Harry Kane is on the prowl and looking for fresh victims as Bayern Munich sweep all before them in a ferocious start to the season.
England’s talismanic captain has scored nearly half of the 19 goals amassed by the Bavarian giants in their five straight victories, which include a success in the German Super Cup, and was also on target for the Three Lions with their opening goal in the 5-0 victory in the World Cup qualifier against Serbia in Belgrade.
That extended his international tally to a record 74 goals for his country and his nine strikes for Bayern so far this term take his total since joining the Bundesliga club to an eye-popping 91 in 100 competitive matches.
That includes 11 in the Champions League and Kane can close in on the century by adding to the eight goals in 22 appearances he scored while facing Chelsea for Tottenham when the Premier League club visit the Allianz Arena for what promises to be the most pulsating of Champions League conflicts.
The Blues have yet to suffer defeat this term, thrashing West Ham 5-1 and beating Fulham 2-0 but they are the filling in the sandwich either side of draws with Crystal Palace and Brentford, having started the Premier League with four matches in the capital.
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Despite conceding just three goals in those outings the suspicion is Enzo Maresca’s team have a soft underbelly with their defence a tad below what is required to win the title.
It’s not just Kane who they have to shackle in Germany as Luis Diaz has has made a scintillating start to his career in Munich since his summer switch from Liverpool, scoring what proved to be the winner in that 2-1 Super Cup success against Stuttgart before finding the net in each of the three Bundesliga matches he has played in.
This is the fourth time the clubs have met since Chelsea beat Bayern to win their first Champions League final in 2012 but the Germans have triumphed in all three of their subsequent renewals and are 7/10 with Betway to add another victory to that list.
Given that Bayern are also a little shaky at the back and have given away goals in the three of those five matches so far this season it wouldn’t be amiss to also have a dabble on a home win and both teams to score which is 15/8 with bet365, BetVictor, Betway and Sky Bet.
A 3-1 Bayern success is 11/1 with bet365, Betfred, SpreadEx and Sporting Index while Kane is 15/4 with the former firm to score the first goal of the match and they go 10/11 he adds to his tally at any time.
Champions League odds
Liverpool are kings of the late, late show this season with all four victories being sealed in the last ten minutes of Premier League games against Bournemouth, Newcastle, Arsenal and Burnley as the defending champions sit proudly in pole position.
Arne Slot’s Reds, however, were less than impressive in Sunday’s 1-0 win over Burnley at Turf Moor when they required an injury-time penalty from Mohamed Salah to secure maximum points.
Next up are Atletico Madrid in a Champions League fixture at Anfield with the visitors possessing a strong reputation for having a watertight defence. That hasn’t been the case this term though as Saturday’s 2-0 win against Villarreal was the first time they have kept a clean sheet in four LaLiga outings – and also the first time they have won.
Liverpool began the campaign by letting in goals in their Community Shield defeat to Crystal Palace and in the top-flight to Bournemouth and Newcastle and a home win with both teams to score is 21/10 with bet365.
Hugo Ekitite has scored three times since his blockbuster move from Eintracht Frankfurt and is 23/5 with SpreadEx and Sporting Index to bang in the opener and 13/8 with BetMGM to hit the net at any time.
Greyhound odds
Magical Luka Modric scored his first goal for boyhood heroes AC Milan just days after his 40th birthday in the 1-0 win over Bologna at the San Siro as the Croatia superstar, who enjoyed a spellbinding career with Real Madrid, continues to shine on the biggest stages.
He also graced the Premier League with Tottenham and a greyhound named Magical Luka is currently breaking track records down the road from the home of the Europa League champions as he leaves his rivals toiling in his wake in the Romford Puppy Cup, clocking 23.43seconds to cover 400metres.
The London Road track will be packed to the rafters for Friday’s final when Kevin Hutton’s electrifying unbeaten runner bids to make it eight straight wins at the start of what looks like being a generational career. He’s just 1/8 with sponsors Coral to win the Puppy Cup and is already the 12/1 favourite with Ladbrokes, Coral and William Hill for next year’s English Greyhound Derby.
August ’23 litter brother Magical Major is currently tearing it up at Shelbourne Park in Dublin and is 15/8 with Paddy Power, Betfair, bet365 and Sky Bet to win the Irish Derby Plate while our ante-post selection Proper Heiress is through to Saturday’s semi-finals of the Irish Greyhound Derby where he faces a mouth-watering encounter with Cheap Sandwhiches after just beating his rival in a tit-for-tat thriller earlier in the competition.
