CHAMPIONS LEAGUE MATCHDAY 1 ODDS & PREDICTIONS

VegasInsider Staff Sports Betting Expert

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CHAMPIONS LEAGUE MATCHDAY 1 ODDS & PREDICTIONS

• October 19, 2020
• By Toby Maxtone-Smith
• VegasInsider.com

The 2020-21 UEFA Champions League group stages begin this week with 16 games on tap over two days.

The future odds have been posted on all 32 clubs.

Along with eight top-rated selections for Matchday 1 below, I've also made my "Best Bets" on who will lift the trophy next May in Turkey, plus I have my best Group Bet future wager as well.

TUESDAY, OCT. 20, 2020

Home Team listed First

• Zenit St Petersburg vs. Brugge - 12:55 p.m. ET
• Dynamo Kyiv vs. Juventus - 12:55 p.m. ET
• Rennes vs. Krasnodar - 3:00 p.m. ET
• Chelsea vs. Sevilla - 3:00 p.m. ET
• Lazio vs. Dortmund - 3:00 p.m. ET
• Barcelona vs. Ferencvaros - 3:00 p.m. ET
• Paris Saint-Germain vs. Manchester United - 3:00 p.m. ET
• RB Leipzig vs. Istanbul Basaksehir - 3:00 p.m. ET

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 21, 2020

• RB Salzburg vs. Lokomotiv Moscow - 12:55 p.m. ET
• Real Madrid vs. Shakhtar Donetsk - 12:55 p.m. ET
• Bayern Munich vs. Atletico Madrid - 3:00 p.m. ET
• Inter Milan vs. Borussia Monchengladbach - 3:00 p.m. ET
• Olympiacos vs. Marseille - 3:00 p.m. ET
• Manchester City vs. Porto - 3:00 p.m. ET
• Ajax vs. Liverpool - 3:00 p.m. ET
• Midtjylland vs. Atalanta - 3:00 p.m. ET

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE MATCHDAY 1 SCORE PREDICTIONS

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 21, 2020

FC Salzburg 3-0 Lokomotiv Moscow
Real Madrid 3-1 Shakhtar Donetsk
Ajax 1-2 Liverpool
Bayern Munich 2-0 Atletico Madrid
Inter Milan 2-1 Borussia Mönchengladbach
Manchester City 3-1 FC Porto
Midtjylland 1-3 Atalanta
Olympiakos 1-0 Marseille

TUESDAY, OCT. 20, 2020

Dynamo Kiev 0-2 Juventus
Zenit St Petersburg 2-2 Club Brugge
Barcelona 5-0 Ferencváros
Chelsea 2-2 Sevilla
Lazio 1-2 Borussia Dortmund
Paris Saint-Germain 3-0 Manchester United
RB Leipzig 3-0 Istanbul Basaksehir
Rennes 2-0 Krasnodar

CHAMPIONS LEAUGE MATCHDAY 1 BEST BETS

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 21, 2020

FC SALZBURG VS. LOKOMOTIV MOSCOW

SCORE PREDICTION: FC SALZBURG 3 LOKOMOTIV MOSCOW 0

TIP: FC SALZBURG -1.5 AT 7/5

This is Salzburg’s second year in the Champions League and they will be reasonably optimistic of qualifying after a creditable showing first time around.

They were narrowly edged out by Napoli and Liverpool but were good in most of their games, particularly a 4-3 loss at Liverpool.

Erling Haland is gone now, of course, but Salzburg continue to plunder goals against most sides.

Lokomotiv Moscow, meanwhile, have done well domestically in recent years but are yet to get to grips with the Champions League. The departure of key forward Aleksei Miranchuk to Atalanta will not have helped them, and Salzburg should have a comfortable night here.

BAYERN MUNICH VS. ATLETICO MADRID

SCORE PREDICTION: BAYERN MUNICH 2 ATLETICO MADRID 0

TIP: BAYERN MUNICH TO WIN AT 1/2

Bayern have been by far the best team in Europe in 2020 and there is no reason to expect them to drop off this season. Their squad, unfancied just over a year ago, is packed up incredible young talent while old heads like Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Muller are still around to lend tournament-winning experience to the group.

Atletico Madrid were rather fortunate to get past Liverpool in last year’s last 16, and their recent record in big matches, both domestically and in Europe, has not been great. They are without a win against Real Madrid or Barcelona since 2016.

Bayern are better than both at the moment, and even at 1/2 they look a solid cornerstone to any accumulator.

OLYMPIAKOS VS. MARSEILLE

SCORE PREDICTION: OLYMPIAKOS 1 MARSEILLE 0

TIP: OLYMPIAKOS TO WIN AT 11/8

Marseille are previous winners of the Champions League but have not featured often in the last decade, and they look value to come unstuck against an underrated Olympiakos side.

