Champions League Group Stage Matchday 3 Odds & Predictions – November 3

• It’s the UEFA Champions League Group Stage Matchday 3 on November 3, 2020
• Among the games, two European giants – Real Madrid and Inter – meet in Spain, while Liverpool travel to Italy
• We list the odds for all eight games, preview three, and offer our best bets

It’s Matchday 3 of the 2020-21 UEFA Champions League Group Stage this week, with eight matches taking place on November 3, 2020, followed by another eight on Wednesday, November 4. Bayern Munich are the current favorites to win the tournament, closely followed by the English pairing of Man City and Liverpool.

We’ll list the odds for all eight games, pick out three to preview, and offer some best bets.

UEFA Europa League Matchday 3 Odds

All odds taken Oct. 31 at DraftKings

Pick 1: Real Madrid vs Inter Milan

2020 has been kind to Real Madrid, at least domestically, with trophies already collected for the La Liga and Copa Del Rey, and they have made a steady, if unspectacular, start to the new La Liga campaign – four wins, one loss, and a draw. They currently lie second in the table and, last weekend, overcame their big rivals, Barcelona, in El Classico.

Their Champions League campaign has, however, been poor to date with a shock home defeat by Shakhtar Donetsk (3-2) and an away 2-2 draw with Borussia Monchengladbach, but only thanks to a late goal by Casmeiro. They badly need a win here to get their UCL campaign back on track.

⌛ | FULL-TIME

A deeply frustrating evening for the Nerazzurri, who are held to another draw in the #UCL#ShakhtarInter 0⃣-0⃣#FORZAINTER ⚫️🔵 pic.twitter.com/Ttp6Fn9VtK

— Inter (@Inter_en) October 27, 2020

Inter Milan had a relatively underwhelming 2019-20 but have made a steady start to the new Serie A season with three wins from their opening five games and are currently fourth. The UCL has proved a bigger challenge for them, with an opening draw against Monchengladbach looking like a decent result until they followed it up with another draw (0-0)  against Shakhtar. Like Real, they too desperately need a win here to get their campaign up and running.

It’s possible that with both teams needing the victory they could end up canceling each other out but, for me, there’s enough quality in this Inter team to nick a surprise win.

Pick: Inter Milan to win (+260)

Pick 2: Atalanta vs Liverpool

Atalanta were the surprise package of last season, finishing third in Serie A and making it to the quarterfinals of the Champions League, and I Nerazzurri have managed to carry this momentum into the new season. In Serie, they lie fifth after winning three of their five games and and after opening their Champions League campaign with a fine 4-0 win over Midtjylland, they followed it up with a 2-2 draw against a good Ajax side.

The start to Liverpool’s season has been unexpectedly tricky and although they sit second in the Premier League table, their one defeat was an incredible 7-2 reverse away at Aston Villa – a result that no-one could have foreseen. The absence of Virgil van Dijk – injured in their draw with Everton – has been a blow and while results have generally been good, performances have lacked the swagger of last season. They do, however, have a 100 percent record in the new UCL campaign and are yet to concede a goal.

Given Atalanta’s solid start, their home advantage and the fact Liverpool’s defense is missing its key figure, the value here is with the draw.

Pick: Atalanta and Liverpool to draw (+280)

Pick 3: FC Porto vs Marseille

As one of Portugal’s ‘big three’, Porto are expected to be in the mix in the Primeira Liga but have aleady lost two of their six games. They are still in third by virtue of three wins but already trail Benfica and Sporting Lisbon having played a game more. In the Champions League, they kicked off with a disappointing but not unexpected defeat away to Manchester City but won their second match – a comfortable 2-0 win over Olympiakos of Greece.

Marseille find themselves in a similar position to Porto domestically – four wins in their eight games and one defeat – but have so far failed to register a single point, or even a single goal, in the Champions League.

It’s hard to make a case for anything other than a home win here and at odds-on it offers no real value. Therefore, the correct score market is worth exploring and form suggest the Portuguese are capable of winning by a two-goal margin.

Pick: FC Porto to win 2-0 (+650)