Champions League betting tips: Play-offs first leg preview

Brest vs Paris Saint-Germain betting tips (Tuesday 5.45pm)

Paris Saint-Germain found themselves well outside the top eight to qualify automatically mainly due to a slow start which included defeat to Arsenal, Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich, and a draw against PSV. 

However, they found their stride later on, with victories (and 11 goals in total) against Red Bull Salzburg, Manchester City and Stuttgart.

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The recent Ligue 1 match between these two ended in a 5-2 PSG win, a victory which saw Brest 22 points behind PSG in the league.

Expect a similar battering for Brest here.

Score prediction

Brest 0-3 PSG (8/1 with Betway)

FIRST’s top tip

Ousmane Dembele to score at any time (19/20 with Betway)

Juventus vs PSV betting tips (Tuesday 8pm)

This one’s tight. PSV scored an average of two goals per game in the league format, but face one of the meanest defences in the competition so far in Juventus.

Both sides have recorded impressive wins in this season’s competition, too – PSV stunning table-toppers Liverpool 3-2, and Juve beating Manchester City 2-0.

But PSV striker Ricardo Pepe has been ruled out of the tie with a knee injury, and that could well tip the balance.

Score prediction

Juventus 1–0 PSV (5/1 with Mr.Play)

FIRST’s top tip

Juventus to lead at half time and win (6/4 with Mr.Play)

Manchester City vs Real Madrid betting tips (Tuesday 8pm)

It’s win or bust for two of the pre-competition favourites in the standout play-off showdown.

There are literally so many face-offs in this tie (Pep Guardiola vs Carlo Ancelotti; Kylian Mbappe vs Erling Haaland; Jude Bellingham vs Kevin De Bruyne), it would be easy to write a full article on this clash. And that's what we've done with a full Manchester City vs Real Madrid betting breakdown and key talking points ahead of Tuesday's clash.

While Real Madrid currently sit on top of La Liga with Mbappe starring, City’s league form has been patchy and their defence leaky. City last kept a clean sheet on 19 January against Ipswich.

That said, Real have their own defensive issues, with right-back Lucas Vazquez suffering a hamstring injury on Saturday. He joins central defenders David Alaba and Antonio Rudiger on the sidelines. 

Score prediction

Manchester City 1-1 Real Madrid (6/1 with BetMGM)

FIRST’s top tip

Jude Bellingham to have a shot on target (4/5 with BetMGM)

Sporting CP vs Borussia Dortmund betting tips (Tuesday 8pm)

Sporting started the competition well, then seemed to fall apart once Ruben Amorim left to take over at Manchester United. 

In fact, while Borussia Dortmund were within touching distance of a top eight finish, Sporting ended down in 23rd in the league.

Dortmund, meanwhile, scored 22 goals in the league format – meaning only Barcelona scored more. 

Striker Serhou Guirassy scored nine of those. However, the German side are prone to conceding and have failed to keep a clean sheet in 13 games. 

With Sporting striker Viktor Gyokeres looking likely to be back after a thigh injury, that could make this match closer than most may think.

Score prediction

Sporting 1-1 Borussia Dortmund (5/1 with Bet442)

FIRST’s top tip

Guirassy to score at any time (187/100 with Bet442)

Club Brugge vs Atalanta betting tips (Wednesday 5.45pm)

Atalanta are our picks on this one. Last season’s Europa League winners narrowly missed out on a top-eight spot, and proved they have goals in them while going toe-to-toe with European giants Barcelona and Real Madrid. 

Not only that, they only conceded six goals in their eight matches, the fourth fewest in the competition so far.

Striker Mateo Retegui will go into the game full of confidence after scoring four of Atalanta’s goals in a 5-0 drubbing of Verona on Saturday.

Brugge, meanwhile, only scored seven goals, the sixth lowest out of the 36 teams in the league format, so we expect them to struggle.

Score prediction

Club Brugge 0-2 Atalanta (10/1 with Matchbook)

FIRST’s top tip

Atalanta to win, over 1.5 goals, Retegui to score at any time (12/5 with Matchbook)

Celtic vs Bayern Munich betting tips (Wednesday 8pm)

Bayern could have faced Manchester City or Celtic in the playoffs. How they must have enjoyed seeing the Scottish champions come out of the draw.

Celtic Park is always an intimidating place, but that’s nothing new to Bayern, and we don’t think the Celtic 12th man will be of any benefit.

Harry Kane and company will also want to reach the final, in their home Allianz Arena. Expect a rout, with Bayern scoring 12 goals in their last 4 matches after a shock Champions League defeat to Feyenoord.

Score prediction

Celtic 0-4 Bayern Munich (12/1 with Betway)

FIRST’s top tip

Bayern to win and keep a clean sheet (17/10 with Betway)

Feyenoord vs AC Milan betting tips (Wednesday 8pm)

We’re going for an AC Milan win here – mainly due to transfer dealings. Milan signed Feyenoord’s star striker Santiago Gimenez last month, with the Mexican set to face his former club.

Despite Milan struggling in Serie A this season, they only lost a top eight Champions League place on the last matchday.

In that series of matches, Feyenoord, who had recorded an impressive 3-0 over Bayern Munich on matchday seven, got pummeled by Lille 6-1.

Score prediction

Feyenoord 1-2 AC Milan (15/2 with Matchbook)

FIRST’s top tip

Tammy Abraham to score any time (9/4 with Matchbook)

Monaco vs Benfica betting tips (Wednesday 8pm)

Possibly the closest match of the eight, these two were separated just by goal difference in the league format, where they both finished mid-table.

So, expect this one to be a tight, first-leg tie. Also, expect goals. The last time these two met, Benfica emerged 3-2 winners in France. 

Monaco have failed to beat Benfica in four attempts, but new signing Mika Biereth has scored four in four games, so could cause the Portugal champions some problems.

Score prediction

Monaco 1-1 Benfica (11/2 with Bet442)

FIRST’s top tip

He may not start, but veteran Angel di Maria could come on and score (59/20 with Bet442)

(UK Time) All odds correct at the time of writing.