Olympiakos knocked Arsenal out of the Europa League last year and also put in good performances against Tottenham Hotspur and Wolves.

Their squad is reasonably stable, with Youssef El-Arabi a key figure up front. Marseille were dreadful in last year’s Europa League, losing five out of six games in a relatively soft group.

MIDTJYLLAND VS. ATALANTA

SCORE PREDICTION: ATALANTA 3 MIDTJYLLAND 1

TIP: ATALANTA TO WIN AND OVER 3.5 GOALS AT 15/8

Danish champions Midtjylland are newcomers to the Champions League and they face a tough ask to get anything against Atalanta, who came within minutes of the semi-final last season before being cruelly beaten by PSG.

Atalanta were also debutants last year. It took them a while for them to get used to the competition, but once they cracked it they were an incredible attacking force. The small side from Bergamo were the top scorers in Serie A last year and are continuing that form this year.

In three of their four of their league matches so far, over 3.5 goals and an Atalanta win has clicked. The other was a 4-1 loss to Napoli. Atalanta games are always goalfests, and this should be no different.

TUESDAY, OCT. 20, 2020

DYNAMO KIEV VS. JUVENTUS

SCORE PREDICTION: JUVENTUS 2 DYNAMO KIEV 0

TIP: JUVENTUS TO WIN AT 10/11

The big question in Group G is whether Juventus or Barcelona will finish top, not whether Dynamo Kiev or Ferencváros can pose much of a challenge to the top two.

Juve look value to win the group and are a juicy 10/11 to get their campaign off to a good start in Kiev. Long distance Eastern European aways may not be quite as daunting with no fans in the ground, and Dynamo Kiev have not troubled Europe’s big guns in the last few years.

They were dumped out of a soft Europa League group last year and the year before lost 8-0 to Chelsea on aggregate.

Juve rarely thrash teams, but the quality gap here is huge and they should get the job done with a minimum of fuss.

PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN VS. MANCHESTER UNITED

SCORE PREDICTION: PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN 3 MANCHESTER UNITED 0

TIP: PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN -1 AT 9/10

Paris Saint-Germain have had a couple of slip-ups in Ligue 1 so far this year, but having come close than ever before in the Champions League last year this competition is their main aim.

Two years ago Manchester United knocked them out at the last 16. It was an incredibly fortunate result, and PSG can get ample revenge with a comfortable win here.

United have been unconvincing all season. They followed up their disastrous 6-1 loss to Tottenham with a patchy display in a 4-1 win at Newcastle.

PSG have scored ten in their last two league games and United’s defence is not as secure as it was last season.

There is a huge gulf in class between these sides and PSG can demonstrate that here.

CHELSEA VS. SEVILLA

SCORE PREDICTION: CHELSEA 2 SEVILLA 2

TIP: BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE AT 4/6

Chelsea and Sevilla are heavy favourites to qualify from Group E, so this match could have a big impact on which side wins the group.

Sevilla have been in fantastic form in 2020, winning the Europa League and finishing fourth in La Liga. They have played well this year too, and were the better team away at Barcelona in a 1-1 draw, although they did lose 1-0 to Granada last time out.

Chelsea play lots of good football, but they are soft-centred and easy to create good chances against. Timo Werner and Kai Havertz have hit the ground running at Stamford Bridge, but with goalkeeper Edouard Mendy likely to be out once again there is a good chance Sevilla can get on the scoresheet - possibly more than once.

Expect lots of goals here.

RENNES VS. KRASNODAR

SCORE PREDICTION: RENNES 2 KRASNODAR 0

TIP: RENNES TO WIN AT 3/4

Rennes are fourth seeds in Group E but they can make a mockery of that low rating by beating Krasnodar in their opening game. The men from Brittany finished third in Ligue 1 last season and are third again this season.

Not one of France’s traditional powerhouses, they have amassed a decent European pedigree in recent years. Two years ago they beat Arsenal 3-1 in the Europa League.

Their team is balanced, with young midfielder Eduardo Camavinga as the star.

Krasnodar are struggling in the Russian league this season, where they lie seventh. They have useful attackers in Rémy Cabella and Marcus Berg, but away games in the Champions League may be too great an ask for them.

CHAMPIONS LEAUGE MATCHDAY 1 ODDS

GROUP STAGE - TUESDAY, OCT. 20

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE ODDS TUESDAY, OCT. 20

GROUP STAGE - WEDNESDAY, OCT. 21

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE ODDS WEDNESDAY, OCT. 21

Consensus Odds - Subject to Change

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