As Matchday 2 of the Champions League kicks into gear, European football’s top table again throws up another array of heavyweight clashes, headlined by a stellar double act.
The marquee tie of the week takes place at the Parc des Princes, as Paris Saint-Germain face Manchester City. As Champions League finalists in the past two seasons, these two sides spanning the English Channel look the most likely candidates as the newest name etched on the European Cup this term. Indeed, if the draw pans out, this could be a warm-up for May’s finale in Istanbul.
As the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe line-up in the French capital, Lionel Messi may yet be absent, but goals will surely be the order of the day. In terms of the result however, the bookies have the visitors as favourites for the win, with William Hill pricing Pep Guardiola’s men at 13/10. PSG are 2/1 meanwhile, whilst if you fancy hedging, the draw is 5/2.
In Turin, former winners Juventus host defending European champions Chelsea. After both sides claimed MD1 wins, The Blues come into the game however, on the back of defeat to Man City but here are tipped to beat a slightly labouring Old Lady. Despite claiming a win in Sweden, Juve have conceded in every Serie A outing since then and Chelsea look poised to exploit that, evens for the win with MansionBet, PaddyPower and Betfair.
As Romelu Lukaku makes a swift return to Italian soil meanwhile, after being frustrated by the Cityzens on Saturday, the Belgian hitman will be looking respond. Having netted against Juve when he played them last in Inter colours, could Lukaku go one better here? The Chelsea striker is 6/1 with SkyBet and BetVictor to grab a brace.
Over in Portugal meanwhile, Liverpool face Porto in a now very competitive-looking Group B. Held by AC Milan a fortnight ago at Anfield, The Reds face an opposition who themselves ground out an impressive draw away to Atletico Madrid in MD1 and will look for a similar result here. The Reds are favourites for the win here at 7/10 with UniBet, but the draw looks interesting value priced at 3/1 with the same bookmaker. Porto are in goal-scoring form at home meanwhile netting 10 in their last three games, so for Both Teams to Score and the draw to play out also, BetVictor is the place to visit at 19/5.
The other English involvement in MD2 sees Manchester United looking to erase their opening day defeat to Young Boys at Old Trafford, as they face Europa League conquerors of last term, Villarreal. Stunned in Bern by a late winner, The Red Devils will be eager to get maximum points on the board and are widely 1/2 for the win but could the Spaniards spring another surprise? Unai Emery knows how to get to point from Old Trafford having gone unbeaten in 2018 and 2019 as Arsenal boss, and for those same reasons, a third draw for the Basque manager at 7/2 with Betfred is one to check out.
Having blanked against Aston Villa at the weekend meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo is set to be unleashed on The Yellow Submarine, having scored 13 times in 15 games against the Valencians during his Real Madrid days. With United desperate for three points here, it is surely the smart move to back another Ronaldo brace, with SkyBet again offering a 4/1 boost.
Finally, of the other games on the table, Champions League debutantes Sheriff make their away debut against Real Madrid, having registered a stunning 3-0 MD1 win. This looks of course a far taller task, but could the Moldovans nick a goal? Odds of 13/10 with SBK looks value.
