 12th in the Liga table, having made a very poor start. City look back to their best in the league, and they should be set to move forward in Europe as well, with the Spaniards there for the taking. We see City recording a comfortable win in the Champions League for a change, so we’re backing a home win on the -1 handicap.