Dortmund can dominate entertaining battle with Brugge

BT Sport, from 5.55pm Wednesday

Borussia Dortmund v Club Brugge

BT Sport Extra, 8pm

Having secured an edge over Atletico courtesy of their head-to-head record, the Bundesliga leaders know they simply have to match the Spaniards to maintain that advantage at the top of Group A.

That means they will presume they have to beat Brugge at home, and given that they’ve won seven and drawn the other two of their nine matches at Signal-Iduna Park, they should be confident. Most punters will doubtless think likewise.

All of those nine home matches have produced at least three goals – eight of them have produced at least four.

As for Brugge, back-to-back league defeats at the hands of Charleroi and Zulte-Waregem have seen them drop to third in First Division A with Standard Liege in town on Sunday.

Dortmund won 1-0 when the teams met in Belgium but it’s hard to believe there won’t be goals in the rematch.

Recommendation
B Dortmund & over 3.5 goals
1pt 29-20 BoyleSports

Team news
Borussia Dortmund
Marcel Schmelzer is out. Lucien Favre is expected to rotate his side.

Club Brugge
Strikers Jelle Vossen, Krepin Diatta and Arnaut Groeneveld are all injured.

Key stat
Dortmund’s nine home games this season have produced 43 goals.

Napoli v Red Star Belgrade

BT Sport Extra, 8pm

Group C has turned into a minefield, largely down to Red Star’s shock 2-0 win against Liverpool last time out.

Napoli are at the head of affairs and proving impossible to beat with three stalemates and a win to their name. They’ve led at half-time in only one of their four matches and there is every reason to believe Red Star can push Carlo Ancelotti’s side all the way.

It’s a credit to Red Star they are still in the hunt after being hit for six in Paris and four at Anfield but the runaway Serbian league leaders can be competitive, as Napoli found out in a 0-0 draw in Belgrade in September.

Napoli are predictably skinny and given that they haven’t lost at home since March, they ought to get up eventually.

But Vladan Milojevic’s men have something to play for now and can at least stay in the game for a while longer than the market suggests.

Recommendation
Draw-Napoli double result
1pt 16-5 Hills

Bet on this match at Soccerbase.com

Team news
Napoli
Striker Simone Verdi is crocked.

Red Star Belgrade
Defenders Filipe Stojkovic and Vujadin Savic are out. Milan Pavkov is a doubt.

Key stat
Red Star have conceded ten goals in their two away games.

PSV Eindhoven v Barcelona

BT Sport ESPN, 8pm

Ordinarily an injury crisis at Nou Camp barely registers a flicker such is the abundant quality through the ranks, but this one looks more noteworthy.

Luis Suarez, Sergi Roberto and Arthur are the latest regulars to cry off while there are no guarantees that Philippe Coutinho or Ivan Rakitic are fully fit after recent knocks.

Put through the mill at Atletico Madrid at the weekend – the 1-1 draw was the third match in a row without a win – and with Ernesto Valverde hardly currying complete support, Barca really aren’t worth siding with at short odds.

They’ve already qualified while PSV can’t, but the Dutchmen have a free swipe ahead of Sunday’s key Feyenoord trip.

PSV’s issues have been their second-half displays. In a first-half table Mark van Bommel’s men would have five points and if they can show similar spirit from the off again they can avoid being rolled over.

Recommendation
Half-time draw
1pt 13-8 bet365, Betway

Bet on this match at Soccerbase.com

Team news
PSV
Ryan Thomas is absent.

Barcelona
Luis Suarez, Rafinha, Arthur and Sergi have joined Thomas Vermaelen on the sidelines. Philippe Coutinho and Ivan Rakitic are fit.

Key stat
PSV’s first-half goals record in Group B reads 3-3.

Porto v Schalke

BT Sport Extra, 8pm

Porto, irresistible at home, against Schalke, terrible away, ought to add up to only one outcome.

And odds of 17-20 the home team look perfectly acceptable.

The Portuguese powerhouses, top of Group D on ten points, are hard to dislike in front of their own fans where Bayern Munich and Leipzig, Schalke’s compatriots, are among sides to have perished in the last couple of campaigns.

Their only defeat since August was a 1-0 loss at Benfica and the only points they dropped were in a 1-1 draw in Gelsenkirchen in their opener.

Porto are a good, experienced side and should have too much for Schalke, who continue to struggle to work their way out of danger in the Bundesliga.

Their 5-2 thumping of Nuremberg was a spirit-lifter. But their solitary goal in their last four away games was a penalty at second-tier Cologne in the cup.

Recommendation
Porto
2pts 17-20 Betfair, Betway

Bet on this match at Soccerbase.com

Team news
Porto
Vincent Aboubakar is missing for the home side.

Schalke
Young striker Breel Embolo and newly-capped Mark Uth are sidelined.

Key stat
Porto have won eight games in a row in all competitions.

Atletico Madrid v Monaco

BT Sport 1, 5.55pm

Thierry Henry has finally got his first win at the seventh time of asking but the former Arsenal forward will not be getting carried away.

That 1-0 victory at Caen has inched Monaco closer to the pack at the wrong end of Ligue 1 but his focus will now be on Saturday’s clash with Montpellier rather than this seemingly unwinnable showdown in Madrid.

Monaco need at least four points from their last two games to have even a chance of finishing third – and their final game is at home to Dortmund.

Henry continues to be hamstrung by injuries to key men – he has 13 first-teamers absent – and this could be a rude awakening for some of his youngsters.

Atletico are unbeaten at home this season and while they aren’t famed for battering sides they should be more than good enough to win this easily.

Recommendation
Atletico-Atletico double result
2pts 7-10 Coral, Ladbrokes

Bet on this match at Soccerbase.com

Team news
Atletico Madrid
Juanfran and Jose Gimenez are out and Diego Godin is a doubt.

Monaco
Kamil Glik, Almamy Toure, Djibril Sidibe, Rony Lopes and Stevan Jovetic are among Monaco’s absentees.

Key stat
Atletico Madrid are unbeaten in nine home matches this season.

Lokomotiv Moscow v Galatasaray

BT Sport ESPN, 5.55pm

Galatasaray have been beaten to nil at Porto and Schalke in the Champions League but that’s no surprise given their rotten road record in this competition.

The Turks haven’t won away in Europe’s premier club competition since a 3-2 triumph at Schalke in 2013 – 14 matches ago.

Indeed, the only three goals they’ve scored were in their opening 3-0 romp against Lokomotiv in Istanbul but the Muscovites can turn the tables tonight.