The Champions League is only moving into the third matchweek of its new format but Inter Milan are already becoming firm favourites for this column.
Simone Inzaghi’s men landed our matchweek two best bet and they look fine value to land the same wager in Switzerland to continue their UCL clean sheet streak.
Champions League week 3 best bets
Aston Villa to beat Bologna & under 3.5 goals @ 11/8
Inter to beat Young Boys to nil @ 6/4
Benfica vs Feyenoord – Over 3.5 goals @ 6/4
Bet on the latest Champions League odds at Betzone
Villans fancied to find a way past Italian stalemate specialists
Aston Villa look very fair 8/13 favourites to beat Bologna, having recorded their best start to a Premier League campaign for 26 seasons with a 3-1 win away to Fulham on Saturday and beaten Bayern Munich 1-0 in their previous Champions League game.
The Villans are yet to concede in the UCL this term and another shutout could well form the foundation of a third successive win in the competition against opponents who’ve been shut out by both Shakhtar Donetsk and Liverpool already in the tournament.
Doubling the Villa win with under 3.5 total match goals looks a strong way to add value to the home victory under the circumstances, as it factors in a potential shutout successes without relying on it.
Bologna will be tough nuts to crack having lost just twice in all competitions this term (P10, W1, D7, L2) and they’ve have only conceded more than two goals in a match on one occasion, a 3-0 loss away to Serie A pace setters Napoli.
Tip: Aston Villa to beat Bologna & under 3.5 goals @ 11/8
Inter will extend UCL shutout sequence against suffering Swiss
Hindsight is a wonderful thing. Back in UCL matchweek one this column backed Young Boys to avoid defeat against Aston Villa on the strength of them having KO’d Galatasaray in qualifying.
The Wankdorff outfit had already started their domestic campaign poorly by the time Villa beat them 3-0 in Bern and matters haven’t improved. Joël Magnin’s defending champions sit ninth of 12 having won just twice.
Inter are just 4/11 to beat Young Boys in Switzerland, which looks more than fair given the hosts’ form. Tacking on a clean sheet for the visitors bumps up the odds to a more appealing 6/4 and looks very achievable for Simone Inzaghi’s men.
The Nerazzurri blanked Manchester City at the Etihad in matchweek one and landed our nap bet of matchweek two with a win to nil over Crvena Zvezda, while the Swiss were shut out by Barcelona at Camp Nou last time out in this competition.
Tip: Inter to beat Young Boys to nil @ 6/4
Estadio da Luz goalfest predicted as free-scoring sides collide
Benfica had a miserable time in last season’s Champions League – failing to score until matchweek four of the group stage – but they’ve been far more prolific this time, following up a 2-1 win over Crvena Zvezda with a 4-0 home hammering of Atletico Madrid.
The 3.5 line should be cleared for the second UCL game in a row at Estadio da Luz with visiting Feyenoord looking very capable of keeping up their side of the bargain at both ends of the pitch.
Brian Priske’s side were thrashed 4-0 by Bayer Leverkusen in matchweek one and conceded twice to a Girona side struggling in La Liga in matchweek two. On the latter occasion though, the Eredivisie outfit plundered victory with three goals of their own.
