After almost a month out of action, the 2018-19 UEFA Champions League continues this week with a massive slate of games on Wednesday and Thursday morning! We unfortunately went 0-3 in betting tips last time around in the Champions League so we’ll be looking to improve on that this week as we take a look at some of the key games in Day 3 of the UCL below.
2018-19 Champions League Day 3 Betting Tips
Manchester United vs Juventus (Wednesday 6am AEDT)
Manchester United will face their biggest test of the Champions League campaign so far when they square off against Juventus on Wednesday morning. They currently have one win and one draw in their opening two games to sit second on the Group H table and can jump to the top with a home win over Juventus this week.
After moving from Real Madrid to Juventus in the off-season, Cristiano Ronaldo will return to Old Trafford this week in a bid to secure a place in the knockout stage of the Champions League for the 13th consecutive season. Ronaldo has been great since joining the Italian side, scoring five goals in his first nine games as Juventus top the Serie A table.
Juventus start as $2.30 favourites away from home on Wednesday morning and rightfully so considering the Red Devils form in the Premier League of late. Manchester United have won just one of their last four games in the domestic competition and currently sit 10th on the table. This will be the first meeting between the two sides since the 2002-03 Champions League which was one by the Red Devils. In fact Manchester United have won all of their last three matchups against Juventus, and in all of the past six meetings between these clubs in Europe, one of the two sides has gone on to reach the final in that competition.
Tough match to call here but it’s hard to argue with the form of the Italian side at the moment.
Barcelona vs Internazionale (Thursday 6am AEDT)
Barcelona and Italian side Inter Milan have both started the 2018-19 Champions League with a perfect 2-0-0 record and will face off against each other in Spain on Thursday morning. In the group of death Group B alongside Tottenham and PSV, a win for either side here for either side would all but guarantee their progression into the knockout stage.
Barcelona currently sit atop the La Liga table with five wins and three draws through their opening nine games of the season. It’s been a much more even year in the La Liga so far, with perennial juggernauts Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid currently sitting in fifth and seventh spot respectively. The Catalonian giants will be without star Lionel Messi for Thursday’s matchup with an arm injury, which will be a massive blow to their chances.
Barcelona have lost just one of their six Champions League meetings against the Italian side, including three wins and two draws. The only loss came back in the semifinal of the 2009-10 competition. Barcelona are unbeaten in their last 13 home games against Italian sides dating back to 2003. We think they continue that streak this Thursday morning.
Liverpool vs Crvena Zvezda (Thursday 6am AEDT)
Liverpool currently sit tied with Manchester City on top of the EPL table with seven wins and two draws on the season so far. Their two draws have, however, come over the past three games as they failed to find a result against both of the other undefeated EPL teams in Chelsea and Manchester City in Weeks 7 and 8 respectively.
Crvena Zvezda currently sit atop the Serbian LEague table with a fantastic 11-1-0 record through their opening 12 games. Liverpool will be a big jump in the standard of competition they are used to facing in the domestic competition, however, as they currently sit at the bottom of the tough Group C in the Champions League behind Napoli, Liverpool and PSG.
Liverpool start as almost unbackable $1.05 favourites here against the Serbian side with the line currently at 3 goals. Red Star Belgrade were able to hold Napoli to a nil all draw in Week 1 of the Champions League before going down to PSG 6-1 in Week 2. We think a four-goal win is a big ask for any side so we like the value of the Serbian side at the line here.
