The UEFA Champions League qualifiers continue, but now we have some serious teams involved at this stage. That’s why we want to cover several interesting events and earn some money while doing so. Stay with us for the next few minutes and read more, some of the information might be useful.
Along with the picks you can see BetXchange odds.
Monaco VS PSV
This is the most sounding pair of the entire round. PSV flies high following a big win in the Dutch Super Cup against Ajax, while Monaco wants to play in the Champions League and bring back the best teams to its Louis II stadium.
Both units play attractive and open football with goals on both ends. Four of Monaco’s five events have ended with both teams scoring and all of those were with three or more hits. PSV has three with both teams netting in the past five, but all of those meetings saw over 2.5 scores.
Monaco didn’t play well in the last three preseason games, posting one draw and then back-to-back defeats, while PSV rose its form, winning the last three encounters. Our pick here would be both teams to score, because of the offensive-minded style of play and relatively fragile defenses.
Pick: Both teams to score 2/3 at BetXchange
Benfica vs. Midtjylland
The Portuguese powerhouse did lose a few very good players this summer, but they keep on rolling at the same pace. The Eagles have played five friendly international games, winning all and scoring 17 goals during that stretch.
On the other side is Midtjylland and an average European team, with not-so-shinny results lately. Following a penalty shootout, they’ve barely eliminated AEK Larnaka, a team from Cyprus. The Danes have a lot of trouble in the defensive area, not protecting their net over the last 14 consecutive games.
We don’t have to be rocket scientists to predict what will happen when a team from a much better league, who is, by the way, filled with offensive talent, meets an average team with problems in the back line. Our pick here is Benfica to win and cover a -1.5 handicap. The odds on that are quite well, which should be exploited. The Eagles’ form is fantastic right now.
Pick: Benfica -1.5 4/5 at BetXchange
Red Star Belgrade vs. Pyunik Yerevan
The Serbian champions are in great shape, and their main goal this year is to enter the UEFA Champions League. Red Star is a “state project”, and they’ve spent a lot of money during the transfer window to create a good team with quality to compete with the best European teams.
On the other side, Pyunik is dominant in Armenia, but they are far away from Red Star, who, for instance, advanced to the knockout stage of the UEFA Europa League last year. Pyunik will try to defend in Belgrade, but for the moment, it seems unlikely that they can successfully do that.
Red Star is very, very strong at home and has massive crowd support. They literally push all 90 minutes, and that’s why we bet on the hosts here to win and to do that confidently, covering a -1.5 goal handicap.
Pick: Red Star -1.5 3/5 at BetXchange
Dynamo Kyiv vs. Sturm Gratz
The Ukrainian champions have eliminated Fener in Turkey, which was a first-class surprise. They had a little luck but still managed to come back from Istanbul victorious.
Meanwhile, Sturm comes to Poland with boosted morale following a win over Red Bull Salzburg in the domestic championship. They are without a loss for the past 11 games, and that needs to be respected.
Still, our money here is on Dynamo, who will be very motivated to win this game as well, and also, because we don’t believe in Sturm’s quality despite a win over RB this weekend.
Pick: Dynamo 1.05 at BetXchange
