Champions League 2018: Odds, Live Stream, TV Schedule, Predictions for Wednesday

The second half of this season's UEFA Champions League begins Wednesday evening, when three-peat winners Real Madrid will begin their title defence at home to AS Roma.

Roma surprised Barcelona in the quarter-finals of last season's competition and will hope to stage another shock at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu. La Liga rivals Valencia will also be at home in their opening Group H fixture and face Juventus, who have progressed from the group stage the last four seasons running and made two finals in the process.

Both Manchester powerhouses get their tournaments under way as United travel to Swiss outfit Young Boys, while reigning Premier League champions City are at home to Lyon, who have won only one of their last four league games.

German giants Bayern Munich travel to Benfica in Group E and are joined on the road by Bundesliga rivals Hoffenheim, who will clash against Shakhtar Donetsk at the start of their Group F campaign. 

Wednesday's Schedule, Predictions

Ajax 2-0 AEK Athens, 5:55 p.m. BST/12:55 p.m. ET, BT Sport ESPN (UK), TNT USA (U.S.), Univision (U.S.)

Shakhtar Donetsk 2-1 Hoffenheim, 5:55 p.m. BST/12:55 p.m. ET, BT Sport 1 (UK), Galavision (U.S.)

Benfica 1-3 Bayern Munich, 8 p.m. BST/3 p.m. ET, Univision Deportes en Vivo (U.S.)

Manchester City 3-1 Lyon, 8 p.m. BST/3 p.m. ET, BT Sport 3 (UK), Galavision (U.S.), Univision Deportes en Vivo (U.S.)

Viktoria Plzen 1-1 CSKA Moscow, 8 p.m. BST/3 p.m. ET, Univision Deportes en Vivo (U.S.)

Real Madrid 3-2 AS Roma, 8 p.m. BST/3 p.m. ET, BT Sport ESPN (UK), TNT USA (U.S.), Univision (U.S.)

Valencia 1-2 Juventus, 8 p.m. BST/3 p.m. ET, Univision Deportes en Vivo (U.S.)

Young Boys 0-1 Manchester United, 8 p.m. BST/3 p.m. ET, BT Sport 2 (UK), Univision Deportes en Vivo (U.S.)

B/R Live provides UEFA Champions League live-stream coverage in 2018-19, while Watch TNT, fuboTV and Univision Deportes will also provide coverage in the United States. Viewers in the United Kingdom can tune in via the BT Sport app.

Match Odds

AEK Athens (2-5), Draw (4-1), Ajax (9-1)

Shakhtar Donetsk (Evens), Draw (37-13), Hoffenheim (119-40)

Benfica (6-1), Draw (18-5), Bayern Munich (6-11)

Manchester City (1-5), Draw (15-2), Lyon (18-1)

Viktoria Plzen (24-17), Draw (44-19), CSKA Moscow (12-5)

Real Madrid (7-19), Draw (5-1), AS Roma (17-2)

Valencia (19-5), Draw (77-29) Juventus (7-8)

Young Boys (9-2), Draw (3-1), Manchester United (8-11)

All odds provided courtesy of OddsShark.

Preview

Julen Lopetegui will get his first taste of Champions League football with Real on Wednesday, but the visit of Roma, who made it to the semi-final before being ousted by runners-up Liverpool, makes for a difficult introduction.

The major headline is that it will also be their first season in nine years starting this competition without Cristiano Ronaldo, who will instead be in action for Juve against Valencia.

The Portguese played a crucial role in the club winning the last three Champions League titles in a row, but captain Sergio Ramos has backed his team-mates to challenge once again, via Omnisport:

Roma have been granted a preferable Group G lineup alongside CSKA Moscow and Czech champions Viktoria Plzen, but clinching a result in their opener will be pivotal if they're to have ambitions of topping the pile.

Eusebio Di Francesco has assembled a terrific squad but they have won just one of their opening four league games this term, and club legend Francesco Totti knows the importance of performing when pressure is at its highest:

In Bern, United are hoping to win a third consecutive away fixture against Young Boys, who have opened their Swiss Super League season in relentless fashion and sit top with a perfect record after six outings, scoring 19 and conceding four.

The Telegraph's Jason Burt reported summer signing Diogo Dalot is in line to make his debut, and Simon Peach of the Press Association explained why Antonio Valencia had been omitted:

United have recently beaten Burnley and Watford on the road, but Young Boys are sure to have confidence on the back of a 10-match unbeaten run and can't be overlooked. 

OddsShark posted a rundown of the Group H and showed Los Che aren't that far from the Red Devils in the stakes:

Manchester clubs hold a place of prestige among the continental heavyweights in terms of value this season. Sportswriter Nick Harris pointed to a CIES study that showed City topping the charts in regards to money spent building their lineup; Lyon came in at 36th with a squad value of €141 million, seven times less the value of Wednesday's opponents:

Pep Guardiola's side have a superb chance of finishing first in Group F ahead of Lyon, Hoffenheim and Shakhtar, who they're facing for the second season in a row.