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 are currently second in the Group C table, after one win and two draws from their opening three fixtures.  The Reds host Romanian minnows Otelul Galati on Wednesday night and are heavy favourites to secure the victory at 1/10, the visitors are a massive 25/1 to record a shock win at Old Trafford and the draw is 9/1.

United should have no problems in seeing off their Romanian opponents and in the half-time/full-time market a Manchester United/Manchester United result pays out at 1/4. Boss Sir Alex Ferguson is set to name a strong side as although Otelul shouldn’t represent a massive test United need to secure the victory to bolster their chances of reaching the latter stages and Javier Hernandez can be backed at 5/2 to open the scoring.

Manchester City desperately need to secure three points in their trip to Villarreal. The Premier League leaders have impressed domestically but have struggled in Europe and have won one, drawn one and lost one so far, leaving them third in the Group A table.

A loss for Villarreal would be catastrophic as they are yet to register a single point in Europe after three games.  It promises to be a hard-fought game at El Madrigal on Wednesday but City should have the quality to secure the win against Villarreal, who are also struggling for form in La Liga, and City are 8/13 to come away as winners, while the hosts are 5/1 and the draw is 11/4.

Boss Roberto Mancini is expected to include Manchester derby hero Mario Balotelli in his Champions League squad for the first time this season. The temperamental Italian has missed the first three games of the campaign due to a suspension that has been hanging over him since last season but Balotelli has plenty of Champions League experience, having been a member of the Inter Milan squad that secured the title in 2010.  Balotelli is priced at evens to score at any time and considering his form of late it could be worth backing the 21-year-old to hit the target in Spain on Wednesday.

The pick of Wednesday night’s ties is arguably Real Madrid’s trip to Lyon, in what could well be an entertaining contest. The Spanish giants have picked up maximum points in their three fixtures to date, while Lyon are level on points with Ajax in the Group D table. A win for Real would see them  qualify for the next round and the La Liga league-leaders should be able to get the better of the French outfit, with a Madrid victory priced at 8/13.

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