Jon's Picks (10 Live)
Jon's Past Picks
Barcelona will be without a plethora of their usual starters. They'll have to play without: Robert Lewandowski, Raphina, Dani Olmo, Ferran Torres and more. While this is a troublesome amount of absentees, I think it almost helps the over here. Barcelona still have plenty of big names who love to score goals like Lamine Yamal, Marcus Rashford and Fermin Lopez, but this also should encourage Olympiacos to push for goals. I like BTTS here, but I really like the over 3.5!
The accomplishment for both of these sides was qualifying for Champions League itself. The expectations past that are non existent. Kairat have been the heavy favorites to finish bottom of this group, and after two matches are last on the table, having been outscored 1-9. They aren't ready for the European competition at all. While Pafos haven't faired too much better, they did draw Olympiacos and find a goal against Bayern Munich. Pafos are the better of two poor sides and should escape with all three points.
Monday's clash features two of the worst defensive units that the Premier League has to offer. West Ham are trying to find their footing under new manager Santo, but are yet to put together any defensive structure. With 28 total goals conceded between the two sides this season, and a massive three points up for grabs, expect both teams to press forward to find goals and glory.
Cremonese are one of the clubs we like to bring up when talking about teams that struggle massively on the road, but are a completely different squad when playing at home. Cremonese are currently sitting 10th on the Serie A table, and are undefeated when playing at home. They also have lost only a single match at home over their last 10 across all competitions. I have little faith in Udinese who were just battered by Sassuolo, and should have lost to Cagliari after that. Take the spread, and sprinkle the ML for the hosts.
Eintracht Frankfurt have always had a knack for producing some of the best strikers in the entirety of the Bundesliga. This is a team regardless of how many players they lose in the transfer window, always manage to find goals. This is an offensive minded team who won their first UCL match against Galatasaray 5-1. They've played two matches since, and those two matches saw a combined 17 goals. Atletico are coming off a crazy 5-2 Madrid derby win over Real Madrid, and their attacking form should continue in UCL play.