Crosstown rivals Manchester United and Manchester City are just two of the top teams that will headline Wednesday’s round of Champions League action. After suffering shock defeats in Matchday 1, can United and City follow the lead of Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain and register some big wins?
Let’s briefly break down the key pieces of information for the eight matchups on tap this Wednesday and offer a bold prediction for each one. Meanwhile, don’t forget to check out Tuesday’s Champions League update here.
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2015 UEFA Champions League Wednesday Preview
*All matches (except Astana vs. Galatasaray, which will kick off at 12:00 noon ET) will kick-off at 2:45 PM ET
[sc:Soccer240banner ]The Astana Arena will be rocking as the Kazakhstani champions will host the very first Champions League game in the country’s history. Astana won all three home games during qualifying, with eight goals scored and four conceded. They’ll face a struggling Galatasaray side that has lost its last six Champions League games, as well as the last six on the road.
Writer’s Prediction: Astana and Galatasaray play out a drab 0-0 draw (+215).
Cristiano Ronaldo broke his tie with Leo Messi at the top of the all-time Champions League goal scoring charts with a hat-trick against Shakhtar Donetsk. With Messi out injured, look for Ronaldo to tack on more goals to his lead against Malmo. Ronaldo has scored 13 goals in his last 13 Champions League games.
Writer’s Prediction: Real score over 3.5 goals by themselves as they hammer Malmo, 4-0.
PSG will be in spectacular form entering their match with Shakhtar Donetsk. Les Parisiens won their last two Ligue 1 games, 7-1, with stars Zlatan Ibrahimovic (three goals) and Angel Di Maria (two goals) both getting on the scoresheet. The French champions are undefeated (four wins, one draw) in five road games in the league, with 10 goals scored against just two conceded.
Writer’s Prediction: PSG pulls of a 3-1 win, as the total comfortably goes over 2.5 goals.
Despite beating Manchester United 2-1, PSV will be significant underdogs away to CSKA Moscow, who lost to Wolfsburg away, 1-0. The back-to-back Russian champions are still undefeated in eight home games in all competitions, with five wins against three draws.
Writer’s Prediction: CSKA (-135) maintain their unbeaten home record with a 1-0 home win.
Manchester United have taken huge strides since their shock defeat to PSV on Matchday 1. The Red Devils, led by rising star Anthony Martial, have scored three goals in each of their last three games as they have now risen to the top of the Premier League. They’ll look to keep their impressive run going against a Wolfsburg team that has gone winless in its last two games, conceding six goals.
Writer’s Prediction: United take a more cautious approach in Europe, and grind out a 1-0 win to go under 2.5 goals.
Despite a 1-0 away loss to Villarreal last time out, Atletico will still be big favorites at home against Portuguese club Benfica. That’s because Atletico have a simply outstanding home record in this competition, with nine wins and two draws in their last 11 at the Calderon.
Writer’s Prediction: Take under 2.5 goals as Atletico bounce back to beat Benfica, 2-0.
Manchester City have fallen back down to earth after their fast start to the season. With mounting injuries, most importantly to captain Vincent Kompany, City are looking especially vulnerable for their visit to Borussia Monchengladbach. The Germans have experienced a sudden resurgence after a change of managers. They’ve won their last two games with interim coach Andre Schubert.
Writer’s Prediction: City collapses in Europe again as Gladbach (+285) gets a huge 1-0 home win.
As bad as Juventus’ start to the season has been – last year’s losing Champions League finalists have just one win from their first six Serie A matches – Sevilla’s start has been just as bad. The defending Europa League champs have also won just once in six. With both clubs struggling for confidence, it’ll hardly be a shock to see this game end without a winner.
Writer’s Prediction: Juve and Sevilla battle to a 1-1 draw (+235).
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