Welcome in to Champions League Best Bets, brought to you by Bettor In Green, where we recap the latest Champions League action and look ahead with my favorite bets for the upcoming matches.
Recap:
Wow. That match between Benfica and Barcelona was what the Champions League is all about. Ending 4-5 in favor of visitor’s Barcelona, Benfica lead by 2 goals for stretches of this match, before giving up 3 and losing late in injury time.
While Liverpool and Barcelona are guaranteed a spot straight into the Round of 16, the bottom 9 clubs have already been mathematically eliminated before the final matchweek.
Manchester City and PSG sit close to the elimination zone, with City currently in it and needing a win over Club Brugge to guarantee themselves a playoff spot.
Our Best Bets last time went 1-2, losing on Dortmund, who fired their coach after that loss, and having Bayern Munich blow our parlay. It was a rough day for the Germans, with Leverkusen also losing despite an early red card for Atletico Madrid.
Upcoming Matches:
On the final matchday, all matches will kick off at the same time, 3:00 p.m. EST on January 29, 2025.
I’ve got my eye on Stuttgart hosting PSG, as a loss for either side could almost certainly mean crashing out of the competition, however, a draw should likely see them both through. Manchester City will also go through with a win over Club Brugge, who theoretically could find themselves in the elimination zone, though they’d need quite a bit to fall the right way for that to occur.
Let’s get to the bets:
Best Bets:
Pick #1: Liverpool to Win Either Half -105 (Jan. 29, 2025; 3:00 p.m. EST):
For my first Best Bet, I’m backing a Liverpool side that have already guaranteed themselves a place in the Round of 16 in Liverpool.
While they could choose to rest their players and throw this one away, I have a feeling they’ll be going for the perfect 8-0 record in the League Phase. With seeding, it could end up being beneficial to finish at the top.
Further, Liverpool’s coach, Arne Slot, has history with this opponent, PSV. He faced them while coaching Feyenoord, beating them to the title in 2022/23, then getting 2nd behind PSV in 23/24, their second highest point-total in history.
PSV have also been without Ricardo Pepi, so Luuk de Jong, who is 34, has been starting every match and playing lots of minutes. They also have Ivan Perišić playing as a winger, who turns 36 on Sunday.
Slot would love a win with his new squad against his old rivals, and PSV should advance with a draw or loss, so I’m backing Liverpool to at least win either half and will likely dabble on them to win at +210.
Pick #2: 2-Leg Parlay: Atletico Madrid Moneyline and Real Madrid Moneyline -120 (Jan. 29, 2025; 3:00 p.m. EST):
For our next bet I’m backing both Madrid clubs to get the win on the road.
Atletico Madrid have been in impressive form, winning 16 of their last 18 in all competitions, including that gritty, come-from-behind win against Leverkusen.
Their opponents, RB Salzburg, haven’t played a league game since December 14 and have lost their 3 matches since then, 2 friendlies and a UCL match. They’re already eliminated and have the second-worst goal differential in the competition.
The tougher match will be Brest hosting Real Madrid. Brest have been doing well, but faltered last time out in the UCL against Shakhtar.
Real Madrid have been on fire as of late, winning their last 4, scoring 17 goals in that stretch. This bet is based, in part, on history and prestige, as debutants Brest host the UCL giants who have won this competition 15 times, two times more than the next closest competitor.
Pick #3: 2-Leg Same Game Parlay: Arsenal Moneyline and Under 4.5 Total Goals -110 (Jan. 29, 2025; 3:00 p.m. EST):
For our final bet, I’m backing Arsenal against Girona and a total of Under 4.5 goals.
Arsenal sit 3rd in the standings and will be pushing for a win, as a loss could potentially drop them to the playoff places. They haven’t lost in 5 matches and have had their last 9 matches end under 4.5 goals.
Girona, their opponents, are already mathematically eliminated from the competition. They’ve only scored 4 goals in the 7 matches, yet have only conceded 11, a better defensive record than the rest of the eliminated teams, but for Bologna.
I’ll take Arsenal to win but anticipate this staying well below 4.5 goals.
Season Record:
Best Bets: 10-12
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