Champions League group matches: free football tips for Wednesday's games

Free Champions League football tips for Genk v Napoli, Slavia Prague v Borussia Dortmund, Barcelona v Inter Milan, Leipzig v Lyon, Valencia v Ajax and Zenit St-Petersburg v Benfica.

Genk v Napoli

Where to watch

BT Sport 1, 5.55pm Wednesday

Best bet

Napoli-Napoli double result
1pt 6-5 Coral

Team news

Genk
First-choice keeper Danny Vukovic (Achilles) is out long-term.

Napoli
Arkadiusz Milik and Nikola Maksimovic (both thigh) have returned to contention.

Match preview

Racing Genk's Champions League dream quickly turned into a nightmare with a 6-2 defeat away to Salzburg and the Belgian champions could struggle to find the right response against Napoli.

Most teams strengthen in preparation for a Champions League campaign but Genk's squad was weakened by the departures of attacking midfielders Leandro Trossard and Ruslan Malinovskiy to Brighton and Atalanta.

They have made a poor start to the season, winning four of nine domestic games, and are seven points adrift of leaders Club Brugge.

It is hard to see them matching Napoli, who got off to a flyer by defeating Liverpool 2-0 at Stadio San Paolo.

Napoli had problems on their Champions League travels last season, taking two points from a possible nine, but should soon be in command against Genk, who look out of their depth.

Key stat

Genk have not kept a clean sheet in their last five games.

Slavia Prague v Borussia Dortmund

Where to watch

BT Sport ESPN, 5.55pm Wednesday

Best bet

Borussia Dortmund
1pt 20-21 Betfred

Team news

Slavia Prague
Ibrahim Traore (ankle) has not featured since matchday one.

Borussia Dortmund
Defender Nico Schulz (foot) has missed the last four weeks and goalkeepers Eric Oelschlagel (groin) and Luca Unbehaun (knee) remain sidelined.

Match preview

Borussia Dortmund missed a great opportunity when drawing 0-0 at home to Barcelona on matchday one but they can kick-start their Champions League challenge by defeating Slavia Prague in the Czech capital.

There was lots to like about Dortmund's performance against Barca, which fell short of victory due to a combination of poor finishing and brilliant goalkeeping from Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

However, the Germans cannot take anything for granted against Slavia, who belied their status as Group F's rank outsiders by drawing 1-1 with Inter at the San Siro.

They competed on even terms and looked set for victory until the Italian side struck in injury-time.

But they are no longer a surprise package and should struggle to contain Dortmund, who have scored 17 goals in six Bundesliga matches this season.

Key stat

Slavia Prague have failed to score in their last four matches against German opposition.

Barcelona v Inter

Where to watch

BT Sport ESPN, 8pm Wednesday

Best bet

Barcelona
2pts 8-13 bet365, Betfred

Team news

Barcelona
Lionel Messi (thigh) is a doubt and Jordi Alba (hamstring) and Samuel Umtiti (foot) are ruled out. Ousmane Dembele (hamstring) returned from injury at the weekend.

Inter
No fresh injuries have been reported.

Match preview

Doubts over Lionel Messi's fitness have dominated the build-up to Barcelona's fixture with Inter but, with or without the Argentinian, the Catalans should bag the three points.

Group F has the potential to be tricky for Barca, who had to dig deep to secure a 0-0 draw away to Borussia Dortmund on matchday one.

But Barca are in better shape than Inter, who needed an injury-time goal from Nicolo Barella to salvage a 1-1 draw at home to Slavia Prague.

Having dropped points against the section's fourth seeds, Inter are under pressure to excel against Barca and Dortmund.

Antonio Conte's side lead Serie A with maximum points from six games but may be dealt a reality check by Barcelona, who are unbeaten in their last 32 Champions League home games, winning 29 and drawing three.

Key stat

Barcelona have won 25 of their last 27 Champions League home games.

RB Leipzig v Lyon

Where to watch

BT Sport Extra 3, 8pm Wednesday

Best bet

RB Leipzig
2pts 4-6 Betfred

Team news

RB Leipzig
Patrik Schick, Kevin Kampl, Hannes Wolf (all ankle), Luan Candido (thigh) and Tyler Adams (foot) are sidelined but Marcel Halstenberg (hip) could feature.

Lyon
No fresh injuries are reported.

Match preview

Leipzig lead Group G after a 2-1 success away to Benfica and can back it up by defeating Lyon at the Red Bull Arena.

This season is Leipzig's second in the Champions League but they impressed at the Stadium of Light with Timo Werner's second-half double sealing the points.

Their squad is getting stronger each year and they are second in the Bundesliga despite the absence of injured attackers Hannes Wolf and Patrik Schick.

Leipzig may have taken their eye off the ball when losing 3-1 at home to Werder Bremen on Saturday but they will fancy their chances of bouncing back with a victory.

Lyon started the season with two victories but have gone seven games without a win, including a disappointing 1-1 draw at home to Zenit St Petersburg on Champions League matchday one.

Key stat

Lyon have not won any of their last seven fixtures.

Valencia v Ajax

Where to watch

BT Sport Extra 2, 8pm Wednesday

Best bet

Valencia
1pt 8-5 Betfair, Betfred

Team news

Valencia
Carlos Soler (ankle) and Cristiano Piccini (knee) have not featured since August and Jose Gaya (hamstring), Kevin Gameiro and Geoffrey Kondogbia (both adductor) were sidelined at the weekend.

Ajax
Right-back Noussair Mazraoui (knee) is back in contention after completing 66 minutes of Saturday's 2-0 win at home to Groningen.

Match preview

Albert Celades has got off to an excellent start in the Valencia dugout and can lead them to victory over Ajax at the Mestalla.

There were rumours of player unrest after Celades replaced Marcelino Garcia Toral last month but there has been an undeniable improvement in performances and results.

Valencia won 1-0 at Chelsea on matchday one and climbed into the top half of La Liga after winning 1-0 at highflying Athletic Bilbao on Saturday.

Confidence is rising and Valencia should fancy their chances against Ajax, who are nowhere near as strong as last season due to the summer departures of Frenkie De Jong and Matthijs De Ligt.

Ajax are setting the pace in Holland and were 3-0 victors at home to fourth seeds Lille last month but the trip to Valencia looks a lot tougher.

Key stat

Valencia have lost just two of their last 27 home fixtures.

Zenit St-Petersburg v Benfica

Where to watch

BT Sport Extra 4, 8pm Wednesday

Best bet

Zenit St Petersburg
1pt 7-5 Betfred

Team news

Zenit St Petersburg
Malcom (thigh) has not played since August but Sardar Azmoun (ankle) is back in contention.

Benfica
Andre Almeida, Chiquinho, German Conti (all thigh) and Florentino (knee) are ruled out.

Match preview

Zenit St Petersburg gained plenty of confidence from a well-deserved 1-1 draw away to Lyon on matchday one and can take another major step forward by defeating Benfica at the Gazprom Arena.

Zenit won all three of their home matches when they were last in the Champions League group stage in 2015-16.

Head coach Sergei Semak got his tactics right in Lyon by switching to a five-man defence but he is likely to pursue a more offensive strategy against Benfica, who have shown defensive weakness in big matches.

Benfica's title hopes were dented by a 2-0 loss at home to Porto in August and their Champions League campaign began with a 2-1 defeat at home to Leipzig.

They are under pressure to bounce back with a win but could be picked off by their Russian hosts.

Key stat

Benfica have lost five of their last six away games in the Champions League group stage.

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