Champions League Betting: Best Bets and Player Props for Tuesday 10/22/24
With a new format for the group stage, the UEFA Champions League is off and running for the 2024-25 campaign.
When looking at the Champions League betting odds at FanDuel Sportsbook, which bets make the most sense for today's matches?
Champions League Betting Picks and Prop Bets
Bologna at Aston Villa (3 p.m. ET)
Aston Villa Over 1.5 Goals (-148)
Aston Villa's Champions League campaign is off to a sparkling start as they've won both of their matches -- including a triumph over Bayern Munich -- and have yet to allow a goal. They can keep rolling today versus Bologna.
Bologna got into Europe's top club competition on the back of a fifth-place finish last season in Serie A. They haven't been nearly as good so far in 2024-25, sitting 13th in Serie A and winning just one match across all competitions through their first 10 outings.
Villa, meanwhile, aren't playing well in just Europe -- their Premier League form has also been good as they check in fourth in the EPL. Through 11 matches in all competitions, Villa have one loss (Arsenal), two draws and eight wins. They've carried over their stellar results from last year and should be too much for Bologna.
Instead of backing Aston Villa's -170 moneyline, I prefer to take them to score at least twice at -148. They've netted at least two goals in 8 of their 11 matches, and a Bologna defense that's shipped eight goals in four away Serie A fixtures should be no match for them.
PSV Eindhoven at PSG (3 p.m. ET)
Bradley Barcola to Score or Assist (-125)
PSG are expected to cruise past PSV Eindhoven today, with PSG at -290 to go over 1.5 goals and -250 to win the match.
Both of these sides see meh competition domestically. In fact, neither has lost yet this season in domestic league play. PSV, however, haven't been able to carry that over to the UCL, losing 3-1 at Juventus and drawing 1-1 with Sporting Lisbon. This will be their toughest test yet.
The summer departure of Kylian Mbappe hasn't slowed PSG too much thus far. They've scored 25 times in eight Ligue 1 matches. While they lost 2-0 at Arsenal in their last UCL match, they fell only 0.7-0.4 on expected goals (xG) in that match, per FBRef's xG model, and they battered a solid Girona side in their season-opening UCL game, winning 1-0 but taking the xG battle 2.1-0.2.
As mentioned, oddsmakers have PSG winning and scoring multiple goals, which pushes me toward the goal-or-assist market. Barcola has the longest odds among any of PSG's expected front three -- with Ousmane Dembele at -130 and Marco Asensio at -145 -- and that intrigues me because he's off to an excellent start this season, netting seven goals with one assist in seven Ligue 1 starts. As long as he's in the starting lineup, Barcola to score or assist is my favorite bet across Tuesday's matches.
Stuttgart at Juventus (3 p.m. ET)
Juventus Moneyline (-105)
This line is a little hard for me to wrap my mind around, and I'm happy to get Juventus at nearly even money to win Tuesday at home versus VfB Stuttgart.
Juve are off to a good start this season in Serie A play. They're second in the table and have yet to taste defeat while boasting the league's best xG differential (+7.0). In UCL play, they've picked up back-to-back wins over PSV and RB Leipzig. The win over Leipzig was a smash-and-grab job as they fell 3.3-1.2 on xG, but overall, Juventus are playing some good ball this season.
Stuttgart, meanwhile, are struggling. They're 10th in the Bundesliga and are leaking goals like crazy, conceding 15 times across just seven league matches. Their xG differential paints a better picture but still places them just fifth in the league. They haven't done much better in Europe, losing at Real Madrid (3-1) and drawing at home against Sparta Prague (1-1).
Juve can get three more points in this match and continue their perfect start in the Champions League.
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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.