Benzema to shoot down Ajax one of our best Champions League bets
Published:Lionel Messi is a bit of a freak when it comes to Champions League goals, but in recent times Karim Benzema has not been too far adrift.
We fancy the Real Madrid striker to add to his tally at Ajax, with successes for Dynamo Kiev and Zenit among our other best bets for this round of fixtures.
Karim Benzema to score in 90 minutes v Ajax @ 11/8
Even though Real Madrid will have one eye on the Classico with Barcelona this weekend, Jose Mourinho is still expected to field a strong line-up in Holland against Ajax.
Benzema has certainly been a Champions League weapon with 14 goals in his last 17 appearances in the competition and has scored twice in his last three meetings with Ajax.
Furthermore, Real have scored 12 goals in their four fixtures with Ajax since 2010 and so Benzema should be presented with his fair share of chances.
Dynamo Kiev (-1) to beat Dinamo Zagreb @ 6/5
Kiev are still in honeymoon period under the guidance of Ukraine national team boss Oleg Blokhin and have to win this fixture if harbouring hopes of going beyond the group stages of the Champions League.
The Ukrainians are hardly prolific in front of goal, but can call on the likes of Andriy Yarmolenko and Brown Ideye in attack.
Meanwhile, last season Zagreb conceded on average four goals in each of their away Champions League games.
Zenit to beat AC Milan @ 6/5
This looks to be the perfect betting scenario with a team that have a home that has been turned into a bit of a fortress against visitors that struggle for away victories.
Although Zenit have endured some in-house troubles in recent weeks, the fact remains they have only ever lost once at home in the Champions League, on their debut in the competition against Real Madrid in 2008.
While Zenit are unbeaten at eight at home in the competition, Milan have triumphed in just one of their last 11 on the road and they had Zlatan Ibrahimovic for the majority of these encounters.
Teenager Stephan El Shaarawy is the only player to have scored for them in their last five games and this is another reason for a lack of confidence in last season’s Serie A runners up.
All odds and markets correct as of publication
