Champions League Matchday One Preview : A big night for Man City and Liverpool but a bad one for Man Utd

Last Updated : 14th September, 2018 By FREEBets.org.uk

VENUE

Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool and Tottenham are all in Champions League action this week and here are the best bets to have a punt on.

TIME

7.45pm kick-offs

BROADCAST

Live on BT Sport

See Stats

The Champions League group stages get underway this week and there are some fantastic games in prospect for the four English teams involved. Here is the pick of the week’s football action and some decent value bets to go with them.

Inter v Tottenham – 5.55pm Tuesday 18 September

These two shared a couple of Champions League classics back in 2010 when they scored 11 goals between them in their two group stage games. It is unlikely to be a high-scoring affair this time around, though, with Spurs something of a different entity under Mauricio Pochettino than they were under Harry Redknapp.

Neither side are in particularly good form, with both losing in the league at the weekend. Spurs were beaten at Wembley by Liverpool, whilst Inter succumbed at home to Parma. That made it back-to-back losses for Tottenham whilst Inter have now picked up just four points from their first four Serie A games.

Spurs have a good chance of picking up a result in Milan, although given recent results they may not have the confidence to go out and attack their hosts. Similarly, Inter may be keen to keep it tight given their recent poor form. A draw looks the most likely result at the San Siro and is good value.

Inter v Tottenham to end in a draw is available at 11/5 with Coral

Liverpool v PSG – 8pm Tuesday 18 September

This could well be the pick of the matches in this round of fixtures as two teams who score an awful lot of goals meet at Anfield. Both have made blistering starts to the season and it is set to be a serious slug-fest and clean sheets look almost an impossibility.

Both Liverpool and PSG have enjoyed perfect starts to their league seasons, picking up 15 points from five games. The Reds scored a brilliant win away at Spurs on Saturday, whilst the Parisians battered Saint-Etienne at home.

The result between two on-song sides is tough to call, but what we can expect is goals. PSG have scored 17 in their five Ligue 1 games so far, with Liverpool notching 11 in five. No way are their defences going to withstand their attacks and, whatever the result, there will be goals.

Over 3.5 goals is available at 6/5 with Ladbrokes

Man City v Lyon – 8pm Wednesday 19 September

Manchester City have been handed a pretty favourable group in the Champions League this season and they are going to get off to a good start against Lyon on Wednesday.

Pep Guardiola’s side have not really been at their very best so far this season, but they have been good enough to win four and draw one of their opening five games. In contrast, Lyon have just two wins, a draw and defeats to the likes of Reims and Nice.

Coming off a 2-2 draw with Caen on Saturday, things do not look good for the French side heading to the Premier League champions. City have scored 14 goals in five games this season and should stick a few past Lyon who are really not on the same level as the men in sky blue.

Guardiola has one or two defensive injury worries, most notably Benjamin Mendy, but they are rife with attacking options and have more than enough about them to cut the French side to shreds.

Man City (-2) to win looks good in the handicap market at 11/8 with Paddy Power

Young Boys v Man Utd – 8pm Wednesday 19 September

Manchester United appear to have recovered from their slow start to the season, but that certainly does not mean that they are guaranteed to get a result when they travel to Switzerland to take on Young Boys.

The Swiss side are in fine fettle in their domestic league, winning all six of their matches so far this season, racking up a goal difference of +15 already. Confidence is high and they will be expecting to get something against the Red Devils.

Whilst Jose Mourinho’s side have won their last two, they are still not looking especially convincing and against an in-form, ambitious side with home advantage, things are not going to be easy for them. They are still struggling to score goals regularly, and Young Boys are more than capable of getting on the scoresheet themselves.

It will take a really good display from United to come away from this one with three points and they don’t really look like they have that in them at the minute. Do not expect Mourinho’s men to win this one.

Young Boys or Draw Double Chance is very appealing at 11/10 with Ladbrokes

Valencia v Juventus – 8pm Wednesday 19 September

The pick of the rest of the ties this week might just be Juventus’ trip to take on Valencia as Cristiano Ronaldo returns to Spain for the first time since departing Real Madrid over the summer.

Valencia have endured a terrible start to their La Liga campaign, picking up just three points from four matches and without a win to their name. In contrast, Juventus have made a typically good start to the Serie A season, sitting top of the table with four wins from four.

Juve look nailed on to win this one, although one blot on their copybook is that they have conceded in three of the four games so far. They could well do so again in the south of Spain, but a victory still looks more than likely given the respective form of the two sides.

Juventus to win and both teams to score looks a great bet at 3/1 with Bet Victor