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Champions League matchday three storylines to follow

European meetings between English and Scottish clubs are always eagerly anticipated and Liverpool's clash with Rangers on Tuesday could be a cracker.

The Group A game on matchday three of the 2022/23 Champions League is the first competitive fixture between the Reds, champions of England on 19 occasions, and the Gers, who have won a record 55 Scottish league titles.

Liverpool have the superior European pedigree, having been crowned continental champions six times, most recently in 2019, but they have made a patchy start to the Premier League campaign.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst led Rangers to last season's Europa League final, which they lost on penalties to Eintracht Frankfurt, and his side will be desperate to put in a good performance at Anfield after chastening defeats to Ajax and Napoli in their first two group games.

Rangers aiming to rock out-of-form Reds

WhatLiverpool v Rangers
WhereAnfield, Liverpool, England
WhenTuesday 4th October, 2022, 20:00
How to watchBT Sport 2
OddsLiverpool 1/7, Draw 15/2, Rangers 14/1

Liverpool were thumped 4-1 by Napoli on matchday one of the 2022/23 Champions League and needed an 89th-minute goal from centre-back Joel Matip to see off Ajax 2-1 at Anfield last time out.

Manager Jurgen Klopp will be targeting six points from their next two games against Group A outsiders Rangers, who were beaten 4-0 at Ajax and 3-0 at home to Napoli on their return to the Champions League.

The Gers are 14/1 to silence Anfield with a victory on matchday three but scoring a goal will be their first objective as they failed to find the net in any of their last four Champions League meetings with English opponents.

All four of those matches were against Manchester United, who beat the Glasgow giants 1-0 and 3-0 in the 2003/04 group stage before a goalless draw at Old Trafford and a 1-0 United win at Ibrox in 2010/11.

Liverpool are 1/7 for victory on Tuesday and 10/11 to inflict Rangers' third straight defeat to nil in Group A but they have been struggling defensively and were held to a 3-3 draw by Brighton at Anfield on Saturday.

The Reds have scored the first goal in only two of their last 16 matches in all competitions. It is 4/1 that Rangers break the deadlock on Tuesday.

Barcelona expected to silence San Siro

WhatInter Milan v Barcelona
WhereSan Siro, Milan, Italy
WhenTuesday 4th October, 2022, 20:00
How to watchBT Sport 4
OddsInter Milan 7/2, Draw 14/5, Barcelona 4/5 

Bayern Munich are just 1/22 to rack up a third win out of three in Group C when they host Viktoria Plzen so Inter Milan's clash with Barcelona is a crucial fixture in the battle for qualification.

Both clubs have suffered 2-0 defeats to Bayern and beaten Czech outsiders Viktoria Plzen but Barca are 4/5 to claim a vital victory over 7/2 Inter at San Siro.

The Catalans are certainly in better form than their hosts as Saturday's 1-0 win at Mallorca was their sixth straight victory in Spain's Primera Liga. Robert Lewandowski scored the winner at the weekend - his ninth goal in those six league wins - and the Poland ace also claimed a hat-trick against Viktoria Plzen on matchday one.

Lewandowski is 3/1 to be first goalscorer against an Inter side that have lost four of their last six Serie A matches, against Lazio, AC Milan, Udinese and Roma.

The Nerazzurri have scored in all four of those defeats and backing Barcelona to win and both teams to score is worth considering at 9/4.

They were 2-1 winners in both group meetings with Inter in the 2019/20 Champions League and should be confident of troubling an unconvincing home defence on Tuesday.

Blues wary of evergreen old boy Giroud

WhatChelsea v AC Milan
WhereStamford Bridge, London, England
WhenWednesday 5th October, 2022, 20:00
How to watchBT Sport 2
OddsChelsea 7/10, Draw 14/5, AC Milan 4/1

Graham Potter earned his first win as Chelsea manager on Saturday as a late strike from youngster Conor Gallagher gave the Blues a nervy 2-1 Premier League victory at Crystal Palace.

The pressure is on Potter's men to pick up another three points in the Champions League on Wednesday, having started their campaign with a 1-0 loss at Dinamo Zagreb and a 1-1 draw at home to FC Salzburg.

Chelsea's 22-year-old midfielder Gallagher will be hoping for another chance to impress when the 7/10 hosts face Italian champions and group leaders AC Milan, who are 4/1 to inflict a damaging defeat on the Londoners.

And Potter will be wary of a player at the other end of his career to Gallagher - former Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud, who celebrated his 36th birthday last week but remains a key man for Milan.

Giroud helped the Rossoneri win Serie A last season and has scored six times in his last ten appearances for club and country, bagging his 49th international goal in France's Nations League win over Austria last month.

The evergreen forward scored the opening goal for Chelsea against Arsenal, another of his former clubs, in the 2018/19 Europa League final and is 7/1 to break the deadlock on his return to Stamford Bridge.

Real Madrid hope to avoid another Shakhtar shock

WhatReal Madrid v Shakhtar Donetsk
WhereSantiago Bernabeu Stadium, Madrid, Spain
WhenWednesday 5th October, 2022, 20:00
How to watchBT Sport 6
OddsReal Madrid 2/11, Draw 7/1, Shakhtar Donetsk 11/1 

European champions Real Madrid suffered their first setback of the season on Sunday as Karim Benzema missed a penalty in a 1-1 home draw with Osasuna in the Primera Liga.

Before that, Carlo Ancelotti's men had won nine games out of nine in all competitions but Real will not be taking Wednesday's Group F visitors Shakhtar Donetsk lightly.

The clubs have been drawn against each other in the Champions League group stage for the third season running and 11/1 Shakhtar have proved they can mix it with the top teams in Europe.

They claimed a thrilling 3-2 win against Real in Madrid in October 2020, after leading 3-0 at half-time, and also competed well in last season's 2-1 loss at the Bernabeu.

The Ukrainians have already pulled off a massive shock this season, thumping RB Leipzig 4-1 in Germany on matchday one when 21-year-old winger Mykhaylo Mudryk was among their goalscorers.

The highly-rated youngster also notched in the 1-1 draw with Celtic on matchday two and Mudryk is 11/1 to score at anytime as Shakhtar target another memorable visit to Madrid.

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