Scott Thornton has made two Champions League predictions for this week, which combine for a double with a best price of 7/2.
20:00 Wednesday
This Champions League double covers both matches in Group F of the Champions League, as Newcastle host Dortmund and PSG welcome AC Milan to the Parc des Princes.
Champions League Predictions This Week
Newcastle vs Dortmund
The stakes are getting higher in Group F as these four sides look to navigate their way through the Champions League Group of Death. The four sides in this group would have been rueing their luck when the balls came out.
Newcastle recorded a memorable win over PSG at St. James’s Park in their last Champions League match. The three points took them to the top of the group, three points ahead of Borussia Dortmund. Edin Terzic’s side lost in Paris in their opening match and could only manage a draw at home to Milan. A win for the away side would really alter the landscape of this group.
Borussia Dortmund’s opponents have an average of 20 tackles per game in their opening two matches in the Champions League; making them the 5th most tackled team. They are taking on a Newcastle side have made an average of 18 tackles per game so far. This is well above the group stage average of 15.91.
In Dortmund’s last Champions League match against Milan, the Rossoneri’s starting centre-backs in that game made three and six tackles respectively. When Terzic’s side took on PSG in their first group match, Skriniar made four tackles and Marquinhos made two so Newcastle’s central defenders should be busy here.
Botman’s return to the side is mooted for the Arsenal game so Jamaal Lascelles should start for the home side here. He started in the 4-1 win over PSG and made three tackles in that one. Sky Bet have priced 2+ Lascelles tackles at 13/8.
Jamaal Lascelles 2+ Tackles @ 13/8 Sky Bet (1 point)
20:00 Wednesday
PSG vs AC Milan
We are staying in the Group of Death for our second bet. Both of these sides have reached the business end of this competition in recent years but it’s likely that one of them will be exiting the tournament before the knockouts begin.
PSG are one point ahead of Milan ahead of this clash but they haven’t been at their best so far this season. They were comprehensively beaten in their last match in this competition and are behind Monaco and Nice in Ligue 1.
Milan made it to the semi-finals of the Champions League last season but defeat here would mean that they face an uphill battle to make it out of the group stages in this campaign. Stefan Pioli’s side are just one point behind Inter.
Paris St. Germain need to win their home matches and they’ll be relying on Kylian Mbappe to come up with the goods. Mbappe looks likely to leave the club in the summer and he won't want his last season in the French capital ending in Champions League embarrassment.
Mbappe is one of the leading players in world football but he hasn’t been at his brilliant best in the groups thus far. Despite this, he still managed to score in his team’s win over Dortmund. The forward is averaging 5.5 shots per 90 minutes in the league with 2.5 of those finding the target.
