The 2019-20 UEFA Champions League continues this week with matchday five of the group stage. This is the second last game that teams will play in the group stage, which means points are at a premium for the teams still battling it out for a top 2 finish.
We have a full preview and betting tips for some of the key matchups in the Champions League this week below.
Champions League Matchday 5 Betting Tips
Real Madrid vs PSG
Wednesday 7am AEDT
Real Madrid hit Galatasaray for six in their most recent UCL fixture, which was their second win over the Turkish side in the group stages. Madrid’s two other UCL results were a 2-2 draw at home to Club Brugge and a 3-0 away loss to Juventus, which were both disappointing, although they seem to be playing a lot better since then.
PSG have been perfect in the UCL so far this season with four wins from four games. Impressively, they’ve banged in a combined 10 goals in their matches without conceding a single goal. As expected, PSG are also dominating Ligue 1 where they are eight points clear at the top of the table.
PSG have been the better of the two teams in the UCL this campaign, but we expect them to be a touch complacent and maybe not field their best XI considering they’re just about guaranteed to top their group. We’re keen to jump on Madrid, who have kept five clean sheets in their last six games, to get the job done at home.
Valencia vs Chelsea
Thursday 4:55am AEDT
Valencia currently find themselves in third spot in a stacked Group H, meaning a positive result in this game is imperative. They haven’t been in great form La Liga with just five wins from 14 games and are coming off a 3-1 loss at home to 18th placed Celta Vigo.
Chelsea’s huge 10 game unbeaten run in major competitions came to an end on the weekend when they fell 2-1 to Manchester City in the EPL. Not many teams visit the Emirates and claim a point, so it wasn’t the worst result from the Blues. Chelsea will be hoping to sure things up in defence in this UCL fixture after their conceded four times in an eventful 4-4 draw against Ajax last time out.
Although Valencia are the home side, Chelsea are clearly in the better form of the two sides and should be able to reverse the result from their first leg where they lost 1-0 at Stamford Bridge. We expect them to get a win that would see them qualify for the knockout stages.
Liverpool vs Napoli
Thursday 7am AEDT
Liverpool have continued their dominance in the UCL after their shock loss to Napoli in Matchday 1. The Reds have gone on to win all three games since, scoring 10 goals in the process. They’ve also been dominant in the league where they’ve dropped just two points to date, although conceding remains to be an issue as they’ve now gone 10 games without a clean sheet in all competitions.
Napoli remain undefeated in the UCL after four games, although draws to Red Bull and Genk mean they’re in second spot. Scoring goals has been a concern for them in both the UCL and Serie A, with just 28 goals in 17 games combined. Wins have also been hard to come by of late – they haven’t tasted victory in over a month in all competitions.
Liverpool are clearly the superior team in this fixture and have the added advantage of playing at home where they haven’t lost in three seasons. There’s nothing to suggest they won’t extend their historic run with a comfortable win over Napoli on Thursday morning.
