Champions League 2015: Odds, Betting Tips for Tuesday's Matchday 5 Fixtures
It's crunch time in the Champions League as Tuesday sees the return to European action in Matchday 5 and, as always, there will be plenty of opportunities for bettors to rake in the cash.
Arsenal take on Dinamo Zagreb in a must-win clash after picking up just one win in their first four outings in Group F, as they find themselves six points behind Bayern Munich and Olympiakos with two games to go.
Meanwhile, Roma travel to Barcelona in a bid to stay ahead of Bayer Leverkusen and to a lesser extent BATE Borisov and will likely have to contend with Lionel Messi following his return to action in El Clasico on Saturday.
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Continue for a selection of enticing betting tips, but first here are the match odds for Tuesday's games:
| BATE Borisov (19-4) | 3-1 | Bayer Leverkusen (4-7) |
| Zenit St Petersburg (6-5) | 23-10 | Valencia (23-10) |
| Porto (100-189) | 14-5 | Dynamo Kiev (11-2) |
| Maccabi Tel Aviv (7-1) | 7-2 | Chelsea (2-5) |
| Barcelona (2-5) | 7-2 | Roma (7-1) |
| Lyon (100-137) | 11-4 | Gent (7-2) |
| Bayern Munich (50-357) | 13-2 | Olympiakos (16-1) |
| Arsenal (1-5) | 11-2 | Dinamo Zagreb (12-1) |
All odds are provided by Oddsshark and Oddschecker.com.
Arsenal to Keep Things Tight
The Gunners will likely come into the game low on confidence having lost 2-1 to West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.
Football writer Iain Macintosh pulled no punches in his colourful assessment of how they fared:
That knock to their morale will no doubt be compounded by the fact they were humiliated 5-1 in their most recent Champions League outing at Bayern Munich. They also lost to Zagreb earlier in the campaign.
Nevertheless, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is optimistic his team—who need to win both of their remaining matches and hope Olympiakos are unable to earn a shock result away at Bayern Munich—can progress to the knockout stages. He told AFP (via FIFA.com):
"We will give absolutely everything to stay in the Champions League.
I think we still have a strong chance but it will be very tight now.
Even if we had beaten Bayern, we would be in a position where we have to beat Olympiakos, if we beat Zagreb at home. Unless Olympiakos make a result at Bayern, which is not impossible as well.
"
Despite their recent troubles, the Gunners also have much going in their favour, which could make the 6-1 odds for a 2-0 win or 13-2 odds for a 3-0 win quite enticing. Bolder bettors could be tempted to go for 4-0 at 10-1 or 5-0 at 18-1.
Dinamo haven't won in their last 11 Champions League away ties. In that time, they've lost nine and failed to find the net in eight of them, so a win-to-nil result could well be on the cards.
Further, the Gunners' attacking stars are all in excellent form.
Olivier Giroud has scored 12 goals for club and country this season, including two in three Champions League appearances, while Alexis Sanchez has contributed to four goals in Europe in this term.
Playmaker Mesut Ozil has been at his sublimely creative best this season with an incredible 11 assists to his name. With the quality ammunition he can provide for Giroud and Sanchez, Arsenal can keep their hopes alive with a comfortable victory on Tuesday—and give their morale and goal difference a healthy boost.
Lionel Messi to Announce His Return in Style
All eyes will be on Lionel Messi when Barcelona welcome Roma to the Camp Nou.
The Argentinian was a second-half substitute in the Blaugrana's 4-0 win in El Clasico on Saturday and though manager Luis Enrique has not confirmed he will start, he admitted the diminutive forward appeared fit again after two months out.
Per BBC Sport, he said: "He seemed in very good shape to me. All that is needed now is to charge his batteries."
For those looking for a thrill, the 28-year-old is just 13-2 to score a hat-trick in what is likely to be his first full return to action. Messi has form having already scored a record five Champions League hat-tricks in his career.
Further, while Barcelona's attacks have shifted to the left flank in order to flow through Neymar in his absence, Messi's return will likely see the dynamic shift back to him on right. In his first full game back, the team may well look to include him even more than usual.
Against a Roma defence that has kept just two clean sheets all season, Messi and Co. will hope to run riot at the Camp Nou and could easily do just that.
Eden Hazard Looking to Find Form for Chelsea
It's fair to say Eden Hazard has struggled this season.
The Belgian has accrued no goals and just three assists in 19 appearances across all competitions this season. Like many of his team-mates, the Belgian has fallen well short of the standards set in previous campaigns.
The 24-year-old is slowly showing signs of life, though. The Mirror's John Cross praised his efforts in the 1-0 defeat to Stoke City earlier in November:
Hazard then followed that up with a strong showing in the win over Norwich City on Saturday, per WhoScored.com and Squawka Football:
What Hazard now needs is to convert his improving form into incisive contributions and he will have few better opportunities to do so than against Maccabi Tel Aviv, who have conceded 11 goals in their four Champions League games this season.
The 24-year-old may also have added motivation after missing a penalty against the Israeli side earlier in the season, so he may be worth backing to open the scoring on Tuesday at 11-2.
