Matchday 2 of the Uefa Champions League gets underway on Tuesday night when Spurs, Chelsea and Liverpool are all in action.
Chelsea 13/20 Draw 31/10 Benfica 38/10
Chelsea's opening UCL game saw them go down 3-1 to Bayern in Munich. They were 2-0 down in the first half hour but soon pulled a goal back through Cole Palmer before a second half penalty put the result beyond doubt. As far as recent EPL form is concerned Chelsea have found it tough to keep 11 players on the field having had men sent off in a 2-1 defeat at Manchester United and Saturday's 3-1 loss at home to Brighton and they have 8 points to show from their first 6 league games.
Former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has rejoined Benfica who lost their opening League Phase game 3-2 at home to Qarabag after coughing up an early 2-0 lead. Benfica had gone through qualifying with a 4-0 aggregate win over Nice and a 1-0 win over the course of 2 legs with Fenerbahce. Benfica are unbeaten in Portugal's top flight with 5 wins and 2 draws which puts them on the heels of rivals Sporting and Porto. .
On their way to being crowned Fifa Club World Cup Champions in July Chelsea beat Benfica 4-1 in the Round of 16, pulling away in extra time after the scores were locked up at 1-1 in the 90 minutes.
The Verdict
Chelsea's recent form, performances and injury to Cole Palmer would have me concerned but if they keep all 11 men on the pitch I think they can win this with a clean sheet.
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Galatasaray 33/10 Draw 36/10 Liverpool 13/20
Gala took an early lead away to Frankfurt on Matchday 1 but it fell apart thereafter. Two own goals saw them 3-1 down by half time and they went on to lose 5-1. They were on a run of 13 straight wins across all competitions prior to that and they have since bounced back with a couple of league wins to top the standings in Turkey with 7 wins from 7.
Liverpool's UCL campaign began at home to Atletico Madrid and they came out on top 3-2. Robertson and Salah had them 2-0 up in the first 6 minutes but Atletico restored parity with a goal in first half injury time and the equalizer on 81 minutes. As we have seen on numerous occasions this season Liverpool found a late winner, this time from Virgil.
Liverpool got a taste of their own medicine in the EPL on Saturday when a late Palace goal saw them go down 2-1 at Selhurst Park, their first defeat of the season. They remain top of the EPL with 5 wins and that 1 defeat but the gap to second placed Arsenal has been reduced to 2 points.
The Verdict
If you strip out a disastrous result in Frankfurt Gala are in great shape and could be a real handful for Liverpool in a red hot atmosphere. I see scope for goals and hopefully someone finds a winner.
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Bodo/Glimt 2/1 Draw 28/10 Spurs 23/20
Bodo came away from Slavia Prague with a 2-2 draw. They were in trouble at 2-0 down and missed a penalty but late goals from Bassi (78) and Fet (90) earned them a point. They came through qualifying with a 6-2 aggregate win over Sturm Graz, putting that tie to bed in the first leg with a 5-0 home win. They now renew rivalry with Spurs whom they met in the semi finals of the Europa League last season and Spurs won both legs, 3-1 in London and 2-0 here and they went on to beat Manchester United in the final.
A horrible goalkeeping error resulted in Spurs taking a fourth minute lead at home to Villarreal on Matchday 1 and that's the way it stayed to give Thomas Frank a winning start in the UCL. There were chances for both sides after that and Spurs defended well as the game wore on to earn the win.
Since then Spurs have drawn 2 EPL matches, 2-2 at Brighton and most recently they needed a late goal to scramble a 1-1 draw at home to bottom club Wolves. They had started the domestic season with 3 wins in the first 4 and are in fourth spot, 4 points behind league leaders Liverpool.
The Verdict
It's not quite a trip into the unknown as it would have been for other English clubs but although Spurs are blowing a bit hot and cold right now they have looked decent away from home and I think they can come out on top.
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