Champions League Best Bets #3: League Phase Round 3 (Oct. 21, 2025 - Oct. 22, 2025):

Welcome in to Champions League Best Bets, brought to you by Bettor In Green, where we recap the latest Champions League action and look ahead with my favorite bets for the upcoming matches.

Recap:

Round 2 of the UCL League Phase delivered plenty of excitement and drama!

On Tuesday, powerhouses Real Madrid and Bayern Munich each put 5 goals past newcomers Kairat Almaty and Paris FC, respectively. The big upset of the day was Galatasaray beating Liverpool 1-0.

On Wednesday, PSG beat Barcelona 1-2, while Monaco earned a late draw against Manchester City thanks to penalty kick from centerback Eric Dier of all people.

We had another successful week for betting, going 2-1. We successfully backed our parlay of Chelsea and Real Madrid, won with Napoli, but lost with Tottenham, as they only managed a 2-2 draw with Bodø/Glimt.

We also hit most of our bonus bet, as Juventus managed a draw and won either half, though they didn’t win outright.

Upcoming Matches:

We have a few exciting matches this Tuesday, as Arsenal host Atlético Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen host PSG.

On Wednesday, the big match of the day is Real Madrid hosting Juventus, a battle between two historic European giants.

Let’s get to the bets:

Best Bets:

Pick #1: Borussia Dortmund Moneyline -120 (Oct. 21, 2025; 3:00 p.m. EST):

For our first Best Bet, I’m looking at a Tuesday afternoon match between FC Copenhagen and Borussia Dortmund.

Copenhagen won the Danish Superliga last season, while also winning the Danish Cup last season. However, they were competing in the UEFA Conference League last season, the 3rd-tier of European competition.

They now sit 4th in the Superligaen and have not won their last 3 matches. In the UCL, they had a draw with Leverkusen, then recently lost to Qarabag FK. With the more demanding schedule of the UCL, they are seemingly struggling to start the season.

Dortmund, on the other hand, have only lost once in their last 10 matches, the match this weekend against Bayern Munich. The currently sit 4th in the Bundesliga table and 7th in the UCL table.

They’ve been cooking in their last 2 UCL matches, a 4-4 draw at Juventus and a 4-1 win at home against Athletic Club. They are working well as a team, having 8 goals from 8 different goalscorers.

Through players like Adeyemi and Guirassy, Dortmund should have enough talent and class to overcome Copenhagen, despite it being a match on the road.

Pick #2: Manchester City Moneyline -135 (Oct. 21, 2025; 3:00 p.m. EST):

For my next bet, I’m backing the 2022/23 UCL Champions to get a win and bounce back from their recent draw to Monaco.

Manchester City were pretty terrible last season compared to the standards they had set the previous years. However, despite still lacking Rodri, they’re looking like a capable team again.

A big part of that is the goalscoring prowess of Erling Haaland, who has 11 goals in the EPL (the most in the league) and 3 in the UCL (3rd most).

They’re also becoming more solidified in defense, bringing in goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma from PSG. In the 7 matches he’s started in all competitions, they’ve kept 4 clean sheets.

Their opponents, Villarreal, have yet to win in October, drawing with Juventus and Real Betis in their last 2 home matches and losing to Real Madrid on the road. However, they still sit in 3rd place in the La Liga standings. 

They’ve struggled against some of the top teams (Atlético Madrid, Real Madrid, Tottenham, Juventus, and Real Betis) and the match congestion seems to be taking its toll. I expect another tough test as they host Manchester City.

Pick #3: Bayern Munich to Win First Half to Nil -125 (Oct. 22, 2025; 3:00 p.m. EST):

For my final bet, I’m looking to a more obscure market, betting on Bayern Munich to win the first half to nil.

This market may not be offered in the same way for every sportsbook, but I found this on ESPN Bet at -125.

Bayern Munich are having a perfect start to the season, winning all 11 competitive matches they’ve played this season.

Bayern have also won the first half to nil in 9 of those 11 matches in all competitions, only failing to do so in their 2 UCL matches. However, the two goals that broke this streak in the UCL included a wonder strike from Pafos FC, and another impressive strike from Cole Palmer at Chelsea.

While Club Brugge have admittedly been capable of scoring this season, in the last 5 matches they’ve played they’ve scored 3 first half goals and 7 in the 2nd half.

Club Brugge’s goalscoring prowess this season makes me hesitant to play Bayern to Win the Match to Nil +130, but with Bayern scoring goals for fun and achieving this stat in 9 of 11 matches, I expect them to do this again while hosting Club Brugge.

Season Record:

League Phase: 5-1

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