After a thrilling 2015-16 Champions League campaign, which saw Spanish giants Real Madrid win their record 11th crown, we’re all geared up for another season of exciting European football. The usual big guns of Real, Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester City, Bayern Munich and Juventus – among others – will be raring to go and looking to get off to the perfect start.
Not only does Champions League football take centre stage next week, the 2016-17 Europa League also gets underway. With Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United and Claude Puel’s Southampton taking part in this year’s competition, there will certainly be a big interest from the Premier League. With big names such as Roma, Ajax and Villarreal also participating in the Europa League this season, it promises to be a brilliant tournament.
With a number of high quality games taking place across Europe next week, we take a look at the biggest matches the Champions League and the Europa League have to offer. We focus on Celtic’s trip to Barcelona, the PSG v Arsenal match and Pep Guardiola’s first group stage game in charge of Man City, as they welcome German outfit Borussia Monchengladbach to the Etihad Stadium. Without further ado, we preview the top seven games of next week’s European action, with a value betting tip for each.
- Paris Saint-Germain v Arsenal – Draw (11/4 at Sky Bet)
- Manchester City v Borussia Monchengladbach – Manchester City to Win -1 (5/4 at Betfred)
- Barcelona v Celtic – Barcelona to Score 4+ Goals (21/20 at Coral)
- Real Madrid v Sporting Lisbon – Real Madrid to Win 4-0 (10/1 at Ladbrokes)
- Tottenham Hotspur v Monaco – Draw and Both Teams to Score (9/2 at Bet365)
- Feyenoord v Manchester United – Manchester United to Win (3/4 at Ladbrokes)
- Southampton v Sparta Prague – Draw (16/5 at Sky Bet)
Champions League
Zinedine Zidane’s Real Madrid, who beat rivals Atletico Madrid on penalties in last year’s memorable final at the San Siro in Milan, will be desperate to do what no side has managed since the old European Cup was rebranded in 1992 and retain the Champions League crown. However, with Pep’s move to City, coupled with Barcelona looking stronger than ever – as well as plenty of other clubs believing they have a genuine chance of lifting this year’s trophy – Real Madrid will certainly have their work cut out this season.
Paris Saint-Germain v Arsenal – 13th September
We kick things off in Paris where Unai Emery’s Paris Saint-Germain welcome Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal to the Parc des Princes. With both of these European giants looking to begin their Champions League campaigns with a win, Tuesday’s contest in the French capital has all the makings of being a fascinating affair.
Last season, PSG, who were then under the management of Laurent Blanc, were knocked out in the quarter-final stage by Manuel Pellegrini’s Manchester City. Despite losing just two league games on the way to a fourth successive Ligue 1 title last term, Paris have already tasted defeat in the league this season, losing 3-1 to Monaco last time out.
The Gunners may have had an indifferent start to their season – having taken four points from a possible nine in the Premier League – but they will feel they are more than capable of getting a draw at the very least at the Parc des Princes. We believe they will, and Sky Bet are offering decent odds of 11/4 for Wenger’s men to return to London with a very welcome point.
Draw – 11/4 at Sky Bet
Manchester City v Borussia Monchengladbach – 13th September
Pep Guardiola will be psyching himself up for his first group game as Manchester City boss, as the Citizens host Borussia Monchengladbach at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday. Pep’s troops made light work of Romanian side Steaua Bucharest in their CL play-off round a few weeks back, beating them 6-0 on aggregate. City will also be hoping for a fast start to the tournament proper.
The Manchester club have been pretty faultless under their Spanish boss since his arrival in the summer. Last year’s CL semi-finalists have taken nine points out of nine in the Premier League, and are already starting to look like the real deal under Guardiola. On Tuesday, they come up against a Monchengladbach side that they beat twice in the group stage last year. Moreover, Guardiola will be fully aware of the opposition’s strengths and weaknesses from his time in the Bundesliga with Bayern.
Nevertheless, Borussia Monchengladbach have improved drastically over the last few years, and under the guidance of Andre Schubert these days, they are a tough nut to crack. However, if City have any aspirations of winning this year’s Champions League, then these are the sort of games they need to be winning, and winning well. We believe the standout bet in this one is the home team to win -1, which is priced at 5/4 with Betfred.
Manchester City to Win -1 – 5/4 at Betfred
Barcelona v Celtic – 13th September
Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic arguably have the hardest task of all British clubs, as they kick off their Champions League journey with an extremely tough looking match against Barcelona at the Camp Nou. The last time the Hoops travelled to Catalonia, Barca sent them packing with a 6-1 victory. The Bhoys will be desperate to avoid such a defeat on Tuesday.
Unfortunately for Celtic, Barcelona have started this season in devastating fashion. After thumping Sevilla over two legs in the Spanish Super Cup, Luis Enrique’s men have secured comfortable back-to-back La Liga victories. Nevertheless, Celtic have also began their domestic campaign in fine style, winning three out of three league games to sit pretty at the top of the Scottish Premiership (prior to the weekend meeting with Rangers).
Still, we can’t see anything other than a routine Barcelona victory in this one. In fact, we believe Barca will put Celtic to the sword by quite some margin on Tuesday. One of the standout bets in this one is Barcelona to score 4+ goals at the Camp Nou, which Coral have generously priced at 21/20. Rodgers knows all about the threat Luis Suarez will pose but stopping him and Barca’s other brilliant attackers is a different matter entirely.
