Last time out in the Champions League, it wasn’t the best of starts for the majority of
the British teams competing in the competition. Only Manchester City, who were comfortable 3-0 winners over Shakhtar Donetsk, managed to land a victory on the opening day. Both Liverpool and Chelsea succumbed to defeat, while Tottenham, despite leading Olympiakos 2-0, could only manage to secure a draw in Greece.
So it is doubly important for those teams without a win on the opening day to try and get those elusive three points on Matchday Two, which takes place this week across Tuesday and Wednesday night and in this article, we are going to preview the big games involving the British teams in particular, as well as taking a look at the 16 games taking place across both nights of action.
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Champions League Matchday 2 Fixtures and Odds
Champions League Tips
Tuesday 1st October
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Manchester City v Dinamo Zagreb (8pm)
Both these teams made superb starts to their Champions League campaign with Man City 
winning 3-0 in the Ukraine defeating Shakhtar Donetsk, while Dinamo Zagreb surprised many pundits with the ease of their 4-0 victory over the talented Serie A side Atalanta.
Despite that win though, they will be under no illusions of the task facing them as they travel to the Etihad, a ground where City have been scoring goals at the rate of almost four a game over the season so far, and where they put six past Shakhtar Donetsk only last season.
Pep Guardiola’s team are the favourites to win this trophy for the first time this season and it is not difficult to see why and in truth, while Zagreb may have got off to a flyer on home soil, I think they are in for a very difficult evening in Manchester on Tuesday night. This should be a comfortable win for City in my view.
- Match Result – Manchester City to win (1/14)
- Correct Score – Manchester City to win 5-0 (9/1)
- Anytime Goalscorer – Kevin de Bruyne (Man City) – 6/5
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Tottenham v Bayern Munich (8pm)
After throwing away a two-goal lead in Greece against Olympiakos, Spurs have found their 
home form with two wins at their brand new ground since that draw. However, they face a huge test as they take on the mighty German aces Bayern Munich in what should be the game that likely determines who finishes top of this group.
Bayern were 3-2 winners on the road against Paderborn at the weekend and they are unbeaten in the Bundesliga and Europe this season having won their opening group game against Red Star Belgrade. However the fact that the Bundesliga’s bottom side scored twice against Bayern’s defence will give Spurs real confidence here.
The problem I have with Spurs is that while they are strong at home against the lesser sides, they have struggled for consistency at times and against the top sides, they have tended to struggle. It’s worth remembering that Tottenham’s best performances en-route to the final last season, tended to come on the road.
The one exception to that was the win over Dortmund in the knockout phase but I think this Bayern team is tougher and will be harder to beat. I can see Spurs scoring but I feel Bayern will probably do likewise and as such a draw looks like the right result.
- Match Result – Draw (14/5)
- Correct Score – Tottenham 1-1 Bayern Munich (13/2)
- Anytime Goalscorer – Serge Gnabry (Bayern Munich) – 2/1
Wednesday 2nd October
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Lille v Chelsea (8pm)
Lille were well beaten away to Ajax on the opening day of fixtures while Chelsea also 
struggled, losing a tight game 1-0 at home to Valencia. That defeat puts Frank Lampard’s men in a difficult position in the group after just one game and they will be looking at this trip to Northern France as a chance to put that right and pick up three points.
Lille though are no slouches and if Chelsea are going to land the win, then I feel they are going to need to play at a higher tempo than they managed against Valencia and, crucially, I feel that they are going to have to take the chances that they create.
The signs though are positive with Chelsea earning a very good win at the weekend, while Lille earned a strong point away at Nice, their second away draw in three games following their loss to Ajax on the opening night of Champions League action.
I do expect this one to be a closely-fought contest, but I am backing Chelsea to just about edge it.
- Match Result – Chelsea to win (Evens)
- Correct Score – Lille 1-2 Chelsea (15/2)
- Anytime Goalscorer – Tammy Abraham (Chelsea) – 11/10
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Liverpool v Red Bull Salzburg (8pm)
These two teams had very contrasting opening weeks of Champions League action. While 
Liverpool were losing 2-0 to Napoli in Italy, Salzburg smashed six goals past Genk on home soil to pick up three points and a big boost to their goal difference which could be crucial come the final reckoning in the group.
After performing poorly by their own lofty standards at the weekend when fortuitously winning 1-0 at Sheffield United, Liverpool will need a much better performance at Anfield on Wednesday night as they face a Salzburg side who hammered Austria Vienna 4-1 on Saturday.
However, the Austrians could be without key striker Erling Haaland, who missed that win on Saturday through illness and who is thought to be a doubt for the game at Anfield, though some experts feel he should have recovered enough to start.
After a poor display in Sheffield, Jurgen Klopp won’t likely rest his key triumvirate of attackers for this game, but I do see him rotating in midfield where James Milner and Alex Oxlade Chamberlain could well come in for Henderson and Wijnaldum.
This is a massive game for Liverpool as anything less than a win will leave them up against it. It is rare the Reds have two of three poor games in a row and with another vital home game against Leicester City coming up at the weekend, I think they’ll want to put in a good display here in front of their home fans. This certainly won’t be as easy a game as many fans make out, but I am expecting Liverpool to earn an important victory here.
- Match Result – Liverpool to win (1/4)
- Correct Score – Liverpool 3-1 Red Bull Salzburg (9/1)
- Anytime Goalscorer – Roberto Firmino (Liverpool) – 10/11
*All odds shown are correct as of 10.30am with bet365 Sport on Monday 30th September 2019.
