Wednesday's EFL and Champions League predictions & football betting tips

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for Wednesday's EFL & Champions League matches.

Where to watch

Qarabag v Viktoria Plzen
BT Sport 2, 5.45pm Wednesday

Maccabi Haifa v Red Star
BT Sport 4, 8pm

Best bets

Blackburn 8pm
1pt 13-10 general

Over 2.5 goals in Qarabag v Viktoria Plzen 5.45pm
1pt 13-10 Hills

O Bukari first goalscorer in Maccabi Haifa v Red Star 8pm
0.5pts each-way 12-1 bet365

Wednesday's betting preview

Paul Ince has no great affection for Blackburn and will like them even less after they've departed Reading with three more points tonight.

Reading against Blackburn is one of four Championship matches to wrap up the midweek card, a clash between the side who topped the table after the weekend and a side who are licking their wounds after being drubbed 4-0 at Rotherham.

Super-efficient Rovers have had fewer shots than Reading after three rounds of matches, fewer shots on target and less possession – yet boast six more points.

The possession imbalance is understandable – Blackburn have played Swansea, Reading have not – but it's to Rovers' credit that they have nine points having played QPR and West Brom, as well as the Swans.

Reading have so far been to Blackpool and Rotherham and not scored, beat Cardiff City 2-1 at home, but also threw in a League Cup shocker at home to Stevenage. They are clearly missing injured top scorer Lucas Joao as well as several others and they look vulnerable.

Ince, who endured a dreadful six months in charge of Blackburn in 2008, has won just five of 18 matches in charge of the Royals and that ratio doesn't look likely to improve here.

Bookmakers expect a low-scoring affair in the Champions League playoff dust-up between Qarabag and Viktoria Plzen, but that goes against everything that's happened with both sides so far.

Four of Qarabag's six ties and three of Plzen's four have yielded three goals or more – many more in one or two cases – so the 6-5 that there are at least three in Baku seems a decent enough price to pay.

Another price that looks value is the 12-1 about Osman Bukari opening the scoring for Red Star at Maccabi Haifa.

The Ghanaian – expected to be at the World Cup – has bagged six in seven for the free-flowing Serbian side.

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