Tuesday 23rd / Wednesday 24th October

Back Sheffield United (4/6, Coral) to beat Walsall

Anyone can select an unbeaten side to win! The hard part is selecting an unbeaten side to win at the correct time! Sheff Utd are unbeaten all season. If you had backed them in every game since the season kicked off you wouldn’t have a green bank account, you would have a red one. This is due to the fact Utd have drawn 7 of their 13 unbeaten fixtures. Utd are solid at the back, conceding only 10 goals, but still struggle to beat sides by large margins having only scored 17 goals, the same as tomorrow’s opponents Walsall. That being said Utd have got into their groove in recent weeks, winning 4 of their last 5 competitive matches and drawing the other.

Walsall’s form is the opposite of Sheffield United’s, losing 4 of their last 5 competitive matches and drawing the other. Like Utd they have struggled to score goals, but unlike Utd they don’t have a solid defence that’s hard to penetrate, conceding 19 goals this season.

It’s hard to see Walsall form improving away at Utd. Utd are finding their form and the confidence that comes with an undefeated team on a winning run. Expect Utd to extend that run and up the win column by 1 to equal that of the draw column. Tomorrow night’s table will read, 7 wins and 7 draws after this match.

Back Man City (3/4, William Hill) to beat Ajax

Man City are in their 2nd consecutive season in the Champions League and just like last season, find themselves in the “group of death”.  Once again they have started slowly in Europe’s biggest football competition, losing and drawing their opening games. In the last round of matches City scored a late equaliser to salvage a point at home to Dortmund, had they not scored that goal, their participation in this seasons tournament may have been over before it started.  Ajax are the weakest side in this group and the team others in the group would have selected as the side they must take all 6 points from. So far both Dortmund and Real Madrid have taken maximum points from Ajax and Roberto Mancini will know anything less than a win tomorrow night will leave City facing an uphill challenge, a position City will not want to find themselves in. City will go all out in order to win this match and with the attacking talent they possess upfront, they can take all 3 points.

Ajax were once a dominant force in Europe, not anymore, Ajax are now seen as a feeder club for Europe’s elite. They still possess arguably the best youth academy in the world, but can no longer keep their players before sell them at the height of their career. Instead they produce these talented youngsters and sell them young in order to keep the books ticking over and in order to fund their next protégée. Ajax are still a good side with some good players but Man City are a  better side with better players with much more to play for tomorrow night than the Dutch club.

This is a must win match for City and I expect them to go all out in order to get their CL campaign up and running. Anything less than a City win in my eyes will see them out of this competition and looking ahead to next seasons participation. Expect City to have too much quality for Ajax and come home with all 3 points.

Back Porto (8/13, Ladbrokes) to beat Dynamo Kyiv

Porto are still a force to be reckoned with on the European stage, especially at home. They have started the season in typical fashion and sit in the league where they ended the last campaign, 1st. They have won 4 games and drawn 2 from their opening league fixtures and are top on goal difference thanks to scoring 15 and conceding only 4 goals. They lost their star player, Hulk, during the summer to Zenit, but still have plenty of talent in their squad thanks to the links of Moutinho, Defour, Martinez, Kleber and Rodriguez.

Dynamo Kyiv are 3rd in the Ukraine league after 12 matches with 24 points. 8 Wins, 0 Draws and 4 Loses. Scoring a lowly 19 goals but conceding only 12. Kyiv travelled to PSG in the last round and were convincingly beaten 4:1, with the match all but overcome the half hour mark with PSG winning by 3 goals to nil. Kyiv have lost their last 2 league games, 1 away and 1 at home, conceding 5 goals in the process. This doesn’t bode well for Kyiv and I can’t see them adding to the 3 points they have from beating the weakest team in the group, Dinamo Zagreb.

Expect Porto to extend their lead at the top of group A with a comfortably home win tomorrow night.

Back Real Madrid (11/10, Coral) to beat Dortmund

Real Madrid have had a dreadful start to La Liga and trail Barcelona by 8 points. With Barcelona and Real Madrid the strongest sides in Spain by a long way, Madrid will find it extremely difficult to claw back those points and compete for the league title this season, with both sides rarely losing in La Liga, often win comfortably home and away. Last season Madrid won 32 of their 38 league matches, losing only 2 games all season, with one of those loses coming to Barcelona. Last season combined Madrid and Barcelona scored 235 league goals!!! Mourinho and Madrid won’t be giving up on the league title so early in the season but know the magnitude of the task at hand, and will have one eye firmly fixed on finally bringing the Ultimate prize back to the Bernabeu – The Champions League. Madrid have regained their form in the last month, winning 5 of their last 6 in la Liga and the CL,  drawing the other away in the Nou Camp, against Barcelona. They have scored 18 goals in those 6 matches and conceded only 6. They have numerous attacking options and players like Ronaldo, Di Maria, Higuain and Benzema, who can all produce a moment of magic and change a game in a split second.

Dortmund have been the standout side in Germany for the past 2 seasons winning the title at the expense of German heavy weight and Champions League runners up Bayern Munich.  Dortmund lost one of their prized assets this summer in the shape of Kagawa who joined Manchester United but still have plenty of talent in their side, with the likes of Gotze, Blaszcykowski, Reus and Lewandowski.  Dortmund currently sit 4th in the league table thanks to a somewhat average start to the campaign with 3 wins, 3 draws and 2 loses, the second of those loses coming this weekend in a 2-1 home defeat to inform Schalke. Bayern have scored 18 goals and conceded 11 from their league matches. They are well of the pace of leaders Bayern Munich who have won all 8 of their fixtures.

Just like the odds suggest, a Real Madrid win in Germany will not be easy tomorrow night. With the current form of the Spanish champions and the form of both their attackers and defenders I see Dortmund struggling in front of their home supporters. I see Real Madrid pinching this one and flying home with another 3 points in the bag and a big gap between them and 2nd place in this group.