Champions League Matchday 2 Preview And Tips

After a busy and somewhat surprising weekend of sporting action, we are now turning our focus to the midweek games in Europe and of course, that means the action in the Champions League, which has now reached Matchday 2 of the group stage.

The four English teams enjoyed mixed results on the first night of action, Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City all recorded key victories, but Manchester United went down to a 2-1 defeat to Young Boys and also saw Aaron Wan-Bissaka sent off in the game.

A couple of weeks later, the four teams, plus the other 28 teams in the competition at the group phase, will do battle once again on the second Matchday of action, and once again there are a host of intriguing ties to enjoy across Tuesday and Wednesday this week.

If you are a bet365 customer, then you can use your log in to access the sports section of the site. So if you are a regular at bet365 Games, for example, you can use that log in to access bet365 Sports and enjoy the wide range of Champions League bets available for both pre-match and In Play markets.

Remember too, if you are based in the United States then BetRivers Sportsbook offers a great range of Champions League bets for you to enjoy throughout the season.

Let’s now preview the 16 games taking place across Tuesday and Wednesday night and give you our top tips for each.

Champions League Matchday 2 Preview & Tips

Tuesday 28^th September

• Ajax Amsterdam v Besiktas (5.45pm)

Ajax stormed to victory away to Sporting Lisbon on the opening matchday and they will be hugely confident of getting a result against a Besiktas side that were defeated at home by Dortmund. A win for Ajax here would put them in a very strong position with the double-header against Dortmund coming up and I think the Dutch masters will claim another strong win here.

Match Result Tip – Ajax Amsterdam to win – 1/7

• Shakhtar Donetsk v Inter Milan (5.45pm)

After losing at home to Real Madrid in their opening game, Inter Milan need a good result here in order to establish themselves as contenders in this group. Shakhtar are not an easy team to beat though and they can be tricky but I think if the Italians can keep a clean sheet, they may be able to pinch a goal at the other end to snatch a narrow win which could be key in this group.

Match Result Tip – Inter Milan to win – 11/20

• AC Milan v Atletico Madrid

I do think both these teams will have plenty to say in this group, but I also feel that it is the Spaniards who are most likely to win this game because they are arguably the best team in this competition at soaking up pressure and hitting on the break decisively. Milan will make it tough and there may just be one goal in it, but I am backing the Spanish side to come away with a win.

Match Result Tip – Atletico Madrid to win – 6/4

• Borussia Dortmund v Sporting Lisbon

Sporting were well and truly thumped at home by Ajax on the opening round of games in the Group Stage and I can’t see their fortunes improving any here against Erliing Haaland and Dortmund who have got a very attacking style of play and who should have more than enough firepower to get the job done against the Portuguese side.

Match Result Tip – Borussia Dortmund to win – 1/3

• FC Porto v Liverpool

FC Porto will be delighted with their point from the trip to Madrid to face Atletico, but they now must face a Liverpool side unbeaten this season and who have won 5-0 and 4-1 on their last two trips to this stadium. The Reds look much more like the team that won this trophy three years ago and with Mo Salah in fine goalscoring form, it is hard to see the Portuguese side taking anything from this game.

Match Result Tip – Liverpool to win – 8/11

• Paris St Germain v Manchester City

A repeat of last year’s semifinal, which saw Manchester City win both legs for a 4-1 aggregate win. PSG have spent big since to bring in the likes of Donnarumma, Hakimi, Wijnaldum and of course Messi but City seem to be in great form after a fine win over Chelsea at the weekend. This should be an absolutely cracking game and I can see goals for both sides and perhaps both teams coming away with a point.

Match Result Tip – Draw – 5/2

• Red Bull Leipzig v Club Brugge

Club Brugge played very well to hold PSG to a draw in their opener and many felt that the Belgians deserved the win. Red Bull were well beaten by Manchester City in their opener, but I feel that on home soil against Brugge, the German side are the much fancied team and I would be very surprised of Red Bull don’t pick up the points from this game.

Match Result Tip – Red Bull Leipzig to win – 9/20

• Real Madrid v Sheriff Tiraspol

Sheriff surprised many with their win over Shakhtar Donetsk in their opening game, but it was a win they fully deserved. However, away to Real Madrid is a very different prospect and it would be a very big surprise if Real Madrid don’t win this game relatively comfortably against a team making its first appearance in the Group Stages of this tournament.

Match Result Tip – Real Madrid to win – 1/9

Wednesday 29^th September

• Atalanta v Young Boys (5.45pm)

After a big win over Manchester United, Young Boys top Group F and go into this game knowing anything they get from it will be a boost. Atalanta though are a very good side, and developing into one of the teams to watch across Europe. The Italians drew their opener against Villarreal but I think they will pick up maximum points here.

Match Result Tip – Atalanta to win – 9/20

• Zenit St Petersburg v Malmo (5.45pm)

Zenit played well in defeat at Chelsea in their opener, but Malmo were very much outclassed by Juventus at home and I think the Swedes could be in for another difficult night. Zenit need to find their shooting boots if they are to stand any chance in this group, but this could be the game in which they can achieve that as they should win this one comfortably.

Match Result Tip – Zenit St Petersburg to win – 8/15

• Bayern Munich v Dynamo Kyiv

After a storming 3-0 win over Barcelona, in Barcelona, Bayern will be expecting to do a similar job here against a well organised Dynamo Kyiv team but one that lacks the firepower and star quality that the German team possesses. Kyiv are in for a difficult night here and in truth, this is a game that they will likely lose by a fair few goals.

Match Result Tip – Bayern Munich to win – 1/10

• Benfica v Barcelona

Barcelona are having a tough time of it. Struggling in La Liga by their own standards, racked with financial problems and having lost 3-0 at home to Bayern in their opener, they now face a Benfica side that have won all of their league games so far this season. I was going to tip Benfica to land a big and surprise win here, but I think Barcelona may just do enough to scrape a draw.

Match Result Tip – Draw – 12/5

• FC Salzburg v Lille

Group G does look like being one of the closest contests in the Group Stage this year and I think it will still be very tight after this game. Lille are a better side than their recent results suggest and I think the French team will feel they can get something here. Similarly, Salzburg have been tricky opponents for many teams of late, so I feel another draw is probably on the cards here.

Match Result Tip – Draw – 13/5

• Juventus v Chelsea

This is another huge clash which features the two teams’ favourites to qualify from Group H. Both started with wins and in truth, it will likely be these games that decides who finishes top and second in the group. Juventus haven’t started their domestic season well, but Chelsea also lost for the first time last weekend and as a result, I think a draw may well be the outcome here and that may just suit both teams.

Match Result Tip – Draw – 5/2

• Manchester United v Villarreal

The previous five games between these two teams have finished as a draw after 90 minutes, and this is likely to be another close game at Old Trafford. Both sides have had mixed fortunes a bit this season, Villarreal drawing a huge number of games, while United have lost three of their last four. However, I am backing the Red Devils to pick up a much needed win here to get their campaign back on track.

Match Result Tip – Man Utd to win – 4/9

• Wolfsburg v Sevilla

This is a tricky one to call. Wolfsburg have started the season well in the Bundesliga and they hung on well for the last half hour with ten men against Lille after John Brooks was sent off. Sevilla though have plenty of European experience and I think they are set up to play on the counter. I can’t quite see the Spaniards winning this game though as I think the draw is the most likely outcome.

Match Result Tip – Draw – 23/10

*All games kick off at 8pm unless otherwise stated. All odds shown were correct with bet365 Sport as of 12pm on Monday 27^th September 2021.