European football is back with a bang this week as the Champions and Europa Leagues enter the group phase and there are some huge games involving English sides. There are some really interesting fixtures and we’ve cast our eyes over them all in order to bring you – as ever – three great acca betting tips, one at short odds, one at super-long odds and one somewhere in between.
Easy Winner – 6/5 (Betfred)
- Chelsea to Beat Schalke (2/5) – Chelsea have started the season superbly well, with Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas looking like the missing pieces in the Chelsea jigsaw and Jose Mourinho’s undoubted ability making them a real danger in the Champions League. On home soil they will be far too strong for Schalke, a side they beat 3-0 home and away last term.
- Liverpool to Beat Ludogorets Razgrad (1/5) – Liverpool can be unstoppable at home, especially on an emotional Champions League return, and they will overwhelm the minnows here, making this a nice addition to our acca.
- Porto to beat BATE Borisov (2/7) – Porto, like Liverpool, have a proud European history and a strong record in front of their own fans. They can seal our accumulator here with an easy enough win over their Belarusian opponents who could be outclassed and overawed.
Medium Risk – 9/2 (BetVictor)
- Arsenal +0.5 to beat Borussia Dortmund (16/19) – Arsenal have enjoyed some good results against strong German opposition away from home and we think they can do so again here, with players such as Alexis Sanchez, Aaron Ramsey and Danny Welbeck likely to prove enough to get them at least a point against a Dortmund side without the injured Marco Reus.
- Real Madrid v Basel over 3.5 goals (17/20) – Real Madrid’s home games are almost always high scoring affairs and they should rack up the goals against a Basel side who will pose a goal threat themselves. Real’s home games in last season’s La Liga averaged 4.21 goals and their Champions League matches were similarly entertaining so we expect more fireworks here.
- Juventus to beat Malmo to nil (8/13) – Malmo have already over-achieved simply by reaching this stage but they will struggle in Turin. Juve are strong at the back and conceded just 0.47 goals per game at home in last year’s Serie A, making the home win to nil a nice bet.
Long Shot – 318/1 (BetVictor)
- Chelsea to win 3-0 (19/2) – We’re going for glory this week with our final acca at more than 300/1 and we’re starting with Chelsea to repeat their 3-0 wins of last season against Schalke. They are in fine form and should simply be too good for their opponents, with a healthy win all but assured.
- Everton to win by one goal (14/5) – The Toffees should just have enough to get by Wolfsburg on home soil but it will be close. The Germans are a decent side but we fancy Everton’s defence will finally come good, with 1-0 or 2-1 the likely score as the Toffees finally get the result their play deserves.
- Salzburg to beat Celtic by four goals or more (7/1) – Salzburg were surprisingly beaten by Malmo in their Champions League qualifier whilst Celtic were unable to make the most of their reprieve (they were hammered 7-1 on aggregate by Legia Warsaw but went through when the Poles were punished for fielding an ineligible player…only to then lose to Maribor) and we think that the home side could rout a struggling Hoops outfit. The Red Bull side have won three of their four home league games by a total of 18 goals and despite a stutter of late we fancy them to return to form with a bang here.