THE Champions League continues on Wednesday night and European football fanatic Jonny O'Sullivan (@libero_the) picks out his favourite fancies in matches not involving Premier League interest.
RB Leipzig v Benfica | Wednesday 27th November 2019, 20:00 | BT Sport
Leipzig are a much better team than Benfica right now. The Germans are in irresistible form and should comfortably sweep the Portuguese giants aside. In Lisbon, RB won 2-1 and it could be expected that this scoreline could be a little indication of what might follow on Wednesday night.
Leipzig's last results read nicely for all their fans: 6-1, 8-0, 2-0, 4-2 and 4-1 victories. These results are as emphatic as you are likely to see and Julian Nagelsmann’s men have it in them to continue their great form.
Benfica have also lost their last two Champions League away matches by at least two goals and they were facing lesser teams that RB Leipzig.
In their last two domestic games, Benfica have scraped 2-1 wins against inferior outfits. This, again, would suggest that they not in a rich vein of form and could be sitting ducks for a ruthless Leipzig side that appeal at 5/4 (Betfair) with a -1 handicap.
Valencia v Chelsea | Wednesday 27th November 2019, 17:55 | BT Sport
Chelsea are in superb form right now. A performance which they can be proud of against Manchester City showcased their improvement in the last 12 months and their rejuvenation under Frank Lampard has been a breath of fresh air.
Valencia are in a strange place, picking up some decent results, but falling short at random times. Their defeat at Real Betis on Saturday highlighted their weaknesses perfectly as they concede a silly amount of shots at goal.
On Saturday, Valencia gave up 25 shots, with eight on-target. When Los Che were beaten 3-1 at Osasuna, they let the hosts have 29 shots and against Lille they allowed the French side to rack up 27 attempts. If they let Chelsea achieve anywhere near these stats it will be painful viewing for the hosts.
Before their defeat on Saturday, Chelsea were on a seven-game winning streak away, including impressive performances in Amsterdam, at Wolves and in Lille. The Blues will also be after revenge against Valencia after they were defeated in their opening Champions League match, despite dominating that Stamford Bridge encounter.
Valencia have a painful-looking injury list which sees big game players such as Goncalo Guedes, Geoffrey Kondogbia, Dennis Cheryshev and Ezequiel Garay (to name a few) miss out. This will result in Chelsea being the much superior team, playing with full confidence and at 11/10 (Unibet) are worth our support.
Best Bets
RB Leipzig v Benfica – Leipzig -1 handicap (5/4 Betfair)
Valencia v Chelsea – Chelsea to win (11/10 Unibet)
