The Champions League proper kicks off this week with the biggest clubs and the best players all looking to start their campaigns in the best possible way. We’ve got some seriously exciting matches to enjoy and as ever the best of the action has been distilled into three accas below to help give you some profit as well as some major entertainment.
Easy Winner – 5/6 (BetVictor)
- Real Madrid to beat Shakhtar (1/7) – Shakhtar are not the exciting team they used to be and although they’ve done enough to qualify for the Champions League that could be as good as it gets. They’ll find life very difficult at the Bernabeu on Tuesday.
- Bayern Munich to beat Olympiakos (4/11) – Bayern are looking way beyond the group stages but need to get out of them first. They’ll surely have a good start against a much weaker Olympiakos team even though they’re playing away from home.
- Benfica to beat Lokomotiv Astana (2/11) – It’s a long way from Kazakhstan to Portugal. Astana will make the journey this week ahead of their Champions League opener against Benfica. Unfortunately for them and their fans they will make the return journey without any points.
Medium Risk – 9/1 (Sky Bet)
- Valencia to beat Zenit (8/11) – Zenit travel to Spain to take on Valencia with a sense of dread. The Russian team have never won a game in Spain and that does not look like changing. Valencia are back in the Champions League for the first time in a couple of years so will be very much up for their first game.
- Sevilla to beat Borussia Monchengladbach (4/6) – These two faced off in the Europa League only last season. Sevilla ended victorious back then and they’ve got a great chance of winning this game as well. The Spanish side have had a poor start to their league campaign but can use the international break to their advantage.
- Manchester City and Juventus to draw (5/2) – City have not yet made the grade in the Champions League and they face masters at this level in Juventus. City are looking great but could hit their first bump on the road against last season’s beaten finalists.
Long Shot – 90/1 (Bet365)
- Roma to beat Barcelona (5/1) – Barcelona are the team to beat in Europe once again but Roma can rise to that challenge against the odds. They’ve strengthened over the summer and want to improve both domestically and on the European stage while Barca haven’t been firing on all cylinders yet.
- Dinamo Zagreb to beat Arsenal (6/1) – Could this be the perfect time for Dinamo Zagreb to get a long awaited Champions League win. You never know which Arsenal will turn up and the Dinamo fans will be huge boost to their team.
- Lyon to beat Gent (23/20) – Lyon will feel their best chance at winning an away game in Group H could be in their first game. They’ve got a short trip to play Gent and have a team that is more than capable of winning this one.