Soccer Selections: Rely on Chelsea, AC Milan in UEFA Champions League

We've reached the business end of the UEFA Champions League group stage.

Matchday 4 of Europe's top club competition kicks off on Tuesday afternoon with the first set of reverse fixtures in the group stage.

The teams that face each other on Tuesday and Wednesday took on each other two weeks ago, so we have a good sample size of what to expect from each of the 16 matchups.

There are a handful of lopsided matchups strewn across the schedule, but one sticks out as the ultimate mismatch.

The two most profitable spots on the midweek slate could be goal-scoring props for two of the hottest scorers in the competition, including the overall goal leader.

Below is a look at five plays I have picked out for the two-day slate.

UCL Picks

Overall Soccer Record: 56-60 (4-3 weekend)

Malmo vs. Chelsea (-2) (Tuesday, 1:45 p.m. ET)

Malmo is the worst team in the Champions League group stage overall table.

The Swedish side carries a -11 goal differential through three UCL games and it was outmatched during its trip to Stamford Bridge a few weeks ago.

Chelsea managed the injuries to Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner well so far. The Blues put up seven goals on Norwich City and posted three second-half goals in their weekend win over Newcastle United.

Chelsea breezed past Malmo with four goals on October 20 and I expect a similar result from the English club as it tries to challenge Juventus for first place in Group H.

Dynamo Kyiv vs. Barcelona (Under 2.5) (Tuesday, 4 p.m. ET)

Dynamo Kyiv is one of three teams that have not scored in the UCL group stage.

Barcelona scored its first goal of the group phase on Dynamo Kyiv in their meeting at the Camp Nou.

Barca has not scored multiple goals in each of its last four matches and it has one multi-goal performance in six of its seven games across all competitions.

Atalanta vs. Manchester United (Tuesday, 4 p.m. ET)

Cristiano Ronaldo to score (+105)

Cristiano Ronaldo has a goal in each of his three UCL group-stage games for Manchester United.

In those games, the Portuguese superstar put eight of his 12 shots on target. He put four of his seven attempts on frame against Atalanta on Matchday 3.

Atalanta has not held a clean sheet in each of its last six games and was bested by United in their first head-to-head match thanks to three second-half goals from the Red Devils.

AC Milan (+100) vs. FC Porto (Wednesday, 1:45 p.m. ET)

Since AC Milan lost 1-0 to FC Porto on the road on October 19, it reeled off three consecutive victories.

The Rossoneri scored seven goals in that stretch and they are coming into Wednesday’s match with a ton of confidence after beating Roma on Sunday.

Porto comes into Wednesday on a four-game winning run, but it has not been effective enough in the UCL group stage.

The Portuguese giant gave up five goals to Liverpool and played to a goalless draw with Atletico Madrid. Porto’s expected goals total in those games was under 0.5.

I’ll take the Milan side at home with some confidence to bounce-back against Porto here.

Borussia Dortmund vs. Ajax (Wednesday, 4 p.m. ET)

Sebastian Haller to score (+150)

Sebastian Haller can’t stop scoring.

The Ajax forward leads the Champions League with six goals. He also has seven goals and three assists in the Eredivisie.

The former West Ham United man produced a goal and an assist in Ajax’s 4-0 thumping over Dortmund on Matchday 3.

Dortmund is coming off back-to-back clean sheets, but those came against a second-division side in the DFB Pokal and FC Koln.

Until Dortmund silences a high-profile attack, I’ll fade their back line with some of the best scorers in Europe.


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