UEFA Champions League Thursday Preview: Best Bets on the Pitch (9/19)

With the UEFA Champions League back in action today, we had to take a peek at the entire soccer slate. This is the final day of matches for this first week of the UCL competition, and we’ve still got six glorious games on the slate to find our best bets. Over the last two days of action, we haven’t seen anything too surprising in my eyes. Juventus, Aston Villa, Liverpool, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid all picked up easy wins on the first day, while Lille fell to Sporting CP, 2-0. We didn’t get a single draw on Tuesday, while yesterday we saw two. Both Manchester City and Inter Milan, as well as Bologna and Shakhtar Donetsk played to scoreless draws, resulting in all teams gaining a single point. Sparta Prague, Celtic, Dortmund and PSG all found themselves victorious.

But it’s time to focus on today!

Let’s take a look at these matchups and see if we can find any spots worth betting in the UEFA Champions League today.

• Feyenoord Rotterdam vs Bayer Leverkusen
• Red Star Belgrade vs Benfica
• AS Monaco vs Barcelona
• Atalanta vs Arsenal
• Atlético Madrid vs RB Leipzig
• Brest vs SK Sturm Graz

I’ve got a couple angles I am looking at, so below are my best bets in the UCL today. For our expert’s soccer picks, go to this page here!

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UEFA Champions League: Thursday’s Soccer Action

Atalanta vs Arsenal Best Bets

Best Bet: Arsenal to Win to Nil (+250) BetOnline

Diving right in, I am taking Arsenal to dominate. I unsuccessfully faded this team on Sunday, thinking they would lose a step coming back from break. They didn’t at all, beating the Spurs on the road and looking primed and ready to travel to Italy and come home with 3 points. Martin Ødegaard sat on Sunday so his legs should be nice and rested for this match.

We are taking Arsenal to Win to Nil, Arsenal ML + BTTS No, however they word it, we need Arsenal to win in a shutout. And I think this team is more than capable. Arsenal is probably the only EPL team that can compete with Manchester City, and we get to see them face off on Sunday. Would that make this a bit of a look ahead spot for Arsenal? You could say that, but given that this is their first match in the Champions League, I think their full focus will be on the task at hand.

The Gunners are Good

Arsenal has a complete team. From attackers to midfielders, to their backline and keeper, the whole squad is full of world class talent. They have 3 shutout wins so far this season in the EPL, and shutout Lyon in the Emirates Cup as well. Had Declan Rice not gotten a red card against Brighton, they would probably have 5 straight shutout wins under their belt. Regardless, I don’t see them struggling against Atalanta, even on the road.

While Atalanta is coming off a home win, they are 2-0-2 to start their Serie A season. Personnel wise, they are totally outmatched. They simply do not have the talent to compete with the Gunners, and they know this. The Italians have bigger fish to fry, and I don’t see them finding the back of the net at all. They were shutout 4-0 against Inter Milan two matches ago, and I see Arsenal being able to do the same. I don’t think it gets out of hand, considering Atalanta should focus heavily on defense. But as far as them scoring, I don’t see it happening. Arsenal shutout or Atalanta TT Under 0.5 are priced around +150 if you want to avoid the ML, but I have faith in the Gunners to get it done in dominant fashion today.

Prediction: Arsenal Wins 2-0 (+900)

Atlético Madrid vs RB Leipzig Best Bets

Best Bet: Atlético Madrid ML (-131) BetOnline

We backed Real Madrid on Tuesday, and today we are backing Atlético at home as they host RB Leipzig. While Leipzig is still a good squad, they saw the departure of  a few key attackers, making them a much more defensive team. Sure, they have Xavi Simons playing attacking midfield, but overall, I like Atlético’s roster a lot more.

With Antoine Griezmann up top with newly acquired forward Julián Álvarez, their attack is ready to roll. Add in Koke and Conor Gallagher patrolling the middle and backline led by César Azpilicueta and José María Giménez, and this team could compete for the La Liga Title this season. Ultimately, I am siding with them for being at home and in better form.

Atlético have 3 wins and 2 draws to start their season, having two 3-nil shutouts at home already. They actually have not allowed a goal at home since a friendly in late July. Jan Oblak is still one of the best goalies in soccer, and he gives me confidence in backing Atlético. RB Leipzig is 2-1-0 to start their season, coming off a scoreless draw at home. They had a huge win on the road at Bayer Leverkusen a couple weeks ago. Leipzig were down 2-0 in the 45th minute, but netted one before halftime to cut the lead in half. They tied it up off of Loïs Openda in the 57th minute, and kept battling to secure a winner in the 80th for Openda’s second of the match.

I don’t think they ride this momentum on the road, as I think Atlético is very focused and ready to roll in this UCL match.

Prediction: Atlético Madrid Wins 2-1 (+675)

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