The Champions League group stage gets underway on Tuesday with holders Manchester City among the big guns hoping to get three points on the board straight away.
- Manchester City & Under 3.5 goals vs Red Star Belgrade
- Tie or Shakhtar Double Chance vs Porto
- AC Milan to beat Newcastle United
- Barcelona & Over 2.5 goals vs Antwerp
WATCH IN THE ZONE - JASON ROBINSON
Manchester City vs Red Star Belgrade
Reigning champions and Group G heavyweights Manchester City kick off their 2023/24 Champions League campaign with, in theory, the ideal contest.
Red Star Belgrade, once a force in Europe themselves, are expected to play second fiddle to City and RB Leipzig in the group and few are predicting the Serbs can put a halt in City's fine start to the season.
But while City, who have won five out of five in the Premier League, ought to make light work of the Serbs, it may not pay to predict a hammering.
Red Star are champions of Serbia which may not be as strong as England's top flight but deserves respect and Pep Guardiola is missing a number of key players, including Kevin De Bruyne, John Stones and Jack Grealish.
Expect a City win but not necessarily a hiding with Red Star able to limit the damage.
MANCHESTER CITY & UNDER 3.5 GOALS
Shakhtar Donetsk vs Porto
Shakhtar have made their customary trip overseas for a "home" Champions League tie, this time embarking on Hamburg for their Group H opener against Porto.
Playing effectively on a neutral ground and no longer the force of old, the Miners are not being handed much of a chance.
Yet this tie seems to set up nicely. Several of the Ukraine team who performed admirably against both England and Italy in the international break earn their corn with Shakhtar, who boast plenty of experience in the shape of Taras Stepanenko, Yaroslav Rakitskiyi and others alongside a batch of talented youngsters.
They are flying at the top of the Premier League and will have clocked Porto have yet to produce a decent performance this season and have picked up injuries to key men like Evanilson and Ivan Marcano.
TIE OR SHAKHTAR DONETSK DOUBLE CHANCE
AC Milan vs Newcastle United
Newcastle's return to Champions League is a fascinating trip to AC Milan, who have a point to prove after Saturday's calamitous 5-1 drubbing by Inter at the San Siro.
Inter, of course, are last season's Champions League runners-up and this season's Serie A leaders so are hardly a poor side.
And you would expect Stefano Piolo's side to improve on that, which looks more like a blip given they had started their season with three wins out of three.
Newcastle got back to winning ways in the Premier League on Saturday night with a hard-fought 1-0 success over Brentford but this is new territory against seasoned European challengers and the hosts gets the nod.
Barcelona vs Antwerp
Barcelona, with impeccable timing, turned on the taps at the weekend, just in time to give Group H opponents Antwerp plenty of food for thought.
Barca crushed Betis 5-0 with Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres each on the scoresheet, the two both having three goals for the season.
This is new territory for Antwerp, a side full of goals – they have scored 15 in their last six – and they can play their part in an entertaining affair which the Spanish giants should win.
