Liverpool and Manchester City get their Champions League group campaigns underway on Wednesday night as both Premier League clubs look to make winning starts at home.
The Reds welcome Serie A runners-up AC Milan to Anfield while City host German side RB Leipzig, who finished second in the Bundesliga, at the Etihad on matchday one. Both games kick-off at 8pm.
Prem Double Likely
The two English clubs are strong favourites to come out on top, with Liverpool 5/12 to win and City 4/13 to kick-off with a victory. Those odds suggest a comfortable evening lies ahead for both and while two home wins are likely, Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp know Leipzig and Milan are dangerous opponents if they let their standards slip.
Milan and Liverpool have only ever met each other in the Champions League in two finals – in 2005 and 2007 – so a trip to Merseyside is one to savour for the Rossoneri as two of Europe’s traditional heavyweights go head to head.
Milan have been champions of Europe on seven occasions, compared to Liverpool’s six, but the Italian side have been absent from the continent’s top competition for seven years, whereas Liverpool have competed in two finals in that time, losing to Real Madrid in 2018 and then lifting the trophy a year later after beating Tottenham.
Klopp’s men come into the game in good shape after an impressive 3-0 win at Leeds in the league on Sunday, while Milan have also made a fine start to the season, beating Lazio 2-0 at the weekend to make it three wins from three in Serie A.
The visitors are without experienced forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic after he picked up a knock against Lazio while Liverpool youngster Harvey Elliott is absent after undergoing ankle surgery on the horror injury he suffered at Elland Road.
Reds’ Frontmen in Form
Klopp could be tempted to make a few changes with three games in a week but he’s expected to stick with in-form front three Sadio Mane, Diogo Jota and Mohamed Salah and they can fire the Reds to victory. A value bet might be backing Liverpool to score exactly two goals on the night at 11/4 as Klopp’s men have an average of 2.25 goals per game so far this season, scoring two or more in three of their four outings.
City should also start with three points against a Leipzig side who have begun their domestic campaign in disappointing fashion, losing three of their first four games.
Another Clean Sheet for City?
Guardiola’s men have hit 11 goals and conceded just once in the Premier League so far and are tipped to have key attacking threats Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden back after injury for the game. They’ve kept two clean sheets at home already this season and three on the bounce in total, while Leipzig have only managed to find the back of the net once in four games. With all that in mind, a home win to nil, available at 6/5, seems like a wise selection.
Tuesday training
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— Manchester City (@ManCity) September 14, 2021
Inter Among the Goals
Elsewhere on Wednesday, Inter Milan to score over 1.5 goals at home to Real Madrid, on offer at 23/20, is very tempting considering the Serie A champions have scored at least two in their last eight competitive games, while Paris Saint-Germain to win at Club Brugge with both teams to score also appeals at 7/4.
PSG are expected to unleash Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar against the Belgians so should have more than enough to secure an away win on matchday one but Brugge can at least register a goal themselves to maintain their record of scoring in every game so far this season.
*All odds correct at time of writing.
