Matchday 7 of the Uefa Champions League continues on Wednesday night when our focus is on Marseille v Liverpool and Newcastle v PSV
Marseille v Liverpool
Marseille have won 3 and lost 3 of their first 6 UCL matches and their tally of 9 points saw them finish the previous round in 16th place, in the play offs but 3 points off a top 8 spot.
The Ligue 1 side have won their last 2 in this competition, 2-1 at home to Newcastle and 3-2 away at Union SG. They also won 4-0 at home to Ajax on Matchday 2 but they suffered defeats at Real Madrid and Sporting (both 2-1) and at home to Atalanta (1-0). The final round of the league phase will see Marseille visit Club Brugge.
Marseille are currently third in Ligue 1, 7 points behind PSG and 8 adrift of surprise leaders Lens. They have lost just the 1 home game, drawing 2 and winning 6.
Liverpool have won 4 and lost 2 of their UCL matches and they are in ninth spot, just outside of the automatic qualification spots on goal difference. After this Liverpool have a Round 8 home fixture against Qarabag which they be firm favourites to win.
Liverpool started with a 3-2 home win over Atletico before going down 1-0 at Galatasaray. They won 5-1 in Frankfurt and 1-0 at home to Real Madrid before a shock 4-1 home defeat to PSV. A 1-0 win at Inter on Matchday 6 put them right back in contention for aa top 8 finish.
Liverpool are fourth in the EPL standings but 14 points behind Arsenal and 7 shy of Man City and Villa. They are unbeaten in 12 across all competitions but 5 of those were league games which finished all square and they dropped points again at the weekend when they drew 1-1 at home to Burnley.
The Verdict
Early in the season Wirtz was struggling and I was losing money on him but he has begun to reward patience with goals and assists. I’m going to stick with him to score anytime in addition to taking the Greenwood / Wirtz shots on target price boost as Marseille should have their opportunities too. .
Bets: Anytime goalscorer Wirtz at 32/10 with Pokerbet
Greenwood and Wirtz both over 1.5 shots on target at 11/1 with Sportingbet
Newcastle v PSV
Newcastle’s record of 3 wins, 1 draw and 2 defeats saw them finish Round 6 in 12th position, 2 points off a top 8 spot with this game and a visit to PSG to come.
After losing 2-1 at home to Barca on Matchday 1 Newcastle reeled off 3 straight wins, at Union SG (4-0) and at home to Benfica (3-0) and Bilbao (2-0). Matchday 5 saw them go down 2-1 in Marseille and last time out they drew 2-2 away to Leverkusen.
Newcastle have been as busy as anybody with league and 2 domestic cup competitions to navigate through whilst missing some key defenders. They have generally coped pretty well but a 0-0 draw away to bottom of the table Wolves at the weekend was a tough watch and they are 8th in the standings, 2 points shy of a top 4 spot.
PSV have won 2, drawn 2 and lost 2 of their matches and are in the lower reaches of the play off spots and they will host Bayern in the final round.
PSV’s stand out results are a 4-1 win at Liverpool on Matchday 5 and a 6-2 home win over Napoli on Matchday 4. They also drew 1-1 at Leverkusen and Olympiakos and they lost at home to Union SG (3-1) and most recently Atletico (3-2).
In the Dutch top flight PSV are in total control. They have won 17 league games, drawing 1 and losing 1 and have a commanding 16 points lead over second placed Feyenoord.
The Verdict
PSV look to have their league wrapped up and can throw everything at this competition in a bid to make the knockout rounds and I expect a bold show from the visitors. Recent league and cup games at St. James Park have been full of goals and although Newcastle were very dull away at Wolves last weekend, I’m thinking goals and I’m hoping PSV can get 2 of them.
Bets: PSV total goals, over 1.5 at 2.05/1 with Pokerbet
Note prices quoted are subject to change