This article is part of our Soccer Picks series.
It seemed like the 2023/24 UEFA Champions League final between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund happened ages ago. And technically, the final was ages ago in the football world, as league campaigns began a month ago and the summer of Euro 2024 and Copa America is long gone.
This week, a new Champions League campaign begins with a new format. It features no group stages but instead a "league phase" that gives each team eight matches before progressing to the knockout round.
If you're looking for the best bets ahead of Tuesday's slate, which features six matches, then you're in the right place. Here are some of the best plays for Tuesday's top club competition in Europe.
UCL Best Bets for PSV Eindhoven at Juventus
Under 2.5 goals between Juventus and PSV +100
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Juventus have been stout on the defensive end to start the season under the management of Thiago Motta, keeping a clean sheet in all four of their Serie A matches and limiting opposing teams to just 1.5 shots on target per game. Sure, The Old Lady failed to score in back-to-back matches against Empoli and AS Roma, but Juventus are simply too talented to continue the drought.
PSV Eindhoven might represent a more complicated challenge than most of the teams they've faced this season, but Juve should have enough in them defensively to slow down Luuk de Jong and company despite PSV's impressive scoring record in the 2024/25 Eredivisie campaign.
Juventus also have home-field advantage,and PSV have recorded just two wins in their previous 13 trips to Italy (W2, D4, L7). Juve should play another low-scoring game and don't be surprised if they win by a slim margin, but this one should hit the under in terms of total goals.
UCL Best Bets for Liverpool at AC Milan
Both teams to score between Milan and Liverpool -188
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The marquee matchup of Tuesday's slate by a wide margin is a battle between two former UEFA Champions League winners. It'll probably go down to the wire and there's no question that both teams could use the three points to get their UCL campaign started.
Milan are coming off a solid 4-0 win over Venezia in their most recent Serie A match, but Paulo Fonseca's tenure has gotten off to a rocky start with that being his first win in four league chances. Meanwhile, Liverpool are coming off a 1-0 loss to Nottingham Forest in Arne Slot's first defeat at the helm in Anfield. Traveling to Italy is never easy, but Liverpool know a thing or two about defeating Milan -- who can forget the UCL Final in Istanbul? -- and should find themselves with plenty of chances against a Milan defense that has looked suspect at best.
This game has the makings of being an open contest and don't be surprised if both teams end up finding the back of the net at San Siro.
UCL Best Bets for Dinamo Zagreb at Bayern Munich
SGP: Bayern Munich ML + Harry Kane to score -175
There's no doubt Bayern Munich are massive favorites against Dinamo Zagreb in their UEFA Champions League opener at Allianz Arena on Tuesday. Any other result that's not a commanding Bayern win by a multi-goal margin would be a surprising outcome. Hence, I'm focusing on the goalscorers and there's no better option than Harry Kane when Bayern Munich are involved.
The Englishman is enjoying a torrid start to the 2024/25 season and is coming off a hat trick in the 6-1 win over Holstein Kiel in Bayern's most recent Bundesliga match. Furthermore, if counting the DFB Pokal and the two games he's played for England, then Kane is up to eight goals in seven contests while finding the back of the net multiple times in the last two. Dinamo will surely try to plan something to slow Kane down, but at this rate, it seems not even the best defenders in the world can stop him. Expect the star striker to find the back of the net at least once as Bayern should breeze their way to an easy win in front of their home fans.
UCL Best Bets for VfB Stuttgart at Real Madrid
SGP: Real Madrid to beat Stuttgart and 'No' Both teams to score +150
Real Madrid endured a rough start to the season following 1-1 draws against Mallorca and Las Palmas in their first two road matches in La Liga, but Los Merengues are trending in the right direction. In fact, going undefeated (W3, D2) and still receiving the label of being an "underperforming" or "in the works" type of team shows how much potential (and hype) Real Madrid have following the signing of Kylian Mbappe this past summer.
Carlo Ancelotti's men are trending in the right direction following back-to-back clean-sheet wins over Real Betis and Real Sociedad, and they should be in good spirits for this UCL home opener against Stuttgart regardless of whether they have Jude Bellingham (calf) back.
Stuttgart are not the team they were last season and they're still adjusting to life after losing striker Serhou Guirassy, who joined Dortmund in the summer. Their Bundesliga form backs those struggles up (W1, D1, L1), but they're at least coming off a win against Monchengladbach the last time out. Still, it seems Stuttgart don't have the quality or the experience to match up against the reigning UCL champions on their home turf. Don't expect Stuttgart to give themselves away, but it wouldn't be shocking to see Real Madrid win and keep a clean sheet for the third consecutive game in all competitions.
Champions League Betting Picks Tuesday, Sept. 17
- Under 2.5 goals between Juventus and PSV +100
- Both teams to score between Milan and Liverpool -188
- SGP: Bayern Munich ML + Harry Kane to score -175
- SGP: Real Madrid to beat Stuttgart and 'No' Both teams to score +150
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