Tuesday Accumulator: Barcelona to continue recent revival, plus five other games

Lee Bassin
22 November 2021

Barcelona already look a different side under new coach Xavi and can defeat Benfica, while Bayern Munich should seal top spot in Group G with victory in Kyiv.

The stakes are getting higher as we reach the penultimate round of Champions League group stage match-ups, and we've put together a list of six bets you can pick from for your latest accumulator.

Barcelona vs Benfica

A 1-0 derby win over Espanyol was a dream start for new Barcelona coach Xavi and a turbulent season for the Catalan giants is finally taking a turn for the better as they are now unbeaten in four games.

However, Xavi's first European match as Barcelona boss is a real baptism of fire as their game against Benfica will go a long way towards deciding who secures second spot in Group E and who drops into the Europa League.

After two losses to open their Champions League campaign it looked like Barca would not even reach this point, but a couple of games against struggling Dynamo Kyiv came at a great time and a pair of 1-0 wins have lifted them into second place in the table.

Since beating Barca 3-0 in the reverse fixture Benfica have been trending in the opposite direction, having lost twice to Bayern Munich by an aggregate score of 9-2 and winning just two out of six games in the Portuguese top flight.

In a season full of low moments, Barcelona's loss to Benfica was one of their worst defeats and the hosts will have the extra motivation of putting that right, and with bigger prices to come later in our acca we're happy with a conservative bet on the home win.

Dynamo Kyiv vs Bayern Munich

The German giants have already qualified for the last 16 and need just a point to guarantee top spot, but we reckon they will secure all three comfortably against a Dynamo side rooted to the bottom of Group E and yet to score a single goal in five group games.

Bayern have netted 17 goals in their five group matches and steamrollered the Ukrainians 5-0 in the reverse fixture. And even more ominously for the hosts, Bayern are coming off the back of a shock Bundesliga loss at Augsburg and will be keen to get back to winning ways.

With no value in 2/9 on the away win we're looking at the handicap markets, and Bayern -1 will do for us as the next addition to our acca.

Lille vs Red Bull Salzburg

Salzburg top the Group G table by two points and know that a win here will seal qualification for the last 16, but the Austrians will be looking nervously over their shoulders after losing 2-1 at Wolfsburg in their previous group game.

On the same night Lille defeated Sevilla to climb into second place and if they can avenge a 2-1 defeat to Salzburg earlier in the campaign it may well be the French champions who head into the final round of group matches in top spot.

The only problem for Lille is that they have lost the winning habit in their last two games, drawing at home to Angers and away to Monaco. Looking further back, their win over Sevilla was the only victory Les Dogues have enjoyed in their last seven matches.

Salzburg's record is one of the best in Europe with a remarkable 17 wins, four draws and just that one loss against Wolfsburg in all competitions this season. And, with a tasty price on offer we're happy to roll with Red Bull once again.

Sevilla vs Wolfsburg

They may be propping up the table but with just four points separating top and bottom in Group G, Sevilla still harbour hopes of coming out on top. However, to achieve that they will have to do something they failed to do in the reverse fixture and defeat Wolfsburg.

That match ended 1-1 in Germany and the visitors were fortunate to escape with a point after looking second-best for most of the game, but benefitting from a controversial penalty award in the 87th minute to escape with a draw.

Wolfsburg will not have forgotten that match and will relish the opportunity to end Sevilla's Champions League campaign while at the same time strengthening their own qualification hopes.

And they are in decent form too with three wins and a draw from their last four matches. However, the hosts are also in good nick with four wins and two draws from their last six games, so we're backing both teams to score in another tight encounter.

Young Boys vs Atalanta

With one or both of Manchester United and Villarreal guaranteed to drop points, a win for either side here would be a real shot in the arm to their hopes of qualifying for the last 16.

However, the problem for the hosts is they have lost three Group F games on the bounce since beating Man United in September, and if this season has taught us anything it's that beating the Red Devils is not the accolade it once was!

One of those defeats was a 1-0 reverse at the Italians. And it's hard to see anything but a repeat of that result with Atalanta fourth in Serie A, unbeaten in their last six matches and scoring at a rate of over two goals a game in that period.

Young Boys have lost four out of their last six. And with the visitors having won five, drawn two and lost just one of their away games in all competitions this season, at a shade less than evens Atalanta look like the value bet of the night to us.

Malmo vs Zenit St Petersburg

It was always going to be tough for these two sides after they were paired with Juventus and Chelsea, and so it has proved with both teams left fighting for nothing more than a Europa League berth as we head into the last two Group H matches.

Zenit will seal third spot if they can avoid defeat in Sweden, and the Russians will fancy their chances after hammering Malmo 4-0 earlier in the campaign and winning 5-1 in their last domestic encounter.

And while the Swedes may be top of the league back home, they have looked out of their depth in the Champions League, with the worst record in the Group Stage after four losses, 12 goals conceded and none scored!

However, a 1-0 loss at home to Chelsea in their last Group H encounter will have given the hosts hope that they can get a positive result.

And with home advantage once again we have a sneaky feeling that Young Boys may have saved the best for last in their final Champions League home game of 2021. So we're going for both teams to score for the final leg of our Tuesday night acca.