The Champions League makes a welcome return on Tuesday night for matchday three, with some big names in action. Inter Milan will be looking to put their domestic troubles behind them at Lille, while Bayern Munich and Real Madrid will be confident of extending their 100% records.
Lille v Inter Milan
It’s fair to say that since Jose Mourinho left the San Siro things have rapidly gone downhill for the 2010 champions. Saturday’s 2-1 defeat to Catania leaves them one place outside the relegation zone in Serie A, with current boss Claudio Ranieri facing a massive challenge to get things back on track. The distraction of a Champions League game might be just what they need and Ranieri will hope they can produce a repeat performance of the one which saw them win 3-2 at CSKA Moscow on their last European outing.
French champions Lille will certainly pose a stiff test but with Inter priced at 11/5 for the win, it is tough to ignore such an inviting offer. Inter will have Wesley Sneijder back for the game to add to what is a squad already full of quality. Lille have so far picked up two points from their opening two matches and might be struggling to cope with the demand of playing twice a week given their small, but talented, squad. If you aren’t feeling brave enough to back Inter the draw is 23/10, while Lille are 5/4.
Real Madrid v Lyon
Having worked his magic at Inter, Mourinho is currently turning Real Madrid’s squad of superstars into a force to be reckoned with. Setting aside a shock defeat to Levante – Real have looked good, maybe even good enough to challenge the might of Barcelona this year. Mourinho has got Kaka back to somewhere near his best, while in Karim Benzema and Gonzalo Higuain he has two of the hottest strikers in Europe. Higuain made it back-to-back hat-tricks at the weekend, while Benzema will be keen to make an impression against his former club.
Lyon aren’t the side they once were, when winning Ligue 1 titles came as easy to them as breathing, and could be in for a tough night at the Bernabeu. With Real at the short price of 2/9 you might want to look towards a scorecast, with Higuain to score first and Real to win 3-0 priced at 22/1.
Napoli v Bayern Munich
These two teams have enjoyed good starts to their Champions League campaigns and whoever comes out on top in their back-to-back matches, is likely to go on and top the group. The Italians might have slipped up against Parma at the weekend but they are a tough nut to crack at home, avoiding defeat in their last nine European matches at the San Paolo.
Bayern have perhaps been the most impressive side in Europe so far this year, their wins against Manchester City and Villarreal coming at a canter. In Mario Gomez they also have a striker who could score with his eyes closed it seems, the German banging in 10 in eight games so far. Bayern will go in search of the win but will be happy with a point, a result you can back at 12/5, with the Germans evens and Napoli 11/4.
Elsewhere on Tuesday there should be a straight forward homes win for AC Milan against BATE Borisov, while CSKA Moscow will hope to get their first win against Trabzonspor. Ajax will hope they can keep their hopes of qualification alive with a win at Dinamo Zagreb, while Benfica could sneak a win at Basel.
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