Champions League Matchday 3 Predictions: Holders Braced For Barca Blitz
It’s the holders against the hottest side in Europe… PSG’s meeting with Barcelona at the Parc des Princes headlines Matchday 3 of the Champions League.
We’ve got a Bet Builder for the clash in Paris, plus tips for Arsenal’s trip to Bayern Munich, Manchester City vs AEK Athens, Liverpool vs Villarreal and Manchester United’s visit to Como.
Odds correct at time of publication but subject to change.
PSG vs Barcelona
With the top two in the Champions League table boasting flawless records and 19 goals between them, Tuesday night’s main event promises to be nothing short of box office.
PSG served notice in Manchester last week, three goals to the good at the Etihad by half-time before settling for a 4-2 win. For all their menace going forward, though, Luis Enrique’s side have not kept a clean sheet in four.
Barcelona came from behind to beat Galatasaray 4-1 in the cauldron of Istanbul on Matchday 2.
Hansi Flick’s side have won every game they have played this season and the numbers behind that run are frightening: 48 goals in 11 matches, with nine of those games featuring over 3.5 goals.
Lamine Yamal already has nine goals and 10 assists to his name, while Raphinha – 14 goals and counting after a scintillating start to the season – is back from a muscle problem to lead the line.
PSG may have won the last two meetings 4-1 and 2-1, both in Barcelona, but neither defence looks equipped to keep the other quiet this time round.
Expect goals and plenty of them.
BetMGM selection: BTTS, over 3.5 goals, Yamal to score or assist & Raphinha 2+ SoT @ 9/4
Manchester City vs AEK Athens
With or without Erling Haaland, Manchester City should have more than enough to see off AEK Athens at the Etihad.
The Norwegian looked to pick up a knock late on in Saturday’s win over Ipswich and could sit this one out ahead of an always tricky away day at Villa Park at the weekend.
Whoever starts up front, there is no shortage of creativity behind them.
Rayan Cherki has five goals and two assists in all competitions this season – a goal involvement every 78 minutes – and becomes City’s key man if Haaland is rested.
City also need a response after losing 4-2 to PSG last week, a game in which they trailed 3-0 at half-time before pulling two back after the break.
AEK Athens led last week but faded badly, conceding twice in the final 10 minutes as Shakhtar won 3-1. They have now conceded at least twice in nine of their last 10 Champions League away games.
City should find goals either side of the break regardless.
BetMGM selection: Manchester City to win (2UP), City to score in both halves, over 7.5 corners & Cherki to score or assist @ 2/1
Liverpool vs Villarreal
Anfield has rarely been kind to Villarreal over the years.
The Yellow Submarine’s last two visits came in European semi-finals – a 3-0 defeat in 2016 and a 2-0 loss in 2022 – and they have never beaten English opposition in 16 attempts in the Champions League.
Inigo Perez’s side arrive in better shape after a six-game winless start to the season, having beaten Napoli 3-1 last week. Yet they have conceded first in each of their last seven European away games.
Liverpool are averaging nine corners a game in the Champions League this season, while Villarreal have conceded 6.6 per game on their last 10 trips away.
That leaves plenty of work for right-back Santiago Mourino, who averages two fouls per 90 minutes in the competition and will spend much of the night trying to keep tabs on the often electric Bradley Barcola.
Perez spent years as Andoni Iraola’s assistant at Rayo Vallecano, so the pupil will know better than most what his old teacher has planned.
But knowing what’s coming and stopping it are two very different things.
BetMGM selection: Liverpool to score first & win, Liverpool over 5.5 corners & Mourino 2+ foul committed @ 11/4
Como vs Manchester United
Level on three points after two games, Como and Manchester United arrive at the Sinigaglia in very different moods.
The Lariani made a dream start to life in the Champions League, sweeping RB Leipzig aside 4-1, but the 3-2 defeat in Rotterdam showed Cesc Fabregas’s side are far from watertight – though with six goals in two games they rarely draw a blank either.
United’s results have been grim – six games without a win – but the performance in Madrid last week tells a kinder story.
Even with only 42% of the ball at the Metropolitano, Michael Carrick’s side created four big chances against Atletico Madrid. They simply could not finish any of them.
If United are to get a result, Bryan Mbeumo looks the man most likely to deliver it.
The Cameroonian has four goals in seven Premier League games and was on target again at Leeds on Saturday.
Expect a scrappy contest. United committed 13 fouls and won 45 of 70 duels in Madrid, while Como’s trip to Rotterdam produced 37 fouls in total.
German referee Sven Jablonski is unlikely to reach for his pocket often, though.
He averages just over two yellow cards per game in the Champions League and showed only two in City’s 4-2 defeat to the holders.
BetMGM selection: Man Utd or draw, BTTS, under 3.5 match cards & Mbeumo to score @ 13/2
Bayern Munich vs Arsenal
Something has to give at the Allianz Arena.
Bayern Munich have scored in 23 consecutive Champions League matches and warmed up with a 6-1 thrashing of RB Leipzig at the weekend.
Arsenal have yet to concede in Europe this season but have lost on each of their last three visits to Munich.
Vincent Kompany is without the suspended Michael Olise so much will rest on Harry Kane, who already has three Champions League goals this term.
With William Saliba out, the job of keeping him quiet falls largely to Gabriel.
The Brazilian has been booked twice in six Premier League starts this season and does not back down from a physical battle. Kane, who has a habit of backing into defenders and drawing contact, could well land him another yellow here.
Mikel Arteta’s trump card could be Noni Madueke.
The winger scored his first Arsenal goal in last season’s 3-1 win over the German giants at the Emirates, and came off the bench on Sunday to settle a stubborn game at Nottingham Forest with his side’s only shot on target.
He looks set to start on the left and, with Bayern sure to commit bodies forward, he should find space to run into.
BetMGM selection: BTTS, Kane to score, Madueke 1+ SoT & Gabriel to be carded @ 13/1
Odds correct at time of publication but subject to change
