Eighteen teams head into the pitch on Tuesday for Matchday 3 of Champions League action. Many are still getting adjusted to the league’s new format – slightly expanded from 32 teams to 36, and shifted from a home-and-home group stage to individual games against eight different, weighted opponents. But it’s led to all sorts of variety in the matchups, which is very much on display today. Let’s dive into the schedule.
12:45 p.m. ET Headliner: AC Milan vs. Club Brugge KV
| AC Milan Win | -270 | Club Brugge Win | +700 | Draw | +410 |
| Over 3.5 Goals | +115 | Under 3.5 Goals | -143 | Broadcast | DAZN |
Despite being the favourites in this one, it’s been a pretty tough start to the Champions League cycle for AC Milan. A big part of that is luck of the draw, as they got two heavy opponents out of the gate in Premier League side Liverpool and Bundesliga’s Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Neither are teams to be dismissed, and both showed it on the scoresheet, having a bit more of the ball, taking more of the shots, and delivering 3-1 and 1-0 defeats, respectively.
Thankfully for Milan, there is more to their schedule than this tournament, so they’ve had the opportunity to rebuild some confidence heading into this one. On Saturday, they got back into the win column in Serie A, defeating Udinese 1-0 on the back of Samuel Chukwueze’s 13th-minute strike. After a slow start to their season, they’ve won four of their last five in their home country.
Club Brugge come in as the underdogs, despite being one of Belgium’s consistently great sides. Champions in the Pro League last year and never outside of the Top 4 in the nation over the past decade, it’s been a slower start for them this year, still in the thick of the race but only securing wins in two of their last five domestic appearances. So far in Champions League they’ve split their results, showing no match for Borussia Dortmund in their opener but winning 1-0 over SK Sturm Graz three weeks ago.
Game Bets To Consider
- AC Milan Shots on Target, Over 5.5 (+115) – Milan is usually a pretty safe bet to pepper the net for at least four or five shots on target per game, and they’ll likely be motivated to show that they can hang in this tournament. Their only aberration from the 4+ line in recent weeks has been the loss to Liverpool. Mix in Club Brugge’s so-so form, and this one is ripe for the taking.
- If you want to sprinkle some North American flavour into your bet, Betano has Super Enhanced Odds available for American forward Christian Pulisic to score in a Milan win. Normally +162, you can get this bet at +230 today. If you don’t want to take a chance on the team result, you can get Pulisic to score separately at +130, but this feels like one where the value is in the whole pot.
Bet on AC Milan vs. Club Brugge KV
ACM -222
CKV +610
3:00 p.m. ET Headliner: Real Madrid vs. Borussia Dortmund
| Real Madrid Win | -192 | Borussia Dortmund Win | +460 | Draw | +370 |
| Over 3.5 Goals | +118 | Under 3.5 Goals | -143 | Broadcast | DAZN |
Already the biggest match of the day on the combined strength of teams, this game also has the most compelling storyline of the bunch, seeing as it’s a rematch of June’s thrilling final. Dortmund made their way through last year’s ranks on the back of stifling defence, while Madrid’s strategy was to outscore their deficiencies. The latter ultimately won the day, as Dani Carvajal broke through in the 74th minute and Vinicius Jr added insurance nine minutes later to give the Spanish side their 15th Champions League title, the most by any team.
Carvajal’s goal was particularly interesting – the tournament winner was the first goal by a defender in the final in eight years, showing that anything can happen on a given match day.
After going undefeated in last year’s cycle, Madrid finally suffered a loss on Matchday Two this year, with a bit of Canadian flavour. National team striker Jonathan David scored Lille’s lone goal as they completed a 1-0 upset, Madrid’s first UCL loss in 17 months. Dortmund enter today’s game with victories in both of their Champions League appearances (7-1 over Celtic and 3-0 over Club Brugge).
Game Bets To Consider
- Goals, goals, goals are the name of this game. Dortmund have come out flying with 10 in their first two games, and Madrid will be hungry after the Lille loss. You can get both teams to score at -167. If you’re feeling courageous, you can take the heftier-than-usual total goals over 3.5 line at +118.
- Not present in last year’s final was global megastar Kylian Mbappe, who Madrid will have high hopes for today. Betano has his odds to score first enhanced at +310, up from +280. If you don’t want to fuss about the order, you can get him for an anytime goal at -154.
Bet on Real Madrid vs. Borussia Dortmund
RM -192
BVB +370
Other UEFA Champions League Games On October 22nd
There are seven other games being played on October 22nd.
The game expected to be tightest sees Italian giants Juventus – who have yet to lose in Serie A this year and are 2-0-0 in the Champions League so far – take on VfB Stuttgart, who haven’t been great in the Bundesliga this year but have hung in their UCL games. The most likely to be a blowout is Arsenal’s game against Shakhtar. The Ukrainian side winless out of the gate and are heavy underdogs in this one.
| Away Team |  | Draw | | Home Team | Time (ET) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AC Milan | -270 | +410 | +700 | Club Brugge KV | 12:45 PM |
| AS Monaco | -278 | +430 | +875 | Red Star Belgrade | 12:45 PM |
| Real Madrid | -192 | +370 | +460 | Borussia Dortmund | 3:00 PM |
| Paris Saint-Germain | -312 | +510 | +850 | PSV Eindhoven | 3:00 PM |
| Juventus | +105 | +260 | +290 | VfB Stuttgart | 3:00 PM |
| Arsenal | -667 | +750 | +2600 | FC Shakhtar Donestk | 3:00 PM |
| SK Sturm Graz | +800 | +410 | -256 | Sporting CP | 3:00 PM |
| Girona FC | -476 | +620 | +1600 | SK Slovan Bratislava | 3:00 PM |
| Aston Villa | -143 | +330 | +450 | Bologna FC | 3:00 PM |
Latest 24/25 UEFA Champions League Odds
Here are the latest UEFA Champions League odds, heading into the matches on October 22nd:
| Team | | Last Matchday | Team | | Last Matchday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manchester City | +275 | +275 | FC Barcelona | +1000 | +1000 |
| Real Madrid | +300 | +300 | Liverpool FC | +1200 | +1200 |
| Arsenal FC | +800 | +800 | Bayer 04 Leverkusen | +1900 | +1900 |
| FC Bayern Munchen | +900 | +900 | Inter Milan | +1900 | +1900 |
It’s a fairly familiar list of names at the top of the rankings today, with English behemoths Manchester City having the shortest odds to win it all at +275 on Betano. Patient bettors still have several months to pick their side here, but we’ll continue to monitor the top of the projected table in all of our matchday previews.
