Does midweek football get any better than the Champions League group stage? The best club sides in the world are all in action at the same time as the goals come flying in all over the continent. The first round of this year’s competition shows we can also get surprises at this stage of the tournament. We’ve tried to capitalise on the shocks and the more straightforward results by putting together three trebles below.
Easy Winner – evens (Betfair)
- Tottenham to beat APOEL Nicosia (1/4) – Tottenham secured an impressive win over Borussia Dortmund at Wembley in their first game of Group H. With Real Madrid waiting, Spurs need to double their tally of wins against APOEL. They should really oblige.
- Sevilla to beat Maribor (2/13) – Maribor did very well in their first match to draw 1-1 with Spartak Moscow but playing away to Sevilla is a whole different kettle of fish. The Spanish side should pick up a win after their draw with Liverpool.
- Barcelona to beat Sporting Lisbon (2/5) – Despite pre-season worries, Barcelona have got off to a flying start including an impressive win over Juventus in the Champions League. They should carry on in the same vein away to Sporting Lisbon.
Medium Risk – 7/1 (Ladbrokes)
- Real Madrid to beat Borussia Dortmund and over 2.5 goals (9/5) – Borussia Dortmund played some quality attacking football against Tottenham but still ended up losing their Champions League opener. It may well be a repeat performance against Real Madrid on Tuesday.
- Liverpool to beat Spartak Moscow (3/4) – Most teams would be fearful of a trip to Moscow but it could be just the tonic that Liverpool need. The pressure has started to build on Jurgen Klopp but they have the chance to get away from it all on Tuesday and just concentrate on their football. That could well make all the difference.
- Both teams to score in Anderlecht v Celtic (8/13) – Having been the dominant side in Scotland since he took over at the club, Brendan Rodgers was upset that his team were so timid against PSG a fortnight ago. They won’t make the same mistake against Anderlecht which should provide an entertaining match.
Long Shot – 24/1 (Bet365)
- RB Leipzig to beat Besiktas (23/20) – Besiktas got off a cracking start by beating Porto away from home in their Champions League opener but they could lose ground when RB Leipzig visit on Tuesday. The Bundesliga side fear nobody and have the game to make it four points from their first two European matches.
- Celtic to beat Anderlecht (12/5) – Celtic have a chance to bounce back from their humbling at the hands of PSG when they take on Anderlecht. The Belgian side were, themselves, well beaten on Matchday One and Celtic have every chance of a win.
- PSG to beat Bayern Munich and over 3.5 goals (12/5) – Things are not great behind the scenes at Bayern Munich and they may get worse against this ambitious PSG side. The Germans should make a game of it at the Parc des Princes but expect the home side to pick up the win in a high scoring affair.