5 Champions League Tips for Wednesday’s Action - 3/11/21

On Wednesday night, Liverpool host Atletico Madrid at Anfield in the Champions League as Jurgen Klopp’s men look to earn themselves a place in the round of 16.

At present, Liverpool have a perfect record in Group B following their 3-2 victory over Diego Simeone’s side on matchday three, where goals by Mohamed Salah and Naby Keita gave them a two-goal lead, before they were pegged back by an Antoine Griezmann brace, before the Frenchman was sent off. Things went from bad to worse for the Spaniard, as Salah then converted a 78th-minute penalty to win the match. Liverpool’s other results include a thrilling 3-2 win over AC Milan, as well as a 5-1 hammering of FC Porto.

Atletico’s home defeat to the Reds has left them scrapping for their place in the competition, as Simeone’s men could only draw 0-0 with FC Porto on matchday one and beat AC at the San Siro on matchday two 2-1 via a 97th-minute penalty by former Barcelona and Liverpool striker Luis Suarez.

Moldovan outfit Sheriff Tiraspol take on Inter Milan on matchday four of Group D in what is potentially a must-win game for the visitors if they are to progress, as the hosts are top of the group.

Last time out, Inter beat Sheriff 3-1 at the San Siro, as Edin Dzeko, Arturo Vidal and Stefan de Vrij all got on the scoresheet, giving Inter their first win of this season’s group stages, having drawn 0-0 with Shakhtar Donetsk and lost 1-0 to Real.

Sheriff have been the surprise package of the Champions League so far, as they beat Real 2-1 and Shakhtar 2-0, but, it looks as though Inter may have found them out, as they had 29 shots to Sheriff’s eight in Milan.

Dzeko is the player to look out for in this match, having scored a superb left-footed volley in the last meeting between the pair. The Bosnian striker has scored seven and assisted two in 11 Serie A matches and is priced at 5/4 to score in an Inter win here.

Manchester City face Club Brugge at the Etihad Stadium in Group A, with City looking to solidify their chances or progression through to the knockout rounds.

Pep Guardiola’s men demolished the Belgian Pro League outfit last month, as City scored five in a 5-1 thumping, with that scoreline being a flattering one for Brugge by the end of the match. Joao Cancelo, Riyad Mahrez (2), Kyle Walker and Cole Palmer all got on the scoresheet in what was a routine win for the Citizens.

City’s other Champions League games have seen them being beat 2-0 away at PSG where they actually dominated the match, as well as defeating RB Leipzig 6-3 at the Etihad, demonstrating their goalscoring capabilities.

Brugge are yet to keep a clean sheet in the Champions League this campaign and the last time they visited Manchester was in February 2020 in the Europa League where they were hit for five once again, but, by City’s neighbours Manchester United, showing the gap in quality between the champions of Belgium compared to England’s ‘Big Six’.

Borussia Dortmund and Ajax go head to head at the Signal Iduna Park on Wednesday night, with the Black and Yellows looking to avenge their defeat to the Dutch champions last time out.

When these two sides met at the Johan Cruyff Arena, Ajax ran out as comfortable 4-0 winners thanks to an own goal by Marco Reus, as well as goals by Daley Blind, Antony and ex-West Ham United man Sebastien Haller.

Former Eintracht Frankfurt striker, Haller is the top scorer in the Champions League this season, scoring six goals in three matches, leading the likes of Mohamed Salah and Robert Lewandowski by one, showing how prolific the Ivorian has been since leaving the London Stadium for Amsterdam. Haller scored four away at Sporting Lisbon on matchday one, as well as single goals against both Besiktas and Dortmund.

RB Leipzig host PSG at the Red Bull Arena in a must-win game for the German side, as a defeat would see them exit the competition after four matches and even leave them in danger of missing out on the Europa League dropdown place.

Jesse March’s side were unlucky to come away with a loss in Paris, as they were defeated 3-2, despite Leipzig having more shots and playing with more cohesion than their opponents, as it was a controversial penalty decision that put the Bundesliga side 3-2 down. PSG initially took a 1-0 lead through Kylian Mbappe, before goals from Andre Silva and Nordi Mukiele gave March’s men a deserved advantage before a Lionel Messi brace gave the Parisians all three points.

As mentioned above, Leipzig’s form in this season’s competition has been poor, as they were heavily beaten 6-3 on matchday one by Manchester City, before losing a crucial match against Club Brugge on matchday two, as goals by Hans Vanaken and Mats Rits sealed a comeback win for the Belgian’s, despite Leipzig initially taking the lead after just five minutes through former PSG midfielder Christopher Nkunku.

Mauricio Pochettino’s men are on seven points, as they could only manage a 1-1 draw away at Brugge with a strike by Ander Herrera sparing their blushes, before defeating Manchester City 2-0 at the Parc des Princes where both Idrissa Gueye and Messi got on the scoresheet to seal a vital win for the Parisians.

A player to take note of in this tip is Mbappe who scored first last time these two faced off. The 22-year-old former AS Monaco striker has scored five and assisted four in 11 Ligue 1 appearances and was the second top scorer in the Champions League last season with a total of eight goals, just two shy of Golden Boot winner Erling Haaland.