Tottenham v Inter, Wednesday, 8pm
It’s win or bust for Spurs in Group B as their penultimate game against Inter at Wembley is followed by a visit to Barcelona.
Inter, on the one the other hand, just need a draw to progress to the knock-out stages next year, so expect a no-holds barred contest, whoever takes the lead.
And that plays right into our hands as holding out for a Martin O’Neill style 0-0 draw is not really an option.
Of the 18 fixtures Spurs have played since they became regular diners at the Champions League table in the 205/16 season, they have only failed to score twice.
That was against the same opponents, Bayer Leverkusen, in back-to-back fixtures as Champions League newbies in October and November 2016.
And while Inter have been more adroit in shutting out opponents in the same period, they needed two late goals to secure all three points at the San Siro earlier in the campaign.
The result is on a knife-edge, but there should be no lack of motivation for both sides to hit the onion bag and we’re backing both teams to score at 17/20.
Verdict: Both team to score @ 17/20
Paris Saint-Germain v Liverpool, Wednesday, 8pm
It’s ironic that these two Titanic-sized clubs clash on Wednesday, because a loss for either could see their Champions League hopes sinking like the once mighty ship.
Jurgen Klopp will be feeling the pinch of Liverpool’s surprise loss to Crvena Zvezda last time out for sure, but he’ll know his charges have a massive opportunity to send Paris Saint-Germain packing too. If Liverpool and Napoli both secure victories, then it’s curtains for Thomas Tuchel’s men and you know their mega-rich owners won’t take kindly to another European failure.
Despite the ludicrous amount of money the Parisians have spent to leap-frog the best in Europe, they were mightily lucky to grab two draws in their back-to-back ties with Napoli. Liverpool also found the rare key to beating PSG in their opening meeting, as PSG collapsed under the relentless pressure The Reds put them under at Anfield.
That’s not to say Liverpool aren’t vulnerable themselves, as we’ve already mentioned their loss to Red Star. They’ve also lost to Napoli away and still needed a late, late, Roberto Firmino goal to seal that win against PSG.
We reckon these two are primed to cancel each other out and the 11/4 for a draw is way too tempting to pass up.
Soccer Football – Bundesliga – Borussia Dortmund v FC Augsburg – Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund, Germany – October 6, 2018 Borussia Dortmund’s Paco Alcacer celebrates scoring their fourth goal with Marco Reus and Manuel Akanji REUTERS/Leon Kuegeler DFL regulations prohibit any use of photographs as image sequences and/or quasi-video TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
Borussia Dortmund v Club Brugge, Wednesday, 8pm
The black-and-yellows are back and flying close to their Klopp-inspired best this season. If things go south for The Reds, the bearded wonder will surely be leaping up and down for his old team to go all the way this season.
Not that they need his help. They’re top of the Bundesliga having rattled off 35 goals through 12 games, building a four-point lead over Gladbach in second, and more importantly, a nine-point gap to the Bavarian behemoth Bayern Munich.
They’ve overwhelmed many teams with an array of young talent – Jadon Snacho has been a big contributor, pushing ahead of Christian Pulisic, Raphael Guerreiro, Maximilian Philipp and others to become a huge part of their attack. Manager Lucien Favre has shown he’s willing to shift pieces around when it comes to the Champions League though, so we can’t be sure the Englaish starlet will start.
Paco Alcacer, just about the most in-form striker in Europe, should be in the team however, having started on the bench versus Mainz at the weekend.
Though he looks ten years older, the 25-year-old has been a sensation since arriving from Barcelona, scoring nine times in 262 minutes of play in the league – that’s a goal every half-an-hour.
I suppose he should be nailed on for a hat-trick at 14/1 if he gets the nod.
For the purposes of our bet, we’d be happy with just one. He’s priced at 8/13 to score in the game, and with Dortmund in a position to seal their progress with a win, and looking to top the group over Atletico Madrid, Brugge could be in for the worst night since Colin Farrell hit town, and Paco should pack a punch.
Verdict: Alcacer to score any time @ 8/13