Champions League Matchday 7 Tips: Bayer Leverkusen to beat Atletico Madrid
The league phase of the Champions League reaches its penultimate round this midweek, with 18 intriguing contests across Europe as clubs jockey for position and a spot in the knockout stages.
There are nine games on Tuesday, including Atletico Madrid welcoming Bayern Leverkusen, Aston Villa travelling to Monaco and Liverpool hosting Lille.
Wednesday's blockbuster clash sees Manchester City in Paris for a pivotal showdown with PSG, while Celtic could all but tie up a place in the next stage if they beat struggling Young Boys in Glasgow.
With the big contests coming thick and fast, we have put together a four-fold acca for Matchday 7 in the Champions League, which pays out at odds of 20/1 if successful.
Aston Villa to score Over 1.5 Goals vs Monaco (Tuesday 5.45pm) @ 23/20
Aston Villa have enjoyed an excellent campaign back amongst Europe's elite for the first time in a generation.
Unai Emery's side are locked in for progression to the knockout stages after four wins and a draw from six games so far.
Their highlight was a 1-0 home win over Bayern Munich and only a controversial VAR call denied them the same outcome against Juventus in their penultimate game.
A 3-2 win in Leipzig last month moved them onto 13 points and if they triumph in Monaco they have a great shot at staying in the top-eight and going directly into the last-16.
Monaco made a fast start, picking up 10 points from their first four games, but successive losses against Benfica and Arsenal mean they are sweating on progress.
They conceded six times in those European losses before Christmas and are winless in four Ligue 1 games, conceding seven times in their last three games, so Villa are well placed to score a couple of goals in the Principality.
Bayer Leverkusen to beat Atletico Madrid (Tuesday 8.00pm) @ 43/20
Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen look overpriced ahead of a trip to the Metropolitano Stadium to face Atletico Madrid.
When these sides last met in 2022/23, the Germans won 2-0 at home and netted twice in a 2-2 draw in Spain. Atleti's record against Bundesliga opponents since 2019 shows just two wins in nine attempts.
Outside of the 4-0 reverse at Liverpool, Leverkusen have been breached just once in their other five Champions League games.
Diego Simeone's side has conceded an alarming 10 goals in six games already and, with the outstanding Florian Wirtz arriving in town, they should be fearful after seeing their winning spree crash in a shock La Liga loss at Leganes on Saturday.
Juventus to beat Club Brugge (Tuesday 8.00pm) @ 5/4
Club Brugge is one of the sides teetering on the brink of a place in the knockout round.
The Belgians are 19th after gathering 10 points from six games, though they had two incredible slices of good fortune in the goals that helped earn a win at home over Villa and a draw at Celtic.
They are the lowest scorers amongst the teams currently occupying the top 24 spots with just six goals.
Juventus held Villa and Manchester City scoreless in picking up four points from their last two games and they are unbeaten on the road.
Thiago Motta's side would keep alive their hopes of a top-eight finish with a win at the Jan Breydel Stadium, where Borussia Dortmund were 3-0 winners on matchday one.
Brugge have conceded a worrying seven goals in their last four Jupiler Pro League games.
The wily Italian outfit can grind out the right result, just as they did in dispatching AC Milan with a pair of second-half goals at the weekend.
Celtic -1 to beat Young Boys (Wednesday 8.00pm) @ 4/9
Celtic have a commendable nine points from six games, the Hoops having lost just once so far and they know that a win over bottom-of-the-table Young Boys in Glasgow will all but secure their passage to the next stage.
The Scottish champions won't want any hiccups, as their matchday eight trip to Villa could be problematic.
At home, Celtic have scored nine times in three games and they had daylight to spare in the wins against Slovan Bratislava (5-1) and RB Leipzig (3-1). They underwhelmed against Club Brugge last time out but did well to take a point after calamitously gifting the visitors the lead.
Young Boys have lost four of their six games by more than one goal and have only scored three times.
Brendan Rodgers will know the draw was kind, with this contest ensuring that all of the current bottom three in the 36-team table will have visited Parkhead. His side will have to be much more proficient than they were in the Scottish Cup win over Kilmarnock on Saturday but, with the big-game vibes in Glasgow's East End, they should raise things a notch.
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Odds correct at time of publication but subject to fluctuation