Champions League 2015: Match Odds, Top Betting Tips for Wednesday's Fixtures
The Champions League once again takes top billing on Wednesday night as Week 4 of the 2015-16 European campaign resumes with another round of elite continental fixtures.
And with the return of Europe's premier competition comes the chance to make a little something as we provide a roundup of the best betting opportunities.
Arsenal travel to Bayern Munich in the hope they can notch a double over the German giants following a shock 2-0 victory in London last month, and Barcelona look to replicate the same feat against BATE Borisov.
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Meanwhile, fans can only hope Serie A giants Roma and German team Bayer Leverkusen can reproduce the same fireworks witnessed in last month's eight-goal extravaganza, drawing 4-4 in Germany.
Read on for a selection of the best betting tips on offer this Wednesday, along with match odds for all eight European encounters.
| Roma (23-20) | 12-5 | Bayer Leverkusen (12-5) |
| Barcelona (1-11) | 8-1 | BATE Borisov (18-1) |
| Bayern Munich (5-13) | 21-5 | Arsenal (13-2) |
| Chelsea (5-7) | 11-4 | Dynamo Kiev (18-5) |
| Gent (13-5) | 23-10 | Valencia (21-20) |
| Lyon 5-4) | 23-10 | Zenit St Petersburg (21-10) |
| Maccabi Tel Aviv 13-2) | 31-10 | Porto (1-2) |
| Olympiakos (5-12) | 17-5 | Dinamo Zagreb (15-2) |
All odd are provided by Oddsshark and Oddschecker.com.
Giroud Leads the Way in Bavaria
The European masses were left shocked last month after seeing Arsenal fight form to clinch a 2-0 victory over the Bundesliga brutes, one that won't be forgotten by any Gunner in a hurry.
A trip to the Allianz Arena looks a far more daunting task, and former Germany international Per Mertesacker is expecting an "angry" Bayern on Wednesday, per the official Arsenal website:
"They had a Friday night match [against Eintracht Frankfurt] so they are well prepared for midweek - they are clever, the Germans! We showed that we can beat them, that is a good sign but it will be a different game at their place. They are outstanding in their league, it will be a good game and both teams have a good chance to go through to the knockout stage.
They will be angry I guess. We are the first team who really challenged them, so they will be on the ball and try to show that they are back and better than us. We need to get something out of this game, there is still a bit of pressure and urgency to perform. We need to perform and defend even better.
"
However, Arsene Wenger's men will have taken some heart in seeing Der FCB run to a 0-0 stalemate in the aforementioned trip to Eintracht, a result that's sure to have planted a seed of doubt in Pep Guardiola's camp.
Olivier Giroud will lead the Gunners' line in the absence of an injured Theo Walcott, but with six goals in his last six games, the France international is showcasing exactly the kind of form Wenger would hope of a previously dropped star.
The most recent of those goals came in Saturday's 3-0 throttling of Swansea City, and at 8-1, the French frontman is the lowest-priced Arsenal player to score first in Wednesday's meeting.
Add to that Giroud's 77th-minute opener against the Bundesliga titans last month and one gets the feeling Bayern may really be starting to hate the sight of Wenger's leading attacker.
Thankfully for the Gunners, Giroud has previous with Guardiola's side and was on target at the Allianz Arena in March 2013 during a 2-0 win over Bayern, adding a touch of context to his impending task.
It's unsurprising to see Bayern's stars dominate the first-goalscorer odds, but Giroud could be worth a punt at 8-1 to grab the breakthrough, while Alexis Sanchez sits just behind his target man at odds of 9-1 to open the deadlock.
Barcelona Margin a Safe Bet
The notion of BATE Borisov clinching any type of result in Barcelona on Wednesday evening seems an absurd one, especially after seeing less than 30 percent of possession in Belarus last month, per WhoScored.com.
BATE are in for another spectator's display this time around, and while they're fortunate Lionel Messi is still absent with injury, Spanish newspaper Sport reported Barca's squad is looking healthier otherwise:
For safe bettors, the 4-5 odds of Barca winning by three goals or more might look appealing, while the riskier might fancy taking a pop on the European champions to win by four goals or more, priced at 6-4.
Luis Enrique's defence has been the biggest concern this season and Saturday's 2-0 win over Getafe was the club's first La Liga clean sheet since August.
However, compared to the titans of the Camp Nou, Belarus' finest look like distant minnows and BATE showed last month that they'll struggle to carve out much by way of scoring chances this week.
Meanwhile, Luis Suarez and Neymar were both on the scoresheet in Saturday's victory and will surely be looking to take advantage of small opposition should they start on Wednesday.
Bayer Leverkusen Early Birds in Rome
Europe stood back and applauded as Bayer Leverkusen and Roma laid on a four-all feast at the BayArena in Week 3 of the Champions League, where the hosts struck late twice to seal a point.
It was an especially admirable display considering the Germans have become so accustomed to getting their work done early in Europe this term, maintaining a 100 percent record of scoring in the first half of their three games thus far.
In fact, the longest it's taken Leverkusen to open the deadlock in a Champions League game this season is 22 minutes—their 2-1 loss at Barcelona.
For that reason, one might choose to lump on Roger Schmidt's men to strike first at the Stadio Olimpico on Wednesday with odds of 6-4.
The Giallorossi have kept just one clean sheet in 11 Serie A outings this season and Rudi Garcia's side appear to be operating almost exclusively on a method of "we're going to score one more than you."
