Copyright Yardbarker
Tottenham Hotspur look to continue a positive start to their Champions League Campaign when they travel to AS Monaco, fellow Premier League side Liverpool travels to Eintracht Frankfurt in the midst of a challenging losing streak. Which teams will prevail on matchday 3? We also have Wednesday predictions for the matches featuring Real Madrid. Tottenham at AS Monaco Tottenham has 4 points to start their Champions League campaign, while AS Monaco was buoyed by a draw against Manchester City and hopes for more points against Premier League opposition. A loss to Aston Villa was frustrating for Tottenham over the weekend, but they have to back themselves against Ligue 1 opposition. AS Monaco just sacked their manager, Adi Hutter, and in comes Sebastien Pocognoli from Union SG who is just 38. Monaco are capable of better results, but this is a game Tottenham won’t want to lose. Spurs are still missing key players like James Maddison and Dominic Solanke, and Cristian Romero is in question as well. Eric Dier, a former Tottenham player who scored a penalty against Manchester City, is now injured and won’t participate in this game. With Xavi Simons in attack, Tottenham has enough to find goals, AS Monaco has an in-form Ansu Fati on their side. Expect goals, with Spurs still favored. Prediction: Tottenham 2 AS Monaco 1 Marseille at Sporting CP Leading Ligue 1 and with a win and a close loss, from two Champions League games, Marseille is dreaming of returning to their glory years. The circumstances aren’t quite as bright for Sporting CP, they sit second in the Liga Portugal and have split their first two UCL games. Hosting the game in Lisbon, Sporting believes they can win this game. With Marseille winning five straight games, it’s a question of when they will lose momentum. Luis Suarez, Colombia’s new first-choice striker , is the main man for Sporting CP, Igor Paixao continues to wow in the Champions League, now for Marseille, while Mason Greenwood is contending for a team of the year spot for Ligue 1. With Robert De Zerbi’s Marseille playing this well, a win feels likely. Prediction: Marseille 3 Sporting CP 1 Liverpool at Eintracht Frankfurt Are Liverpool a bad team? no, are Liverpool struggling? yes. The Merseyside men are facing adversity with four straight defeats. They can immediately flip the script with a convincing win when they travel to Frankfurt to face Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt, a side that is winless in their last three games, and has 3 points from the UCL this season. Frankfurt are a vulnerable side, while Liverpool hasn’t locked in offensively. A loss to Manchester United made headlines over the weekend, now Ryan Gravenberch may be out for Liverpool. Liverpool still haven’t figured out how to manage Hugo Ekitike and Alexander Isak in the striker position, but Ekitike should see minutes against his former team. Frankfurt are not defensively good enough to win this game in all likelihood, but even a draw would be a point of pride. Prediction: Liverpool 3 Eintracht Frankfurt 2 Slavia Prague at Atalanta Atalanta are without defeat in their last five games, Slavia Praha are winless in their last three. Questions remain as to whether Prague has a squad that is up to the standard of elite European football. Atalanta at home, has high expectations. Mario Pasalic is a key man for Atalanta, while Tomas Holes and four other first-choice players are likely out for Prague. Given the venue, it would be hard to see Prague getting stuck in this game. Prediction: Atalanta 3 Slavia Prague 0 Qarabag at Athletic Club Bilbao Qarabag are the dark horses of Europe this season, it’s two wins in two matches for the Azeri outfit. Bilbao has yet to win in the Champions League this season, playing at home, they must turn things around on Wednesday. Bilbao’s record has been terrible this season, they have only won one game out of nine. With Qarabag on a six-match winning streak, and full of belief, conditions are ripe for another big result. Yeray Alavarez will miss out for Bilbao, Qarabag is fully fit, with Leandro Andrade among the breakout players for this side. No one will take Qarabag for granted anymore this competition, but I don’t think Bilbao can stop them. Prediction: Qarabag 2 Bilbao 1
