Liverpool, Juventus and Manchester City are the focus of this week’s Champions League predictions.
The pregame narrative: Liverpool hosts Real Madrid in the biggest game of Matchday 5 and I expect the Reds to win. Elsewhere, bet on City to wake up offensively and Juventus to secure a point on the road.
Check out the best Champions League predictions for Matchday 5.
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Best Bet: Liverpool to win (-109)
Liverpool cruised into the international break with a 9-1-1 Premier League record and a 4-0-0 Champions League record.
New manager Arne Slot has made the team a nightmare to gameplan against. The team has allowed the fewest goals in both the EPL (eight) and UCL (one).
A quarter of those conceded Premier League goals came on Sunday when Liverpool eked out a 3-2 victory over Southampton at St. Mary’s Stadium.
It wasn’t how Slot wanted things to go but was a nice reminder that the Reds can handle business with an offensive outburst, too.
Real Madrid is capable of filling the net with stars like Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham on the roster. But, Vinicius Jr. and Rodrygo are out and also had several massive letdowns in the past two months:
- 3-1 loss to AC Milan, UCL Matchday 4
- 4-0 loss to Barcelona, La Liga Matchday 11
- 1-0 loss to Lille, UCL Matchday 2
I don’t quite trust that group to get the job done yet. That’s especially true on the road against the best defensive team on the planet.
Key stat: Liverpool has won 13 of its last 14 games across all competitions.
Quick picks
Juventus to win or tie (-157): There’s some juice to pay on this wager but I believe it’s worth it.
Juventus has yet to lose a Serie A game under Thiago Motta. That’s not to say it’s been perfect, though, as the squad sits sixth in the table with six wins and seven draws.
But Juve has been stout defensively with a league-low seven goals conceded and should stifle an Aston Villa attack which isn’t impressing.
The Lions sit eighth in the EPL table with 19 goals scored (tied for ninth in the league). They’re winless in their last six matches across all competitions with four losses, two draws, and five goals scored.
Manchester City over 2.5 goals (-132): The panic button has been pressed for Manchester City fans.
The reigning Premier League champions just got smashed 4-0 by Tottenham at the Ethiad and have now lost five straight games across all competitions.
It’s really been an unbelievably poor run of form considering Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden are all in the mix.
But I think City snaps out of it emphatically at home against Feyenoord.
The Dutch side sits fourth in Eredivisie and is simply not equipped to deal with Pep Guardiola’s attack.
City might have three goals in the last four games but the club has generated 9.7 expected goals in that span, according to FB Ref.
The levee is bound to break sooner or later.
Picks made at 3:25 p.m. on 11/25/24.
Avery joined NorthStar Gaming as an intern in 2022 before stepping into a full-time role soon after. He loves betting on and analyzing golf — mainly because it’s easier than actually playing — but is a fan of all sports, from the NFL to the UFC.