It takes something extraordinary to displace Newcastle’s return to Champions League action against Barcelona as the main event on the last night of this week’s group-stage action, but Manchester City lip-smacking encounter with Napoli just about edges the Tyneside tussle.
Former Chelsea and Tottenham manager Antonio Conte is back in England with his amazing Serie A side, who have started the defence of their title with three straight victories in which they have scored six times and conceded just once.
Former City maestro Kevin De Bruyne will appear at the Etihad Stadium for the first time since his summer move to Naples and he is in terrific form after scoring in the first game of the Italian season, a 2-0 victory at Sassuolo, then converting a penalty in the 3-1 success at Fiorentina at the weekend.
That win was notable for a 14th-minute goal from former Manchester United striker Rasmus Hojlund, while Scotland international midfielder Scott McTominay, voted the most valuable player in Italian football last season, will also be determined to make his mark against his old rivals.
City will no doubt be buoyed by Sunday’s 3-0 derby success against the team from Old Trafford but a 4-0 opening-day victory at Wolves was undermined by a 2-0 loss at home to Tottenham and they then blew a 1-0 lead at Brighton by conceding two late goals.
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It seems that City are still trying to find their feet after last term’s fall from their highest of standards and a defence which was suspect then has yet to truly prove it is beyond reproach this time around.
That may well come in time but it leaves Pep Guardiola’s side relying heavily on Erling Haaland to maintain the quality finishing which saw him score five goals for Norway in their 11-1 shellacking of Moldova in Oslo and the double blast which delighted home fans against United.
Napoli are big at 9/2 to win with Betfred while the 5/4 offered by BetMGM on Napoli plus one goal means punters will be holding winning vouchers if the game finishes in a draw.
Penalty taker De Bruyne is huge at 18/1 with Sky Bet to celebrate being back on his old stomping ground by scoring the first goal and he is just as appealing at 6/1 with the same firm, Paddy Power and Betfair to find the net at any time.
Meanwhile, Hojlund, who endured a miserable time at United, is tempting at 21/5 with BetMGM to leave his old fans either happy he has scored against their bitter opponents or dejected he could not get on the scoresheet more often while playing for the Reds by hitting the back of the net on his return to Manchester.
Champions League odds: Barca too strong for Newcastle
Newcastle will relish the visit of LaLiga champions Barcelona to St James’ Park for the opening match of their Champions League crusade, especially as the Catalan club are likely to be missing teenage superstar Lamine Yamal, who has a groin injury.
But Barca still boast a strong attack with Robert Lewandowski leading the line while Raphinha, Pedri and Fermin Lopez add classy support and Hansi Flick’s team can win a pulsating match in which both sides score at 11/4 with bet365.
Former Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford, who was with Aston Villa on loan for the second half of last season, converted a penalty in England’s 5-0 victory over Serbia in last week’s World Cup qualifier in Belgrade and is 29/10 with BetMGM to open his Barca account at some point in the proceedings. Anthony Gordon, eligible to play despite serving a domestic ban, is 13/5 with Paddy Power to reply with a consolation for the Magpies.
NFL odds: Cook can fry Dolphins
Keenan Allen converted our bets on him to haul in the first touchdown at 12/1 and celebrate in the end zone at any time at 5/2 as the Los Angeles Chargers also easily covered the spread at just under evens as they beat the Raiders 20-9 in Las Vegas on Monday.
Our Thursday night NFL flutter is for running back James Cook to scamper across the paint and score the first touchdown at 11/2 with Betfred when the Buffalo Bills host the Miami Dolphins while wide receiver Keon Coleman is 2/1 with Betway to score a TD at any time.
The Fins are poor and the powerful Bills are not a bad bet at 4/5 with numerous firms to win by more than 10.5 points in a lopsided affair.
