WEDNESDAY CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: The Ultra previews ASTON VILLA v CELTIC and MANCHESTER CITY v CLUB BRUGGE both with a recommended BETDAQ bet.
ASTON VILLA V CELTIC
8pm It’s crunch time in the Champions League Group stage! We have a hectic night on BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE with all 18 games kicking off at the same time. Obviously this has produced some effectively meaning games for some clubs, and some huge games for others. The sides who can’t caught in the top eight can relax for example, there’s side who are already knocked out, and then of course you have sides like Aston Villa and Manchester City that need to win and additionally need other results to go their way if you’re Aston Villa. We kick off the night with Aston Villa hosting Celtic, and this is a huge game for Aston Villa as they sit in ninth place heading into the final matchday. Celtic are safely into the playoff round, but they are right on the edge of the ranking for that draw sitting in 18th. Quite obviously finishing in the top eight is a massive step forward, so Villa need to win and see what happens one of Atletico Madrid, AC Milan, Atalanta or Bayer Leverkusen. Atalanta are away to Barcelona, so that might be the spot Villa could step into – but obviously there are also a few sides on 13 points as well which might be a factor to consider too!
Aston Villa come into the game as the odds on favourites at 1.56 with Celtic 6.2 and the draw is 4.8 at the time of writing. Obviously there is a big gulf in class between the Premier League and the Scottish Premiership, but Celtic have done very well in the Champions League this season. Compared to some of the other big sides, just getting into that 9th to 24th bracket is a great achievement – usually Celtic would crash out at the Group stages. The major worry here is their away performances – they have been so much more comfortable at home with their atmosphere. For example; their home average xG figure is 1.75 compared to just 0.87 away while their home average xG conceded is 1.07 compared to a whopping 2.07 away! The worry from a Villa point of view is they haven’t been creating good quality chances in the Premier League this season; given the situation here though they have to go for a win and I’d expect an open game. Some of their xG figures would make me lean towards Unders but with the situation, I’m happy to stay out of the Overs/Unders market. I feel on balance that there are worries with Villa, but they are still worth a small investment at the odds to deal with a Celtic side who really struggle away from home.
The Ultra Says:
One point win Aston Villa to beat Celtic at 1.56 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/AvlCel
MANCHESTER CITY V CLUB BRUGGE
8pm Next we have one of the shortest prices on Wednesday night, but it is by far the most interesting game of the evening as Manchester City host Club Brugge. Pep Guardiola’s men are sitting outside the top 24 coming into the final matchday – not many football fans would have predicted that at the start of the new format! Obviously City have had a lot of major issues this season – injuries and loss of confidence put them on a losing run like we’ve never seen before in the Premier League. That lack of confidence definitely spilled over into the Champions League, and here they are under the most intense pressure. They have an “easy” fixture on paper now, and they are very lucky that Club Brugge are three points ahead of them but have a worst goal difference, meaning any win for City here will see them into the playoff round. That is definitely less worrying than needing other results to go their way. As you would expect, City are trading as the red-hot favourites coming into this game. City are as short as 1.18 with Club Brugge 19.0 and the draw is 9.4 at the time of writing.
You don’t need me to tell you the gulf in class between the Premier League and the Belgian Pro League – that’s not even considering that Club Brugge aren’t even leading in Belgium this season. City are under intense pressure here, and with a draw being enough for Brugge I would expect them to put XI men behind the ball and see what happens. City have done some incredible things this season – case in point being 3-0 up against Feyenoord here and throwing away the game to finish 3-3. They threw away a two goal lead against Brentford in the Premier League recently too. Brugge managed to stop Juventus winning last time out, beat Aston Villa here and Sporting Lisbon recently with home advantage too. Their average xG conceded of 1.18 is a pretty impressive figure – it will be fascinating to see how long they can hold out and what the atmosphere is like if we get to half-time at 0-0 for example. Obviously if City score early, the game has to open up and then we might see City cover the handicap for example. We have a tricky game from a betting point of view here, but I’m going to go with something at big prices. I feel Brugge will sit back here – with City low on confidence I’m going to take a chance on Under 2.5 goals at 3.45. This is definitely a game for small stakes!
The Ultra Says:
One point win Under 2.5 goals at 3.45 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/MciBru
