James Mason's selections for the final matchday of the League Phase include a win for Real Madrid and plenty of goals when PSV face Liverpool.
Matchday 8 brings down the curtain on the new-look League Phase of the UEFA Champions League, and there is plenty to play for.
Of the 18 ties on the card on Wednesday, 16 have plenty riding on them, and we’ve four football betting selections from a mouth-watering few hours of top-class action.
Champions League tips
PSV to win or draw v Liverpool & BTTS /
Crvena Zvezda to beat Young Boys /
Real Madrid to beat Brest & BTTS – No /
PSV vs Liverpool (20:00)
Liverpool have done the hard work and nailed down a top-two spot in the Champions League so expect Arne Slot to give some key men a breather this week.
The Reds are back in Slot’s homeland for a tough-looking assignment at Eredivisie leaders PSV.
Liverpool, courtesy of a glorious campaign so far, can take a few liberties in terms of selection and it would be a huge surprise if Slot took too many risks just three days before a massive trip to Bournemouth in the Premier League.
PSV are unbeaten in their last 10 home European ties, winning their last two against Girona and Shakhtar Donetsk, and are into the next stage.
They can afford to take a chance and go for the win for a better draw in the play-off round, which makes the PSV or Draw Double Chance and both teams to score bet look mighty attractive.
Young Boys vs Crvena Zvezda (20:00)
There aren’t too many games on Wednesday when only pride alone is at stake, but Young Boys versus Crvena Zvezda is one of those with both clubs eliminated.
There is, however, a potential decent payday for either – with big bucks on the line for wins and final position in the standings – and Crvena Zvezda look to have a puncher’s chance of landing a knockout blow in Bern.
Young Boys are one of just two teams to have lost all seven matches so far and they go into this contest on a run of three games without even scoring since returning from their mid-winter break.
Crvena, on the other hand, have no difficulty finding the net with 12 goals in total and they can sign off with a win at odds of 8/5.
Brest vs Real Madrid (20:00)
Who would have thought it would be Real Madrid in greater need of a result than Brest when the fixture list threw this game up as a League Phase finale?
Brest go into the clash on 13 points, one point ahead of Real, and while both clubs are going forward the 15-time champions would like to do so as a seeded side in the play-off round.
To do that they will almost certainly have to win in Guingamp (Brest are playing their home games at a neutral venue further along the Breton coast) and given the firepower Carlo Ancelotti can unleash, that should be doable.
Kylian Mbappe returns to France on a run of eight goals in five including a weekend hat-trick while Vinicius Junior is rested after missing Saturday’s 3-0 win at Valladolid through suspension.
Brest have got injuries and a huge game at home to Paris Saint-Germain to come on Saturday so expect Real to win this to nil
