ANP Sport via Getty Images. Pictured: Paris Saint-Germain star Lionel Messi.
Life in the Champions League got off to a rip-roaring start Tuesday, with some expected results and one major upset taking place on the busy schedule.
Bayern Munich cruised to a 3-0 shutout over Barcelona at Camp Nou, getting a second-half brace from Robert Lewandowski and another goal from Thomas Müller in the emphatic road triumph.
As for the upset, that came from Swiss underdog Young Boys in its stunning, 2-1 victory over Manchester United. American international Jordan Pefok scored the winner in the fifth minute of stoppage time, giving the host side the shocking result.
Soccer analysts Jeremy Pond, Anthony Dabbundo and BJ Cunningham have perused Wednesday’s UCL slate and uncovered four picks, including two best bets from the match between FC Sheriff and Shakhtar Donetsk.
Let’s take a look at their top selections and see where they’ve found betting value across the European showcase’s landscape.
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Champions League Best Bets
FC Sheriff vs. Shakhtar Odds
| FC Sheriff Odds | +330 |
| Shakhtar Odds | -105 |
| Draw | +240 |
| Over/Under | 2.5 (+100 / -125) |
| Day | Time | Wednesday | 12:45 p.m. ET |
| How To Watch | Paramount+ | fuboTV |
| Odds via DraftKings. Get up-to-the-minute Soccer odds here. | |
Jeremy Pond: I’d be lying if I said I knew where FC Sheriff was located, let alone ever heard of Champions League fresh face before this matchup.
Long geographical story short, the club plays in the Moldovan First Division, but doesn’t call Moldova — a country that borders Romania and Ukraine — its home. Actually, Sheriff is from unrecognized Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic aka Transnistria) if you really want to get specific.
Suffice it to say, the Wasps are quite the bee’s knees in their neck of the woods. As my colleague, BJ Cunningham pointed out to our crew, they obliterated their competition in the 10-team league last season, finishing with a 32-3-1 record. Just as impressive as the record was the fact they scored a whopping 116 goals and conceded just seven in that 36-match schedule.
That absurd form carried over into UCL qualification play, where they registered three consecutive clean sheets to reach in the group stage. However, this isn’t the Moldovan league where they’re playing the likes of Zimbru and Sfintful Gheorge on a weekly basis.
No, this is a seasoned Shakhtar Donetsk side that has been cream of the Ukrainian crop for several years. The 13-time Ukrainian Premier League champion knows what it takes to compete at this level, plus it has been hard to beat in Champions League play of late.
The Miners have gone unbeaten in eight of their last 11 UCL fixtures, plus they avoided defeat against Real Madrid and Inter Milan in last season’s group stage.
Obviously, Sheriff is a feel-good story in the competition. Unfortunately, heartwarming tales are for television and the big screen; not the soccer pitch. That said, I’m backing Shakhtar to spoil the party on Moldovan soil and playing the visitor at -105 odds on the moneyline via DraftKings as my top selection.
Pond’s Pick: Shakhtar ML (-115)
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Anthony Dabbundo: Welcome to the Champions League, FC Sheriff.
The Moldovan side, which isn’t technically from Moldova, is making their UCL debut and becomes the first team from the country to qualify for Europe’s elite competition. It’s a nice story, but the reality is they were quite lucky to get here based on their qualifying performances.
An upset, two-legged win against Red Star Belgrade was historic for the club, but the balance of chances suggests they were more lucky than good to get past the Serbian side.
Shakhtar has a new manager in Roberto De Zerbi, plus it’s in a bit of a transition phase with its crop of young attacking talent. However, they’ve got advantages in quality everywhere on the pitch. They might be on the road, but I’m looking to play against Sheriff early and often during their short stint in the group stage.
Traveling to Moldova could be difficult for the other teams in the group coming from Spain and Italy, but Ukraine borders the small European nation, blunting a lot of the home-match advantage for Sheriff. Back Shakhtar to triumph.
Dabbundo’s Pick: Shakhtar ML (-105)
Beşiktaş vs. Dortmund Odds
| Beşiktaş Odds | +450 |
| Dortmund Odds | -175 |
| Draw | +340 |
| Over/Under | 3.5 (+130 / -165) |
| Day | Time | Wednesday | 12:45 p.m. ET |
| How To Watch | Paramount+ | UniMás | fuboTV |
| Odds via DraftKings. Get up-to-the-minute Soccer odds here. | |
BJ Cunningham: This is going to be a wide-open, high-scoring affair between two fast-paced offensive teams.
Beşiktaş are the champions of Turkey and completely ran the table in the Turkish Super Lig last season. So much so, they actually have the second-best xGDiff of anyone in the Champions League behind only Ajax, averaging 2.83 xG per match and allowing 1.12 xG per contest.
That’s right. Their matches averaged 3.95 xG, which the highest of any UCL club. They also have some guys you might have heard of like Miralem Pjanic, Michy Batshuayi and Canadian international Cyle Larin.
However, I have no idea how they’re going to slow down the Borussia Dortmund attack, led by Erling Haaland. Dortmund is flying high under new manager Marco Rose, creating 10.03 xG through their first four Bundesliga matches. The Black and Yellows are also averaging a whopping 29 shot-creating actions per game, which is the Bundesliga’s highest mark.
However, Dortmund’s defense has a lot of question marks, as it’s relying on Manuel Akanji and Axel Witsel, whose natural position is central midfield, as their center-back pairing, which clearly isn’t working since they’ve allowed nine goals in their first four contests.
I think this one has chaos written all over it, as I have 3.62 goals projected for this affair. So, I love the total over three goals at -110 on the Asian Handicap and would play it up to -120 odds.
Cunningham’s Pick: Total Over 3 Goals (-110)
Club Brugge vs. PSG Odds
| Club Brugge Odds | +1100 |
| PSG Odds | -450 |
| Draw | +575 |
| Over/Under | 3.5 (+110 / -155) |
| Day | Time | Wednesday | 3 p.m. ET |
| How To Watch | Paramount+ | fuboTV |
| Odds via BetMGM. Get up-to-the-minute Soccer odds here. | |
Jeremy Pond: Imagine you’re Club Brugge and thinking of the soon-to-be reality of having to deal with Neymar, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé in your first Group A Champions League match?
Just one of those stars would strike fear in your side, but having to face all three at once on debut? No thanks.
Well, that’s the exact situation staring the Belgium side smack dab in the face ahead of the Parisians’ visit to Jan Breydel Stadium. Soccer’s version of a murderer’s row will be looking to jump on its foe right out of the gate, with the hope of putting this meeting to bed by halftime.
Brugge sits atop the Belgian Pro League, but hasn’t been the definition of sharp. The Blue-Black enters this contest off a 3-0 win over Oostende on the weekend, but suffered a 6-1 thrashing against Gent just two matches ago.
As for PSG, manager Mauricio Pochettino has the Ligue 1 giant atop the French top flight through five games. Clermont Foot was the latest victim, suffering a 4-0 rout to the league front runner. That win pushed the Parisians four points clear atop the table, setting them up nicely entering this fixture.
Needless to say, I expect this to be a lopsided affair that could get ugly quick. Brugge is inferior at pretty much every position, which will show in the result. I’m backing PSG -1.5 at -135 odds via DraftKings as my top selection.
Pond’s Pick: PSG -1.5 (-135)
