Champions League – Tuesday Preview
Napoli almost defeated Paris St-Germain a fortnight ago and Carlo Ancelotti’s side can improve their chances of reaching the last 16 of the Champions League by beating the French outfit on home soil.
PSG may be unstoppable in their domestic league – they made it 12 victories out of 12 by defeating Lille 2-1 on Friday – but their expensively-assembled side flatter to deceive in Europe.
The French champions needed a stoppage-time goal by Angel di Maria to draw 2-2 against Napoli last month and have already lost 3-2 to Liverpool at Anfield.
Ancelotti to get the better of PSG
Another defeat in Naples could effectively end PSG’s Champions League hopes for another season and the wily Ancelotti will be keen to get one over his former team.
Napoli thrashed Empoli 5-1 in their last Serie A match and can be backed at 3.75 to beat PSG with both teams to score.
In the other Group C match, Liverpool should be too strong for Red Star Belgrade although it will surely be a harder task for Jurgen Klopp’s men in Serbia than it was on Merseyside two weeks ago, when the Premier League team eased to a 4-0 victory.
The Reds remain unbeaten in the Premier League, despite not playing such a swashbuckling style as last term, while Red Star, despite winning 14 of their first 15 Serbian SuperLiga games, are finding the step up in class in Europe difficult to breach.
Liverpool are good enough to beat Red Star 2-0, which can be backed at odds of 6.80.
Atletico desperate for revenge
In Group A, Borussia Dortmund produced arguably the result of this season’s competition so far, when they thrashed the famously rugged Atletico Madrid 4-0.
There will surely be no repeat of such a one-sided scoreline this time, so a draw at 3.70 is worth considering with England international Jadon Sancho, who netted against Diego Simeone’s team two weeks ago, 5.40 to score at anytime on Tuesday.
Thierry Henry’s arrival at Monaco has not had the desired effect and Saturday’s 1-0 loss at Reims extended their winless run in Ligue 1 to 11 matches and they remain in the relegation zone.
It already seems unlikely that Monaco can qualify for the last 16 of the Champions League, but they can at least return to winning ways by beating Club Brugge at odds of 2.15.
Victory a must for Spurs
In Group B, three points for Tottenham is absolutely paramount against PSV Eindhoven at Wembley if they are to have any chance of progressing to the last 16.
Mauricio Pochettino’s team have thrown away five points by conceding two late goals against Inter Milan and a last-gasp equaliser in the 2-2 draw in Eindhoven.
Spurs are certainly not firing on all cylinders but have still managed to win eight of their 11 Premier League matches so far this season, bouncing back well from their 1-0 home loss to Manchester City by winning 3-2 at Wolves on Saturday.
Under Mark van Bommel’s guidance, PSV have been unstoppable in the Eredivisie and they are five points clear of second-placed Ajax after winning their opening 11 matches.
They have scored 39 goals and only conceded four times with three of their victories being by five goals or more.
PSV beat Ajax 3-0 in September and could all but end Spurs’ hopes of catching Inter Milan and Barcelona by drawing at Wembley at odds of 5.30.
In-form Inter to come unstuck
Barca have shown in the last few weeks that they can function perfectly well without the injured Lionel Messi, beating Inter in the Champions League and getting the better of Real Madrid in El Clasico and then winning 3-2 at Rayo Vallecano.
Inter are on the crest of a wave after making it seven Serie A victories in a row by easing to a 5-0 win against Genoa on Saturday and they have only conceded two goals during that sequence.
Luciano Spalletti’s team will aim to frustrate Barcelona but it will be extremely difficult and the La Liga leaders certainly look to have the edge ,with former Liverpool star Philippe Coutinho 3.65 to score at any time.
Messi is in the Barcelona squad for the match but it is thought unlikely that coach Ernesto Valverde will risk him so soon after the Argentinian maestro fractured his arm.
Lokomotiv to be derailed by Porto
The race to win a place in the last 16 from Group D looks set to be between three teams, as Lokomotiv Moscow have lost their first three matches and should not pose too much of a threat to Porto on Tuesday.
Sergio Conceicao’s team eased to a 3-1 victory in the Russian capital two weeks ago and can move a step closer to confirming their place in the knockout stages by strolling to another routine win on Tuesday.
They have bounced back well after losing 1-0 to Benfica last month and have recorded 2-0 victories against both Feirense and Maritimo.
Moussa Marega has been excellent so far this season and the Mali international is available at 4.25 to score the first goal against hapless Lokomotiv.
Signs of life at Schalke
After making a miserable start to the season, there has been some improvement at Schalke and the German outfit will be confident of beating Galatasaray on home soil, after drawing 0-0 in Istanbul a fortnight ago.
After losing their first five Bundesliga matches of the campaign, Schalke have won three of the last five with a new-found defensive solidity behind their revival.
They beat Hannover 3-1 on Saturday after keeping clean sheets in three of their previous four domestic games, as well as frustrating Fatih Terim’s team in Turkey.
Galatasaray were involved in a fiery Istanbul derby on Friday, drawing 2-2 with Fenerbahce in a game that saw three players sent off after the final whistle following a mass brawl.
Gala had suffered a shock 2-0 defeat to Yeni Malatyaspor in their previous game and look set to slide to another loss against Schalke, who are 2.30 to win to nil.
