Dynamo lack the spark to challenge

There could be some value in backing Dynamo Kiev to finish bottom of this group even though Sergei Rebrov’s side qualified for the knockout stages last season.

Porto goalkeeper Iker Casillas made a terrible mistake which gifted Kiev a place in the last 16 at his own team’s expense and it would be wrong to read too much into their success of progressing from a mainly poor group.

Porto and Chelsea were below the level usually expected of them and pointless Maccabi Tel Aviv were totally out of their depth.

This will be much tougher for Rebrov’s outfit, particularly after the loss of crack centre-back Aleksandar Dragovic to Bayer Leverkusen, and if it turns into a battle with Besiktas for the consolation prize of a Europa League place, then it is the Turks who can come out on top.

Besiktas need to replace the goals of Mario Gomez but Anderson Talisca and Vincent Aboubakar are decent replacements for last season’s loan star.

Last season’s quarter-finalists Benfica set a decent standard in terms of qualification even if they have lost top talents Renato Sanches and Nicolas Gaitan.

The Portuguese can finish second to group favourites Napoli, who have started the season in fine goalscoring form despite selling Gonzalo Higuain to Juventus.

Nine goals have been bagged in their three Serie A matches, and Higuain’s replacement Arkadiusz Milik scored twice in the recent 4-2 success over Milan.

Recommendation
Dynamo Kiev to finish bottom
1pt 15-8 Sky Bet