Champions League double looks worth favouring hosts in Russia

Of all the Champions League groups, Group G looks one of the trickier ones to call. But this week’s round of fixtures have thrown up a tempting double opportunity at odds of 11/5.

Zenit St Petersburg v Austria Vienna – Zenit win/over 2.5 goals in the match (5/6)

Defeats for both these sides in the group opener will have obviously been less than welcome. But it is Zenit who look the more likely to get some points on the board here. Visiting the Stadion Petrovskij hasn’t yielded much success for the away side in recent weeks. Six straight home wins has seen Luciano Spalleti’s side top the Russian Premier League and they don’t look like stopping.

They are priced at 2/7 for the victory here, but the more interesting bet is for them to win with over 2.5 goals to be scored in the match, priced at 5/6 with Ladbrokes’ ‘Total Result’ market. Of the aforementioned six home wins, five have included three or more goals. And in Hulk they have an in-form striker, who has netted in his last five games.

Vienna aren’t hopeless by any stretch of the imagination, but they are somewhat lacking consistency. They have lost three of their last four and are struggling to overcome domestic opponents boasting less firepower than this week’s opponents. They could be in for a long night.

Porto v Atlético Madrid – Under 2.5 goals (3/4)

While Austria Vienna and Zenit have been in contrasting form, both Porto and Atlético have been scintillating of late. Between them, they have won 17 of their last 20 games, and look favourites to progress from the group. But the wins could easily come to an end for both clubs here, with a nervy, low scoring encounter looking a likely outcome, with neither side wanting to lose.

At home, Porto have been ultra-tight. Five straight clean sheet victories see them leading the chase for an incredible 28^th Portugese title. Atlético, on the other hand, come into this off the back of a well-fought Madrid derby victory at the weekend and are sure to be full of confidence.

However, despite the signing of David Villa, the goals away from home have not been flowing as much as Los Colchoneros might have expected. Ruling them out is dangerous given their consistency, so the call is for less than three goals to be scored at a fair price of 3/4.

All odds and markets correct as of the date of publishing