Best football bets and expert advice for Wednesday 18 September
The Champions League is back and the revamped format means Wednesday is the middle night of three fantastic evenings of top-level European action across matchday one.
Manchester City face a rematch of their 2022/23 final with Inter Milan while Celtic start their campaign in Glasgow and both Paris Saint-Germain and Borussia Dortmund are in action.
There’s also La Liga action and two Carabao Cup ties, with Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou aiming to rebound from the north London derby loss by taking care of Coventry.
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Bet of the day
Manchester City to win and Both Teams to Score @ 85/40
A repeat of the 2022/23 final takes place at the Etihad Stadium as Manchester City welcome Inter Milan for a clash of the English and Italian champions.
Pep Guardiola’s side were the entertainers in the group stage last season, top-scoring with 18 goals as they won all six games.
This is a stern opening test, though, and while City may well pass it given the red-hot form of striker Erling Haaland, don’t expect it to be plain sailing for the Premier League champions.
Inter have the quality to hurt City, with Marcus Thuram and Lautaro Martinez a major threat up top, and the Citizens are making a habit of conceding goals at home after managing just one clean sheet in their last eight outings at the Etihad – amid a sequence of just six shutouts in 18 matches overall.
The Nerazzurri should get on the scoresheet, but Man City have the attacking quality to outscore Inter in what should be a pulsating clash.
Special of the Day
Paris Saint-Germain to win both halves @ 21/10
Girona were the surprise package in La Liga last season and their reward is a Champions League debut, but the draw has not been kind to Michel’s men.
They start away to Paris St-Germain and will go to PSV and AC Milan as well as host Feyenoord, Liverpool and Arsenal in a tough run of games.
Having lost last season’s top scorer Artem Dovbyk and creative sparks Aleix Garcia and Savinho, this season is going to prove tough for boss Michel.
La Liga tussles with Atletico Madrid and Barcelona have resulted in two defeats and the concession of seven goals already this term, with Girona losing each of the four 45-minute intervals in those two games.
PSG have made a flying start domestically, scoring 16 goals in four games. Ousmane Dembele, Fabian Ruiz and Bradley Barcola have impressed in the final third and they may overrun these Spanish first-timers from start to finish at the Parc des Princes.
Longshot of the Day
Callum McGregor Anytime scorer @ 19/5
Celtic skipper Callum McGregor hasn’t always been noted for his goals. The midfielder tallied 13 in the 2019/20 season but has only managed 15 across four full seasons since.
McGregor called time on his career with Scotland in the summer, electing to put his complete focus on his boyhood club instead. He only turned 31 in June, but this one-club man appears intent on maximising his Parkhead legacy, with a move away looking ever-less likely as each year passes.
He has found his scoring touch of late, finding the net in each of Celtic’s previous three league games – including in the derby win against Rangers – prior to Saturday’s 2-0 win over Hearts.
All three goals have come from outside the box and with Slovan Bratislava likely to set up a defensive block, there could be ample opportunity for McGregor to try and find his range from distance again here.
The Celtic captain is 13/1 to score the opener but a safer option is the 19/5 on McGregor netting any time given his recent goalscoring run.
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