Matchday 1 of the Uefa Champions League continues on Wednesday night and the focus of our attention is on Bayern Munich v Chelsea and Liverpool's home game against Atletico Madrid
Note prices quoted are subject to change
Bayern Munich 13/20 Draw 33/10 Chelsea 33/10
Last season Bayern made hard work of qualifying for the UCL knockout rounds. They won 5 and lost 3 in the League Phase for a 12th place finish and a play off place where they had to dig deep to see off Glasgow Celtic. A comfortable win over German rivals Leverkusen set up a quarter final clash with Inter which they lost 4-3 on aggregate.
We are just 3 rounds of matches into the new Bundesliga season and Bayern, who won the title in 2024/25, have won 3 from 3 and they sit 2 points clear at the top of the log. They have been prolific in home games, thrashing Leipzig 6-0 on the opening weekend and Hamburg 5-0 on Saturday either side of a 3-2 victory away to Augsburg.
Chelsea qualified into the UCL after a fourth place finish in the EPL last season. They also won the Europa Conference League in 2024/25 and were subsequently winners of the Fifa Club World Cup, beating PSG (3-0) in the final (Bayern had lost to PSG 2-0 in the quarters).
As far as their start to the new EPL season is concerned Chelsea are unbeaten with wins at home to Fulham and away at West Ham either side of draws at home to Palace and most recently at Brentford.
The Verdict
Harry Kane, Luis Diaz and Michael Olise have been banging the goals in for Bayern and this is a massive task for Chelsea. I'm with the home side to score in both halves of football.
Bets: Home team to score in both halves? Yes at 12/10 with Sportingbet
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Liverpool 0.57/1 Draw 32/10 Atletico Madrid 4/1
Last season Liverpool reeled off 7 straight wins in the UCL League Phase and had top spot secure before losing their final game before the play offs. In the Round of 16 they came up against PSG and after a titanic battle that saw them win 1-0 in Paris and lose by the same scoreline at Anfield they bowed out in a penalty shoot out.
After 4 rounds of EPL matches in the new campaign defending champions Liverpool top the log as the only team with a 100% record. Late winners have been a feature of their season, most recently a last gasp penalty giving them a 1-0 win at Burnley whilst their stand out result is a 1-0 home win over title rivals Arsenal.
In the UCL last season Atletico came through the League Phase comfortably enough, winning 6 and losing 2 to finish fifth overall. They came up against Real Madrid in the Round of 16, lost the first leg 2-1 away from home, won the second leg 1-0 on home turf but came up short in the penalty shoot out.
After 4 rounds of La Liga matches Atletico have 1 win, 2 draws and 1 defeat against their name. Having dropped points in a defeat away to Espanyol and draws with Elche and Alavez they opened their win account with a 2-0 home victory over Villarreal last weekend.
The Verdict
Liverpool have generally just been doing enough to secure maximum points and are capable of better. Szoboszlai scored a terrific free kick against Arsenal and was moved into midfield at Burnley at the weekend which is where I think he will play on Wednesday, during which time he will register a shot on target.
Bets: Player shots on target, Szoboszlai 1 or more at 9/10 with Sportingbet
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