THURSDAY CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: The Ultra previews ATALANTA v ARSENAL, ATLETICO MADRID v RB LEIPZIG and MONACO v BARCELONA all with a recommended BETDAQ bet.
ATALANTA V ARSENAL
8pm Playing European football on a Thursday night is no longer a football slagging as we have Champions League on BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE! The new Champions League schedule means we have “Champions League only” weeks in the calendar where we have fixtures Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday night to enjoy. We have some cracking ties too, and we kick off the night with Europa League winners Atalanta hosting Arsenal. Atalanta would have been in the Champions League without winning the Europa League as they were a top four (of five) side in Serie A last season anyway. Arsenal also had a superb season but the reality for them is it’s just extremely difficult to beat Manchester City. This should be a good game – both sides have got off to good starts in their domestic seasons. Arsenal come into the game as the odds on favourites – they are trading 1.94 with Atalanta 4.3 and the draw is 3.95 at the time of writing. There’s definitely a gulf in class at the moment between the Premier League and Serie A, so it’s no surprise to see Arsenal a shade of odds on. I would be a little worried about the Arsenal performance level coming into this game however.
They only have an average xG created of 1.38 after four games in the Premier League, and their average conceded is very close to that figure at 1.34. They have had to play the North London Derby, but they haven’t had the most difficult fixture list to be honest. Those figures are mid-table level in the Premier League – clearly they have a lot of talent in their squad and they were very impressive at the back last season, but I feel that they haven’t really got going this season, even allowing for winning the North London Derby at the weekend. It’s very early days in the season of course, but after four games in Serie A Atalanta have the highest attacking figure. I feel away from home here Arsenal shouldn’t be odds on – we saw Liverpool drift already in the week from 1.98 to 2.04 pre-off away to AC Milan. I accept there’s a big gulf in class between the leagues these days, but I feel Atalanta can make this game closer than the odds suggest and I’m happy with an Arsenal lay.
The Ultra Says:
Two points lay (liability) Arsenal to beat Atalanta at 1.94 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/AtaArs
ATLETICO MADRID V RB LEIPZIG
8pm Next we have a cracking European tie as Atletico Madrid clash with RB Leipzig. Both clubs finished fourth in La Liga and the Bundesliga last season, and they have been able to spend money in the summer too. You’d have to say that they are still a good bit off competing for their domestic titles, but you’d could easily see them being a big factor in the Champions League this season. Maybe not good enough to win it of course, but they could go deep into the tournament. Both sides have had very positive starts in their domestic seasons too; however RB Leipzig would have been disappointed with a 0-0 draw at the weekend against Union Berlin. Atletico Madrid are four points behind Barcelona at the top of the table, but they will be reasonably happy with that given their fixture list – they will be kicking themselves with the 0-0 here against Espanyol because they did the hard work by beating Athletic Bilbao away from home and Girona here. Atletico Madrid come into the game as the odds on favourites at 1.81 with RB Leipzig 4.8 and the draw is 4.1 at the time of writing.
Atletico Madrid would have been disappointed with their season last time, there was even some talk that Simeone could leave but obviously the board have massively backed him during the summer. Most of their issues came away from home however, and they were a lot more comfortable at home. That great home record transferred to the Champions League as well; they actually won all their Champions League home games. RB Leipzig don’t have a great record in the Champions League apart from one season during Covid19; they’ve been given a tough draw too – they meet Inter Milan, Juventus and Liverpool. They usually play a very open game, and we should see goals here. Over 2.5 goals is trading 1.72 with Both Teams To Score just one tick shorter at 1.71. Atletico have been pretty solid at the back at the start of the season so I’m going to keep stakes low here, however RB Leipzig will make this an open game in my opinion and we should see plenty of action at both ends of the pitch. Both Teams To Score is worth backing.
The Ultra Says:
One point win Both Teams To Score at 1.71 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/AtlRbl
MONACO V BARCELONA
8pm We finish the week in the Champions League with Monaco hosting Barcelona. This should be an interesting tie, and it will be fascinating to see how Monaco do now they are back in the Champions League. Apart from PSG winning the title, it seems a lot of clubs do bounce up and down the table in Ligue 1. Monaco took a huge step forward when finishing second last season given they were sixth the year before that, and then you look at someone like Lens who finished second in 2022/23 to finish down in seventh outside of the European spots last season. Monaco have made a very positive start to the season in Ligue 1 – they are unbeaten after four games, dropping points once with a draw so that leaves them two points behind PSG. There’s no getting away from the fact that outside of PSG Ligue 1 isn’t a good standard compared to La Liga, and it’s no surprise to see Barcelona come into this game as the odds on favourites. Barcelona have been faultless at the start of the season – they are trading 1.83 with Monaco 4.5 and the draw is 4.2 at the time of writing.
Barcelona sit top of La Liga at the moment with five wins from five games, and they’ve already built up a nice four point cushion on Real Madrid. As I said at the start of the season, with their financial issues off the pitch they needed a good start this season and to be heavily involved in the title race – they have got that. Success on the pitch tends to make everything else go away! They have been faultless really – average xG very close to 2.0 and average conceded under 1.0 – early days but title winning figures. Monaco are in the top four attacking figures in France, and the top three defensive figures too – they are playing to a decent level but I’d still have Barcelona a lot shorter than 1.83 here, even away from home. They are ticking every box this season, and there is a gulf in class between the sides, Barcelona are a five star NAP for me at 1.83 – that is a superb value price in my opinion.
The Ultra Says:
Five points win Barcelona to beat Monaco at 1.83 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/MonBar
