The 2024-25 edition of UEFA Champions League looks a lot different in the group stage, as all the teams are lumped together in a league format. Each team will play eight games, four at home and four away, and that led to some intriguing matchups in Matchday 1.
Manchester City and Barcelona received setbacks in their group play openers and could use a win this week to bounce back.
Barcelona brought goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny out of retirement after Marc-Andre ter Stegen tore his patella tendon, and Szczesny could make his debut as soon as this week.
Some of the top matches in this week’s slate include Paris Saint-Germain visiting Arsenal, Bayer Leverkusen’s meeting with AC Milan, and Bayern Munich’s visit to Aston Villa, set to host their first Champions League home match in forty years.
Read on to get the full schedule, our sports betting thoughts on some of the top matches.
Coming up this week 🍿#UCL pic.twitter.com/vUdiww9CEV
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) September 30, 2024
Soccer Odds & Betting Analysis: UEFA Champions League Matchday 2 Preview
RB Salzburg -109 vs Brest +275
Where: Tuesday, October 1, 12:45 pm ET
Soccer Pick: Draw +295
Sparta Praha took Salzburg to the woodshed, 3-0, in their first group play fixture. The hosts took an early lead, but Salzburg brought a game attitude the rest of the way. Five of the starting XI for Salzburg were appearing in their very first Champions League match, so some nerves were to be expected.
Brest has already beaten an Austrian team in UCL group play, as they stopped Sturm Graz, the Austrian first division champions, on Matchday 1. This time they play on the road as the only French side in the 21st century to have won their Champions League debut. Lille (2001) and Montpellier (2012) lost their debut matches, and Rennes played to a draw in their UCL debut.
Champions Pick: Brest to win.
^Bayer 04 Leverkusen -160 vs AC Milan +360
Where: Tuesday, October 1, 3:00 pm ET
Soccer Pick: Draw +320
AC Milan look like they are finally rounding into their throwback elite form. Christian Pulisic wasn’t having any problem developing offense and putting balls in the back of the net, but the team was struggling to win. Pulisic has five goals and two assists in seven games, and now the rest of the team are coming along with him. Matteo Gabbia, Theo Hernandez and Alvaro Morata have also started scoring, and that led to a stellar win in the Milan derby against Inter as AC prevailed, 2-1. They now have a three-match winning streak going in Serie A.
They face a Bayer Leverkusen team that are still the defending Bundesliga champions, but their defense has been generous lately. They did roll over Feyenoord, 4-0, in their first group play match, but in their last five Bundesliga matches, they have permitted 10 goals. This is an away fixture for Milan, but they have the attacking depth and talent to score here.
Pick Champions: AC Milan to win.
^Arsenal -143 vs Paris Saint-Germain +370
Where: Tuesday, October 1, 3:00 pm ET
Soccer Pick: Draw +200
Yes, PSG started off Champions League group play with a victory, but they only managed a 1-0 result against Girona, showing us both the positives and the negatives associated with their young roster. That tally actually came from an own goal off of Paulo Gazzaniga in the 90th minute, which meant that PSG’s 26 shots and 2.1 expected goals on the match almost went for naught. They did dominate possession for most of the match, showing that they can run a frenetic offense even without Kylian Mbappe, but how good are they? We’ll learn more after they visit one of the top teams in the English Premier League.
Arsenal bring one of the top defenses in Europe, but without a little more offense, they will have a hard time getting past (or even to) the round of 16 in this bracket. Their scoreless draw with Atalanta in their group play opener was only preserved when Atalanta failed to convert from the spot. What kind of defense do PSG bring? They didn’t get much of a test from Girona. Without Martin Odegaard, though, will Arsenal bring any more danger?
Champions Pick: Take the draw.
^Barcelona -1493 vs Young Boys +2200
Where: Tuesday, October 1, 3:00 pm ET
Soccer Pick: Draw +1200
Both of these teams lost in UCL Matchday 1, and both of these teams bounced back with big wins in their domestic leagues the following weekend. Barcelona bounced back in a 5-1 rout at Villarreal, and Young Boys returned home to Switzerland and delivered a 4-1 thumping of Winterthur. That was Young Boys’ first and only win so far in the Swiss first division – in contrast, Barcelona have only dropped one match in eight La Liga fixtures to this point, stacking up 25 goals along the way. Raphinha, Lamine Yamal and Robert Lewandowski all have elite striking talent. Yamal became the second-youngest player ever to score in UCL play when he scored at Monaco in Matchday 1.
Champions Pick: Barcelona to win.
^RB Leipzig +126 vs Juventus +202
Where: Wednesday, October 2, 3:00 pm ET
Soccer Pick: Draw +240
It looks like Leipzig and Atletico de Madrid would play to a draw, but then Leipzig connected a late goal. Kenan Yildiz delivered a solid finish for Juventus in their 3-1 win over PSV. However, Juventus have visions of themselves as an elite Serie A – and an elite European – club, and so their goals have only expanded since then. These are teams in similar places, on the edges of elite performance in two of the top first divisions in the world.
Champions Pick: Take the draw.
^Aston Villa +310 vs Bayern Munich -138
Where: Wednesday, October 2, 3:00 pm ET
Soccer Pick: Draw +320
The marquee match for Wednesday brings these two hot teams together. Bayern Munich got Dinamo Zagreb at home for Matchday 1 and rolled for 90 minutes, taking a 9-2 laugher. They drew Bayer Leverkusen, 1-1, in Bundesliga play on Saturday and hold onto their lead in that table. They are the favorites to win across the English Channel at Villa Park. However, that may turn out to be an imbalance as Aston Villa have started EPL play with four wins in six matches, trailing Liverpool by just two points for the lead. They visited Young Boys in UCL Matchday 1 and came home with the 3-0 win.
Honestly, it’s a good question whether both of these teams can maintain this dominant form. Bayern, have been stacking up the goals so far, while Villa have permitted nine goals in six ePL matches. That could end up leading to some juicy chances for the visitors. However, defense isn’t a forte for Bayern either, as they have permitted six goals in six matches across all competitions. Villa have posted 17 goals in eight matches. So the over seems like a wise pick as well.
Pick Champions: Bayern Munich to win.
^Top 10 to Win the UEFA Champions League
- Manchester City +236
- Real Madrid +285
- Arsenal +840
- Bayern +930
- Barcelona +1125
- Liverpool +1125
- Leverkusen +1875
- PSG +1875
- Atletico Madrid +1900
- Inter +2300
The early standings at the beginning of matchday 2 📊#UCL pic.twitter.com/vV65TiQ9ui
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) September 30, 2024
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