It’s fair to say that the opening week of the Champions League was a mixed one for the English sides. For Celtic, however, it was one to forget. Overall the opening games were incredibly one sided, but we’re hoping for better in the second round of fixtures this week. Given how Premier League sides tend to struggle in Europe these days, we should see a few more interesting ties.
This week’s Champions League games are a mixed affair. On one hand, Leicester and Tottenham have games which look wide open. Champion League regulars Arsenal and Manchester City are massive favourites to take three points in their games, but can they get over the line to victory? Here we’ve picked out our betting tips for the midweek clashes involving the English sides.
Tuesday 27th September 2016
CSKA Moscow v Tottenham (19:45) – Over 2.5 goals and BTTS (29/20 with Coral)
Tottenham’s return to the Champions League had a huge build up, but it all fell apart pretty quickly. Their opener with Monaco was held at Wembley, where they’ll play all their home games next season. Spurs forked out £15 million for the privilege of playing at the national stadium, but the team couldn’t adjust to their new surroundings, as they lost 2-1. Some even went as far as to suggest it was the size of the Wembley pitch which threw them. Someone at Spurs is surely scrambling for the receipt for that deal with the FA.
Spurs will have to up their game if they’re to make it in to the last 16. However, their next venue is a pretty tough place to go too. Moscow is always a difficult trip for European sides, especially as CSKA have started scoring. The Russians came back from 2-0 down against Bayer Leverkusen to draw 2-2 in Germany. Spurs clearly haven’t adapted to playing in the Champions League yet, and CSKA can take advantage of that here. However, they’re clearly not the most solid at the back, given how quickly Bayer tore through them. We’re backing a high scoring clash here, over 2.5 goals and both teams to score is our betting tip at 29/20 with Coral.
Leicester v Porto (19:45) – Leicester to win (11/10 with Sky Bet)
Leicester enjoyed a dream debut in the Champions League, easily brushing off Club Brugge 3-0 in their opening game. That has the Foxes in control of this group, after Porto drew 1-1 at home to Copenhagen. It shouldn’t be a shock that the Premier League champions are on course to top their group, but this is Leicester. Their story keeps getting better, despite many predicting them to fall short. While they are up against a side who are regulars in this competition, Claudio Ranieri’s men can be confident ahead of the first ever Champions League clash at the King Power Stadium.
Porto’s slip two weeks ago shows show far they’ve fallen. They’ve got a very young side, one which has failed to deliver domestic silverware of late. The Portuguese side went out in the group stage last term. They finished behind a lacklustre Chelsea side and Dynamo Kiev. The Foxes should have more than enough talent to win this game. Even better for them is that forward Islam Slimani, a £29 million buy from Sporting, should know this opposition well. The champions seem fantastically priced to keep their perfect start going in Europe, so we’re backing them at 11/10 with Sky Bet to win here.
Wednesday 28th September 2016
Arsenal v Basel (19:45) – Arsenal/Arsenal Half time/Full time (6/5 with BetVictor)
Arsenal had a mixed night in Paris two weeks ago, but they managed to come away with a point against the top seeds. The Gunners were pretty poor against an average looking PSG side, they just about scraped a 1-1 draw. Despite the French champions looking like they severely missed Zlatan Ibrahimovic, they absolutely outplayed Arsenal. That was the kind of game in which Arsene Wenger’s side tend to crumble, so their point can be viewed as a positive outcome. However, it’s only a good result if they boss their game at home to Basel this week.
The Swiss side are the most likely opposition to Arsenal qualifying for the last 16. While Wenger will have his eyes on top spot, he knows that Basel need to be dealt with. They’ve troubled Chelsea and Liverpool in this competition in recent years, so the Gunners need to be wary. A 1-1 draw at home to Ludogorets shows that this Basel side clearly aren’t good enough to challenge their Premier League opposition. A win here would put Arsenal in a great position to qualify, so we’re backing them to take complete control of this game at the Emirates.
Celtic v Manchester City (19:45) – City -2 handicap (15/8 with Sky Bet)
Manchester City’s 4-0 win over Borussia Monchengladbach left them a little off the pace in their group. That’s because Barcelona started off by hammering Celtic 7-0 at the Nou Camp. The Scottish champions were completely torn apart, and they’re at risk of the same thing happening again. There’s a huge gulf between these two sides. Celtic spent less than £5 million in the summer, while City’s outlay was just over £170 million. Altogether Celtic’s squad cost just under £17 million, while City’s starting 11 here is expected to cost over £300 million.
City have Sergio Aguero leading the line again here, he put three goals past Gladbach despite being injured for most of that game. Guardiola also has Raheem Sterling and Kevin De Bruyne to call upon, both of whom are in the form of their life. There seems to be goals all the way through this side, and that doesn’t bode well for Celtic. They were humiliated in their opener, and we think they’ll struggle again here. Given the gap in quality, we’re backing City on the -2 handicap, which is priced at 15/8 with Sky Bet.