With a record 6 British sides in the Champions League group stages, how will the first round of games pan out this Tuesday?

After a strong start to the domestic season Manchester United will go into their match against FC Basel confident of a win. Though they sort of slipped up at the weekend – a brace from Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting meaning they could only come way from Stoke with a point – they’ve been one of the Premier League’s best teams so far this season.



Their opening trio of games saw 10 goals scored and none conceded, the newly Lukaku-led front line quickly finding a rich vein of form. The Belgian international, who has 5 goals in 5 games, sits at a Super Mega PGM of 64-74, followed by Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford at 30-36 apiece.

As for the Swiss champs, they haven’t been quite as impressive. They lost their opening game to Young Boys, and while they picked up wins against Luzern, Thun and Grasshopper Club, draws against Lugano and Sion and a loss on Saturday against bottom of the table Lausanne-Sport means they seriously lack momentum heading to Old Trafford. Understandably, then, the hosts are heavy favourites, at a Manchester United/Basel Goal Supremacy spread of 1.75-1.95 alongside a Total Goals spread of 2.85-3.05.

Absent last season, Chelsea ease into their Champions League return with a visit from Qarabag. Alongside their Azerbaijani opponents Chelsea face Atletico Madrid (who have crucially held onto Antoine Griezmann) and Serie A runners-up Roma (who admittedly lost a host of players over the summer). So, not the easiest group, but at least one that starts with an eminently winnable fixture.



Though they seriously messed up their season opener, losing 3-2 at home to Burnley, Chelsea have acquitted themselves well in a knotty string of ties since then. They beat Tottenham 2-1 at Wembley, Everton 2-0 and Leicester 2-1, leaving them in 3rd behind the two Manchester sides. Flagship summer signing Alvaro Morata has impressed during that period, with 3 goals in 4 games and a Super Mega PGM of 64-74. It’ll also be interesting to see what kind of team Antonio Conte puts out on Tuesday given that Chelsea host Arsenal on Sunday.

Qarabag, meanwhile, have already been through the slog of Champions League qualification, beating Samtredia, Sherrif Tiraspol and Copenhagen on route to the competition proper. A trip to Stamford Bridge, then, is a pretty brutal step up, one the Azerbaijani side might not be equipped to make, with Spreadex offering a Chelsea/Qarabag Goal Supremacy spread of 2.1-2.3 alongside a Total Goals spread of 3-3.2.

Finally Celtic kick-off what could be a pretty gruelling European campaign by hosting PSG. For the second season in a row the Scots have been stuck in an absolute horrorshow of a group. In 2016/17 it was Barcelona, Man City and Borussia Monchengladbach; this time its Bayern Munich, Anderlecht and Tuesday’s Parisian opponents.



Though Celtic’s Champions League qualification wasn’t quite as scatty as last season, their final game provided an unpleasant wake up call. While they beat Astana 5-0 at home, when they visited Kazakhstan in the 2nd leg they lost 4-3 (and were at one point down 4-1). That doesn’t bode well for their visit from PSG, who now boast a frontline of Neymar (at a Super Mega PGM of 48-56), Kylian Mbappe (at 46-54) and Edison Cavani (at 70-82).

Last season the Scots failed to pick up a single group stage win, missing out on the Europa League consolation spot in the process. They are facing the same kind of troubles this time out, with Spreadex offering a PSG/Celtic (h) Goal Supremacy spread of 1.7-1.9 alongside a Total Goals spread of 3.25-3.45.