
The Champions League reaches matchday six of its league phase on Tuesday, 9 December and Wednesday, 10 December. Several clubs face the possibility of missing out on the play-offs, which makes this round particularly important for those still chasing qualification.
Champions League tipster Ben Smith has compiled a five-leg accumulator for this week on Betway, selecting outcomes he considers well priced across the current set of Champions League odds.
Liverpool’s problems continued at Leeds on Saturday. What should have been a comfortable win instead slipped into chaos. Hugo Ekitike put them 2-0 up, but their defensive issues resurfaced when Ibrahima Konate conceded a penalty that gave Leeds a way back into the game.
Even when Liverpool regained the lead, there was a sense that they might still let it slip in stoppage time. Mohamed Salah’s post-match comments have added further pressure on Arne Slot, whose side could find themselves in a precarious position in the league phase if they lose here.
That outcome is entirely possible. Inter have won eight of their last nine at home, with the only exception coming against AC Milan, who also call the San Siro home. Inter have scored at least twice in each of those wins and have not conceded more than one in any of them.
There is far more cohesion about the Serie A side at the moment compared with the Premier League champions, who are facing a serious downturn.
Bayern Munich continue to set the pace at home. The last time they failed to win at the Allianz Arena was against Borussia Dortmund in April, when the title was already close to being settled. They’re not flawless defensively, though. They have conceded in four of their nine home wins this season, including their last two, with Freiburg scoring twice and St Pauli taking an early lead in Munich.
Sporting Lisbon look capable of becoming the third side in a row to score against Vincent Kompany’s team. They found the net in both Naples and Turin earlier in the campaign and have scored in every away match since their trip to Dortmund in February.
Luis Suarez is the main threat with 12 goals in 21 appearances, supported well by Geovany Quenda, Francisco Trincao and Pedro Goncalves, who have 22 goals between them in all competitions.
Ajax needed a positive start to December after four straight defeats, and although they have taken two league wins, they have relied on good fortune in both.
Groningen could reasonably feel they should have taken something from the Johan Cruyff Arena. They had more shots, more efforts on target and a higher expected goals total, yet still lost 2-0. Fortuna Sittard also led Ajax on those same metrics but left empty handed.
These results do little to build confidence as Ajax now face a difficult trip to Qarabag. The Azerbaijani side have drawn with Chelsea and beaten Copenhagen at home in this competition.
Since late August, their only defeats have come in this competition away from home, and they look a fair selection here.
Bayer Leverkusen were undone by an early Augsburg surge on Saturday, making it two defeats from their last three. The drop-off is unexpected given it followed a run of four wins, capped by a 2-0 victory at Manchester City. Even so, the last time they lost successive matches was in March, when they were juggling a two-legged Champions League tie with Bayern Munich.
Newcastle have taken seven points from a possible nine in the Premier League over the past fortnight, although there are still questions about their level. They went 2-0 ahead against Burnley on Saturday, who had a player sent off in the first half, but Scott Parker’s side were the better team after the break and pulled one back late on.
Coming to a European side of Leverkusen’s calibre and taking all three points still feels a major task for Newcastle. They had lost four straight away games before their win at Everton, and while they may find a goal here, a victory looks unlikely.
The goal line looks slightly high for this week’s headline fixture. Only two of Real Madrid’s nine home matches in all competitions have gone over 3.5 goals, and for Manchester City, only four of their 11 away games have cleared that mark.
Real Madrid’s defensive absences may be the reason the market has pushed the line up. Raul Asencio is expected to start at right back, but he will have support on that flank from Eduardo Camavinga, who reads the game well and offers reliable defensive cover.
This does not feel like a match that should run away in terms of goals.
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