Top 3 bets on tonight's Champions League games

Who do Manchester United play in the Champions League tonight?

Buoyed by their 3-0 win at Spurs at the weekend, Manchester United travel to Atalanta well aware that they’re only ever one defeat away from the next crisis. United are top of Group F, but defeat in Italy coupled with Villareal beating bottom team Young Boys, will see them fall to third, the dreaded Europa League place. While the crisis before last was averted when United turned around a 2-0 half-time deficit to beat Atalanta 3-2 in the reverse fixture, the Italians’ dominant performance has been lost in all the excitement over the Ronaldo inspired comeback. If Atalanta play as well again tonight, they can cause plenty of problems.

Atalanta Goal Rush (14-17)

Atalanta were the top scorers in Italy last season and have scored in 13 of their 14 games so far this season, with only Bologna, back in August, shutting them out. The Italian side showed their attacking prowess in the fixture at Old Trafford two weeks ago, and given United's clean sheet at Spurs was their first in 12 games also dating back to August, buyers are hoping Atalanta will be among the goals. United switched formation against Spurs to five at the back while maintaining the McFred defensive axis, sacrificing two attacking players. It will be interesting to see if they line up in a similar formation which looks much more solid at the back. There are an array of markets those expecting Atalanta to be among the goals can buy in, such as Atalanta Goal Rush, which awards 10 points for 1 goal, 20 for 2, 33 for 3, 50 for 4, 70 for 5 and 100 for 6 or more.

Are there any early Champions League games tonight?

One of the early game sees Chelsea in Sweden to take on Malmo in a game they should have no trouble winning. Thomas Tuchel’s side were easy 4-0 winners against the Swedish champions two weeks ago at Stamford Bridge, and despite still being without his first-choice strikers Lukaku and Werner, both injured in that game, the reining champions are hot favourites for another three points as they look to chase down Juventus at the top of Group H.

Penalty Goal Minutes (15-18)

Malmo gave away two penalties at Stamford Bridge, despatched with the usual aplomb by Jorginho, and this rematch has seen some buying from punters hoping for a repeat.  The Blues were awarded a spot kick in their 3-0 win at Newcastle at the weekend, again scored by Jorginho, and with no target man playing the number 9 role, maybe the trickier midfielders running from deep pose more threat in terms of penalties.

Which other Champions League games are worth keeping an eye on

The other game in United's group sees Villareal play Young Boys. This game finished 4-1 to Villareal two weeks ago, but that didn’t tell the whole story. The Europa League champions scored a couple of early goals, but Young Boys fought their way back into the game, eventually pulling one back after 77 minutes. As they pushed for an equaliser though, the Spaniards hit them on the break, scoring two more in the final two minutes to give the scoreline a flattering look. This game has massive influence on how Manchester United do in this season’s competition. United are top of Group F, but Villareal and Atalanta are both two points behind and Young Boys a further point adrift.

Total Goal Minutes (164-179)

These two sides scored five between them in their recent meeting, including a couple of very late goals, and buyers are hoping for a repeat of that performance. The XG in that game was 2.74 to 3.41 respectively, with both teams looking dangerous at every attack. With Villareal and Young Boys both better at attacking teams than defending, there could be goals aplenty. Villareal haven’t won in the three games since they won in Switzerland, though there was 11 goals in those games.