Barcelona v Celtic

Probably the biggest game of the evening sees Neil Lennon’s side travel to take on the might of the Catalan giants and aristocrats of Europe.

Barcelona are, as ever, huge favourites (1/12 – match odds) to come out on top but this is unlikely to be as easy an evening as the market is suggesting for Tito Vilanova’s men, with Celtic’s 25/1 odds of winning looking just a bit too large.

Celtic, unlike in recent campaigns, have given themselves a chance of qualification with a draw at home to Benfica and a fine win at Spartak Moscow so far, but still they face a huge ask to make it into the top two in such a tough group.

However, Tuesday is one of the Bhoys’ biggest European nights for many a year – considering the way the group is finely poised after two games – and they know getting anything from the game, however hard that is, will give them a great chance of progressing and also go down as one of their best-ever results.

But this is Barca at the Nou Camp we are talking about and even the most die-hard Celtic fan will struggle to predict anything other than a home win.

Celtic would love a repeat of their 1-1 draw from 2008 when they famously earned a point in Barcelona and, again at long odds of 11/1, the draw is tempting to back on Tuesday.

Don’t be fooled though, Barca have much more quality than the SPL champions – even if boss Vilanova opts to rest a few regulars – and a fairly comfortable 2-0 home win is our prediction.

Prediction: Barcelona 2 Celtic 0 at 6/1.

Manchester United v Braga

United’s home game with Portuguese side Braga should be a straightforward evening for the Premier League giants at Old Trafford.

Sir Alex Ferguson’s men have won their first two games in the Champions League so far and should have too much for Braga as they look to make it three wins out of three (1/3 in the match betting) and take a big step towards a last-16 place.

United have not yet been at their best this season and have looked rusty, inconsistent and less than watertight at the back in certain games to offer Braga hope of a shock victory (9/1) or draw (4/1).

But they were surprisingly beaten 2-0 at home by relative minnows CFR Cluj on matchday one before restoring pride with an impressive 2-0 win over Galatasaray in Turkey last time out. That suggests they are a side difficult to predict and on their day a match for most but, on this occasion, a defeat looks very likely.

Prediction: United 3 Braga 0 at 8/1.

Shakhtar Donetsk v Chelsea

The final game involving a British side sees in-form Chelsea make the tricky journey to Ukraine to tackle a Shakhtar side (6/4 in the match betting) who are fast emerging as a side to fear in Europe.

Mircea Lucescu’s men are, like the Blues, sitting pretty at the top of their domestic league but boast a perfect P12 W12 record so far, while they are also in with a chance of progressing out of the Group after seeing off newcomers Nordsjaelland 2-0 before claiming a very creditable 1-1 draw against Juventus in Turin on matchday two (Draw v Chelsea – 12/5).

Both sides know, with Juve lurking and likely to claim one of the top two places and qualification, that this is a big night. A potentially-pivotal win for Roberto Di Matteo’s men then, on offer at 15/8, is worth backing but don’t expect it to be easy for the reigning European champions.

Shakhtar are very dangerous and goals look likely but we fancy the Londoners to turn in another efficient and stylish display and run out narrow victors.

Prediction: Shakhtar 1 Chelsea 2 at 10/1.

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Manchester United v Galatasaray

United look to have the easiest task of the British sides on Wednesday as they welcome Turkish champions Gala to Old Trafford. Not that Sir Alex Ferguson will be taking anything for granted following last season’s disappointing group stage exit (United 2/7, Galatasaray 11/1, draw 9/2).

The Premier League runners-up were uncharacteristically sloppy in front of their own fans in this competition last term, drawing 3-3 at home to Benfica and 2-2 with Basel as well as just about seeing off minnows Otelul Galati 2-0.

Fergie has warned he will not tolerate those sort of below-par performances and results this season and, with that in mind, back United to kick off with a fairly convincing home win.

Saturday’s 4-0 success over Wigan was more like it from the Red Devils after a rusty start to the campaign which had seen them lose to Everton and then scramble wins over Fulham and Southampton. They have added firepower this year in the shape of Robin van Persie and Shinji Kagawa so Wayne Rooney’s continued absence should not be much of a problem.

Gala will approach the game determined to claim a point but the Turkish side are notoriously poor travellers and will not relish the trip, as their huge odds of 11/1 to win on the night prove.

Go for 2-0 to United in the correct score market at 5/1.

Chelsea v Juventus

The Blues appear to have a much-more daunting opener with the visit of Italian champions Juve a tougher one to call (Chelsea 11/10. Juve 11/4, draw 23/10).

Roberto Di Matteo’s side surprised many with their Champions League triumph last season and they will not want to give up their crown easily. At least progressing through the group should be fairly straightforward, with minnows FC Nordsjaelland in Group E along with Shakhtar Donetsk and Juve.

The European champions come into Wednesday’s clash in good early-season form, too, and they are unbeaten so far with the hard-fought 0-0 draw at QPR on Saturday the only blip domestically.

However, the 5-1 thumping at the hands of Atletico Madrid in the Super Cup is a reminder of how vulnerable they can still be and Di Matteo’s side, who finished last season sixth in the Premier Leauge, are very much a work in progress with several new arrivals bedding in.

Eden Hazard has looked a class act already, though, and will relish this test against one of Europe’s heavyweights so the Belgian is well worth backing in the score anytime market at 9/4.

Overall, Di Matteo’s men may well view a point as a decent outcome considering what lies ahead and a cagey 0-0 (11/2) could well be on the cards.

Celtic v Benfica

It has been a very strange start to the season in Scotland as Celtic have stumbled their way through their opening SPL games, not quite sure what to do with themselves now arch-rivals Rangers have left the top flight.

The Bhoys will surely come good in the league after a start that has seen them draw twice, scrape two narrow wins and then lose to St Johnstone at the weekend.

That last result may just have given away the fact that Celtic’s focus was on this tie rather than their early SPL struggles as they look to see off the Portuguese giants (Celtic 11/4, Benfica 11/10, draw 23/10).

Expect a passionate home support to lift Neil Lennon’s side and a home win is not out of the question, especially when you consider Benfica’s record away from home. They have also lost their two Champions League trips to Celtic to date, conceding four goals and failing to score a single one in the process, while they have only won four of their 26 Champions League away games in total.

Despite those stats, this remains a big test for the Hoops and another draw is predicted in what looks like being a tight encounter. 1-1 at 5/1 appeals to ensure a solid, if unspectacular start to Celtic’s European Cup campaign proper.

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