Champions League betting insights for fixtures on 13-14 October 2026

Our resident football tipster Nathan Joyes is back on Champions League duty to highlight some eye-catching trends worth noting. All eyes are on the likes of Barcelona who continue to score for fun, while plenty of favourites are receiving support as we edge close to kick off. However, our third and final trend points towards steering clear of clean sheets, and instead focusing on goals, whoever is involved.

Let's dive into the data Nathan has found ahead of round two in the Champions League that looks as intriguing as round one across Europe.

Istanbul's Champions League goal fest

It's clear the UK bookmakers aren't taking any chances when it comes to goals involving the big names this week - and it's difficult to argue with them. Barcelona are one of those, having opened up their Champions League charge with a 5-1 win against Feyenoord.

Four La Liga games have followed, and the Spanish giants have continued to score for fun, producing 17 goals within those matches. Throw in the seven they scored against Racing Santander and three on the road vs Sevilla, Barcelona will be a well supported team in the outright market if they can sustain this form throughout the campaign.

They come up against Turkish outfit Galatasaray who have also been amongst the goals - but sadly for their supporters they haven't always been in their favour. A 3-1 loss vs Sporting was a far ideal start to their Champions League campaign. A 4-0 defeat against Mo Salah's Trabzonspor has since followed, and now four of their last five matches safely produced over 2.5 goals.

Over 4.5 goals is 11/10 tonight and there will no doubt be plenty of support for this bet. The hosts will create a hostile environment in Istanbul but Barcelona fear no one and they can certainly be amongst the goals once more. Goals follow both sides across all competitions this season, and it's difficult to see that coming to an end this evening.

Betting on the favourites

A huge takeaway from round one was that 14 out of the 18 favourites came away with all three points. That's a staggering 77.8%, meaning the bookmakers took a beating across the opening nights but they were well positioned with their betting odds.

So what does that tell us? Well with this new-ish league format in place, more teams are being given an opportunity but against the very best in Europe they are struggling. Bodo/Glimt didn't stand a chance against Bayern, PSG hammered Slovan Bratislava while Man United easily saw off Sabah Baku 4-0 at Old Trafford.

Once again, there are plenty of short favourites to go back-to-back in round one and two. However, they are only four teams that are 1/4 or shorter this week, which suggests there may be some closer matches than what was witnessed in round one.

Either way, home team favourites dominated, with 11 of those 18 wins, and with five odds-on home favourites in round two, plenty of punters will be piecing together short priced accumulators - and who can blame them?

Avoid Champions League clean sheets

Despite the favourites dominating in round one, there were only five clean sheets produced out of the 18 matches. With a whopping total of 72 goals scored, averaging four per match, plenty of favourites failed to keep the ball out of their net.

Barcelona may have put five past Feyenoord, but they failed to keep a clean sheet. PSG put six past Slovan Bratislava yet their opponents still ended up on the scoresheet. And while Stuttgart scored three and secured three points against debutants Viking, they too failed to walk away with a clean sheet.

And so the goals could flow once more in round two. Only Napoli, Porto, LASK, Bodo/Glimt and Sabah failed to score, but three of those teams are at home in round two and will therefore fancy their chances of testing their opponents.

Bodo/Glimt are, for example, a different beast in their home environment and they will fancy their chances against Dortmund. Slovan Bratislava face Stuttgart, who have already conceded against Viking, and their hostile crowd will only make it more difficult for the Germans.

The message in round two is clear. Favourites are being well supported, but it's difficult to know who - if any - are capable of keeping clean sheets. The focus should very much be on goals, and that could be the route to success once again in the Champions League.