CL Best Bets - Wednesday
VegasInsider.com
UEFA Champions League - Matchday 2
Tuesday’s big game saw a late Andre Schürrle equalier salvage a home draw for Borussia Dortmund against Real Madrid.
Elsewhere there were important 1-0 wins for English duo Leicester City and Tottenham Hotspur, with 4-0 wins for FC Copenhagen and Juventus. Sevilla edged out Lyon 1-0, Sporting Lisbon beat Legia Warsaw 2-0 and it was all-square between Monaco and Bayer Leverkusen.
Tonight sees the tournament’s two favourites, Bayern Munich and Barcelona, back in action, as well as the hot favourites to win the English Premier League - Manchester City.
Bayern’s is the big game as they make the daunting trip to Madrid to face last season’s beaten finalists Atletico Madrid.
The Banker: Barcelona to beat Borussia Mönchengladbach at 8/15
Barcelona gained the biggest win in the first round of Champions League group games, seeing off Celtic 7-0. Though they have already slipped up twice in La Liga - and in that league of ultra-high points tallies 13 points from six games is rather unimpressive for Barcelona - they have still notched up 31 goals in their nine games this year.
The absence of Lionel Messi may hold Luis Enrique’s men back in the coming weeks, but they should have far too much to see off Borussia Mönchengladbach on Wednesday night.
Mönchengladbach were nowhere near Manchester City in their 4-0 defeat in England in the first round of games, and even at 11/2 they are no value to claim a famous win against Barcelona, who are a good bet at 8/15.
The Solid Bet: Napoli to beat Benfica at 4/6
Napoli seem to be coping well with the sale of Gonzalo Higuain to bitter rivals Juventus. They are the top scorers in Serie A with 14 goals in five games, and they gained a crucial and impressive win away to Dynamo Kiev in their first group game.
In one of the tighter sections in this year’s competition they now welcome Benfica to the Stadio San Paolo. Benfica are a team who do their best work at home, but they are no pushovers away, having lost only twice by more than one goal away from home in the Champions League since 2011.
Nonetheless Napoli are on excellent form and are a cut above their opponents, who go into the match at 19/4. Naples is one of the most intimidating away trips for any European team, and Napoli’s 4/6 price is more than justified.
The Outsider: Atletico Madrid to beat Bayern Munich at 21/10
Carlo Ancelotti’s Bayern Munich side have made a predictably blistering start to the season, having won all five of their league games (conceding just once) and having won their only Champions League game 5-0 against a limited Rostov side.
However the trip to the Estadio Vicente Calderon to play Atletico Madrid is a much sterner test than anything they have faced in domestic football so far this campaign, and against such experienced and savvy European opposition it is very difficult to make the case that they deserve 13/8 favouritism.
Instead it is Diego Simeone’s 21/10 shots who appeal much more. They have won 15 of their last 17 home Champions League games, including famous victories over Bayern (1-0) and Barcelona (2-0) on their way to the final last year. There are occasionally signs that Atletico may be about to fade from their unlikely stint at European football’s top table, but Diego Simeone is an expert at developing his squad, and yet again they could be attractive outsiders to win the competition this year, having twice come so close.
The First Goalscorer: Raheem Sterling for Manchester City against Celtic at 6/1
It is a mark of just how highly rated Manchester City are that they are 1/3 to win away to Celtic Park - commonly viewed as one of the great fortresses of European football. But Pep Guardiola’s new team have been unstoppable so far this year: it is amazing how quickly they have developed under him.
And nobody more so than Raheem Sterling. The former Liverpool winger endured a difficult European Championships, but Guardiola has instantly brought the best out of him. He scored a magnificent goal against Swansea City at the weekend and has netted four in his last five City matches. He is one of their biggest threats and can silence the Celtic Park crowd with the opening goal at 6/1.