The opening round of Champions League group games certainly didn’t go well for the Premier League clubs, with three of the four suffering defeats. Their problems in this competition could have both short and long term effects on the clubs, for this week they get the opportunity to try and get things back on track, for this season at least.
This week’s games present some very tough obstacles for the two Manchester clubs, with both of them in action against Bundesliga teams. Arsenal have the chance to get some points on the board when they host Olympiakos, while Chelsea face a difficult trip to Porto. Here we have previews of all four of those games, plus betting tips for each.
Tuesday 29th September 2015
Porto v Chelsea (19:45) – Chelsea to win (31/20 with Coral)
After being the only English side to win their opener, the pressure isn’t on Chelsea quite as much as the others. Even so, Jose Mourinho will be more than up for this trip to his former club, it’s something he was probably looking forward to since the draw was made. The hosts have made a great start to the season in Portugal, and despite only drawing their opening game in this competition, they’re certainly a threat for the Premier League champions to worry about.
Chelsea have picked up their form in recent weeks, beating Maccabi Tel-Aviv and Arsenal in the space of a few days. After following that up with victory over Walsall, the Blues should be pretty high on confidence. They’ll have Diego Costa back from his domestic suspension here, and he could be crucial in this kind of game. It’s not going to be one packed with goals, it’ll be nervy and edgy, but the visitors can still pick up three points here. We’re backing Mourinho to make a winning return to the club he left in 2004, at the very tempting price of 31/20.
Arsenal v Olympiakos (19:45) – Arsenal to win to nil (7/5 with BetVictor)
Both of these sides lost their opening game, but those defeats came in very different circumstances. Olympiakos ran Bayern Munich close, going in level at half time and being just a goal behind until the last few minutes. They did far better than expected, and that bodes well for them in the rest of this group. Arsenal, on the other hand, lost in Zagreb after having Oliver Giroud sent off. That was a miserable defeat for Arsenal, one which basically ended any chance they had of challenging Bayern Munich for top spot in this group. It looks like they’ll have to settle for second at best.
After that loss in Zagreb, Arsenal have no option but to win this game. Dropping points in those two fixtures before going into games home and away against Bayern could leave them too far off the pace to make the last 16. The Gunners tend to have a good record in European games against smaller sides, so they shouldn’t have too many problems here. Theo Walcott should be able to replace Giroud up top without the team being negatively affected, and Arsene Wenger will be hoping he fires them to glory. With Petr Cech in goal, we’re backing the hosts to win here, keeping a clean sheet to boot.
Wednesday 30th September 2015
Manchester United v Wolfsburg (19:45) – United to win (10/11 with Sky Bet)
United’s opening game was overshadowed by Luke Shaw’s horror injury, but they did come out of it on the end of a defeat. At the time that didn’t seem too important, but now they need to bounce back. Wolfsburg head to Old Trafford after conceding five times in nine minutes to Robert Lewandowski on Tuesday night. The German side did win their opening game 1-0 against CSKA Moscow, but they didn’t look completely convincing. While they have a talented group of players, it may take them a while to get up to speed at this level.
Manchester United may have a new-look squad, but there is a lot of experience still there. They’ll need all of that for this game, as they can’t afford to drop any home points right now. With a double header against CSKA to come, a win here could put them in a great position in this group. You’d expect the Red Devils to have enough to get the three points at Old Trafford, even without cup-tied Anthony Martial. Priced at 10/11, United are great value for the win against a side with little experience at this level.
Borussia Monchengladbach v Manchester City (19:45) – Gladbach or draw (13/10 with Bet365)
Manchester City’s opening game saw them lose a lead against Juventus, falling to a defeat to last season’s runners up. That’s left them in a precarious position, making this trip to Gladbach all important for the Premier League leaders. Given their usual struggles at this stage of the competition, they do tend to make life difficult for themselves in their early group games. Their fantastic domestic form rarely seems to carry over, and that is going to pose a huge problem for Manuel Pellegrini. After putting together an expensively assembled squad, group stage elimination from the Champions League would likely cost him his job.
Borussia Monchengladbach have already sacked their manager, after five straight defeats at the start of the season. Since getting rid of Lucien Favre, they won 4-1 against Augsberg, looking much more like the side from last season. Going to play in Germany is always a tough ask in the Champions League, City know this from their games at Borussia Dortmund and Bayern in the past. With their awful group stage record, they’ve won just five of 14 away games, we’re backing the hosts on the double chance market, which is priced at 13/10. Gladbach may not have had the best start, but they can take advantage of City’s flaws here.