Rob Eddy's tips for Wednesday's European action include wins for Porto and Atletico Madrid.
Best bets
Feyenoord v Lazio: Draw @ 11/4
Porto to beat Royal Antwerp @ 1/1
Atletico Madrid to beat Celtic & both teams to score 13/5
Feyenoord v Lazio (17:45)
Feyenoord and Lazio look set to battle it out with Atletico Madrid to progress from Group E and, after both beat Celtic, may take a draw when they clash in Rotterdam.
Arne Slot’s hosts were excellent in dispatching the Bhoys 2-0 in their opener and twice led in Madrid before losing 3-2 to Atletico.
They will look to take the game to a Lazio side who had goalkeeper Ivan Provedel to thank for scoring a late equaliser in their 1-1 against Atletico before Pedro netted a 95th-minute winner in the 2-1 victory at Celtic.
It promises to be a decent game at De Kuip but these two look tough to split and neither would scoff at a draw.
Royal Antwerp v Porto (20:00)
Belgian champions Royal Antwerp have yet to make their mark on the Champions League. They were bashed up 5-0 by Barcelona in their opener before squandering a two-goal lead to lose 3-2 to Shakhtar Donetsk.
Their naivety has been a worry and could be exposed by a talented yet grizzled Porto side well-versed in playing at this level.
Sergio Conceicao’s team were unlucky to lose 1-0 on aggregate in the last 16 to eventual beaten finalists Inter Milan in 2022/23 and looked good in their 3-1 win over Shakhtar before pushing Barca hard in a 1-0 defeat.
They also have recent experience of winning in Belgium, beating Club Brugge 4-0 in last season’s group stages.
The Dragons have reached the knockouts of this competition in three of the last four seasons, often building their campaigns on winning fixtures like this one.
It may be a battle at the Bosuilstadion but Porto look too good to ignore as they chase runners-up spot behind Barcelona in Group H.
Celtic v Atletico Madrid (20:00)
Celtic have lost both of their Group E games. They were flattered by their 2-0 scoreline against Feyenoord before going down to Pedro’s late effort for Lazio.
Already seven points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership, domestic success almost appears assured. However, they need to find a way to adapt their style to help achieve similar results in continental football.
They host Atletico Madrid and may be in bother against a side who have won their last six games in all competitions and are three points off the pace in La Liga with a game in hand.
Diego Simeone’s side top the pool and will expect to grab another victory at Parkhead. They most recently won 3-0 at Celta Vigo, but that result came with a caveat as the Galicians had goalkeeper Ivan Villar sent off after 25 minutes and contributed to them keeping their first clean sheet in four.
With the passionate Parkhead crowd behind them, Celtic should be good for a goal but Atletico are a classy outfit and are likely to prove superior to their opponents.