Barcelona to Score 4+ Goals – 21/20 at Coral
Real Madrid v Sporting Lisbon – 14th September
Moving on to another giant team from Spain, Real Madrid begin their Champions League title defence with a home match against Portuguese outfit Sporting Lisbon on Tuesday. After winning the CL in two out of the last three seasons, Real could be the team to beat in this year’s competition. Meanwhile, after missing out last year, Sporting return to the group stage of Europe’s top competition for the first time since the 2014-15 season.
Zidane’s men have started this campaign in good shape. After their extra-time win over fellow Spaniards Sevilla in the Super Cup, Real have followed that up with two wins out of two in La Liga. As for Lisbon, who finished last season’s Primeira Liga as runners-up, they have taken nine points out of nine in Portugal’s top flight, conceding just one goal in the process.
Despite Jorge Jesus’ side’s perfect start to their domestic campaign, we can see them struggling to cope with Real Madrid’s Galacticos on Wednesday. The last time the Spanish giants welcomed Sporting to the Bernabeu, Real ran out emphatic 4-0 winners in 2000. If you fancy Los Blancos’ class of 2016 to repeat that scoreline 16 years on, then take a look at Ladbrokes’ 10/1. It’s a long shot but looks solid value to us.
Real Madrid to Win 4-0 – 10/1 at Ladbrokes
Tottenham Hotspur v Monaco – 14th September
The last of our Champions League previews is the Tottenham Hotspur v Monaco match, which takes place at Wembley on Wednesday. Spurs are back at the top table, dining with Europe’s elite after a six-year absence from the competition. Tottenham, who finished third in the Premier League last year, reached the quarter finals of the CL in their last appearance back in the 2010-11 campaign.
The Tottenham supporters have waited an extremely long time to have another crack at top European football, and they are sure to enjoy the ride now they are there. The Lilywhites have kicked their domestic season off by winning one and drawing two from a difficult set of fixtures. This Saturday, they travel to Stoke City before hosting Monaco at Wembley on Wednesday.
Monaco have had an outstanding start to their Ligue 1 campaign, which includes beating current champions PSG. They will fancy their chances of spoiling Spurs’ party in the capital, and we can see them nicking a draw. We also believe both teams will find the net at Wembley, so the bet here is Bet365’s 9/2 for the draw and both teams to score, with 1-1 and 2-2 both worth thinking about at long odds.
Draw and Both Teams to Score – 9/2 at Bet365
Europa League
The Europa League is also shaping up to be another outstanding competition. Last time around, Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool fell at the final hurdle as they lost 3-1 to Europa League experts Sevilla in the Basel final. It will be very interesting to see how Mourinho’s Manchester United fare, as they go into the tournament as the favourites. The Europa League might not be so special but there is no doubt The Special one would love to add it to his CV. All eyes will also be on how far Southampton can go in this year’s Europa League under their new boss.
Feyenoord v Manchester United – 15th September
First up, we take a look at Manchester United’s visit to the Netherlands to take on Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s Feyenoord. The Rotterdam-based club finished third in the Eredivisie last season, but managed to win the KNVB Cup, which qualified them to the group stage of the Europa League. United won the FA Cup and finished the Premier League season in fifth place.
Man Utd have begun life under Mourinho in terrific style. The Red Devils have followed up their Community Shield victory over Leicester City at Wembley by winning their first three Premier League games of the season. So far, Mourinho has guided United to wins over Bournemouth, Southampton and Hull City, although they host rivals Man City prior to this game. Meanwhile, Feyenoord have won all four of their Dutch league matches, and are currently sitting pretty at the top of the Eredivisie table.
This one will no doubt be a tough test for United. The Red Devils would much rather be taking part in the Champions League, but the Europa League is a competition they will certainly be looking to do well in. A draw in De Kuip would signal a solid start for United, but there’s no reason why they can’t go to Rotterdam and win. Therefore, we like the look of Ladbrokes’ 3/4 for Mourinho’s men to come out on top on Thursday and maintain their momentum regardless of thee result against City.
Manchester United to Win – 3/4 at Ladbrokes
Southampton v Sparta Prague – 15th September
The final game we’re going to focus on this week is Southampton’s match against Czech Republic outfit Sparta Prague. After losing out in the final play-off round last season, the Saints will be desperate to have a go at the Europa League proper this term. However, they will have to get used to some tough games across the course of the competition.
First up for Puel’s men is a difficult match at St Mary’s against European regulars Sparta Prague. Zdenek Scasny’s troops have begun their domestic season by taking 13 points from a possible 15 in the Czech top flight. Meanwhile, Southampton have not started life under Puel the way they would have wanted, after losing one and drawing two of their opening three Premier League matches.
A contest with Sparta Prague is the not the easiest way for the Saints to start their Europa League journey, but it’s a game they really won’t want to be losing, especially in a group that contains Italian giants Inter Milan, too. The Saints would probably take a draw now if offered, and with the draw priced at chunky looking odds of 16/5 with Sky Bet, we believe that’s not such a bad choice of wager in this one.
Draw – 16/5 at Sky Bet