Champions League Betting: Matchday 6
Champions League action resumes Tuesday and Wednesday with some great games to watch, including vital games between Marseille and Tottenham and Sporting Lisbon v Eintracht Frankfurt. In Group D, all four teams can still qualify. We cover what players to watch and what bets to consider.
There are eight games taking place on Tuesday. Our featured games are Marseille v Tottenham and Sporting Lisbon v Eintracht Frankfurt.
Champions League Matchday 6: Marseille v Tottenham
As we covered in this week’s betting week in review, Tottenham showed great character to fight back from 2-0 down to beat Bournemouth 2-3 at the Vitality Stadium. Kieffer Moore scored two goals to put the home side into the driving seat, but goals from Ryan Sessegnon, Ben Davie and an injury-time goal from second-half substitute Rodrigo Bentancur gave Antonio Conte all three points. Marseille earned a vital point in their 2-2 clash with Strasbourg. Kevin Gameiro’s goal in the second minute of injury time denied Marseille their first win since September but halted a three-game losing run.
Group D is finely balanced, with all four teams still able to qualify. Tottenham are the clear leader on eight points, and Marseille are the bottom club on six points, but a win would take them through. Marseille will win the group if they win and the other two teams draw (more of them shortly). As groups are decided on head-to-head results before goal difference, should Spurs lose, they will finish third and end up in the Europa League.
What are the odds for Marseille v Tottenham? – Even though Marseille are the home team, they are underdogs in this game as bet365 are pricing Marseille at 15/8. The draw at 5/2, and a Tottenham win at 7/5.
Players to watch – Tottenham will know all about Marseille’s top scorer Alexis Sanchez. Sanchez played for Arsenal and Manchester United and has four goal involvements in the league. In addition, 23-year-old Mattéo Guendouzi is another to watch as he has two in the Champions League, the same as Alexis Sanchez. For Tottenham, it’s the usual suspects, England captain Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min.
Bets to consider – Bet365 offers a couple of Bet Boosts that sound feasible. The first is Harry Kane to have over 1.5 shots on target, and Son Heung-Min to have over 0.5 shots on target in a Tottenham win at 6/1. Another is Tottenham winning and over nine corners for both teams combined at 7/1.
Champions League Matchday 6: Sporting Lisbon v Eintracht Frankfurt
The other game in Group D is between Sporting Lisbon v Eintracht Frankfurt, and like the game between Marseille and Spurs, there is everything to play for.
Sporting Lisbon is currently in second and has a goal difference of 0, two better than their opponents Frankfurt who, on -2 are in third. The two teams met on Matchday 1, and Sporting hammered Frankfurt 3-0 away. They also beat Tottenham 2-0 in the next game but are winless in the last three Champions League games (two losses and a draw). On the other hand, Frankfurt lost their first game against Sporting (3-0) but had two wins against Marseille sandwiched between a draw and a loss with Tottenham.
What are the odds for Sporting Lisbon v Eintracht Frankfurt? – Sporting are heavy 7/5 favourites for the clash, the draw is priced at 5/2, and it is 19/10 for a Benfica win.
Players to watch – The bookie’s favourite in the goalscoring market is Sporting’s Pote (Pedro António Pereira Gonçalves). The 24-year-old has six goals in 11 games in the league but is yet to score in the Champions League in the 275 minutes he has played. However, Daichi Kamada is likely to be Frankfurt’s significant danger. The Japanese player has seven league goals in nine starts in the Bundesliga.
Bets to consider – For Sporting, there is little value in the win at 7/5, so the combo bets are worth considering. The match result is Sporting, over two goals in the match and Gonçalves scoring at 13/2 appeals. On the flip side, the match result is to be a draw or a Frankfurt win, over seven corners and Randal Muani to score is available at 6/1. Muani has been in great form in the Bundesliga, having nine goal involvements (seven goals, two assists) in nine starts. He also scored in Frankfurt’s 2-1 win over Marseille.
A double of a Tottenham win and a Sporting win would pay 4.7/1. Both teams just need a draw to qualify.
