So, how much has really changed since last February when Real Madrid dominated City over two legs? Plenty, some might say, as the Bernabeu crew seems to be headed into crisis with rumors swirling that Zinedine Zidane might be brought back to replace beleaguered Xabi Alonso behind the bench. Still, not sure how much fundamentally has changed in ten months, as City looked slow as it tried to cope with Real Madrid's speed and Kylian Mbappe in particular; Mbappe (tops in the UCL with nine goals) is iffy on Wednesday, which opens the door for Vinicius, whose pace could prove more of an issue. Even with the distractions at the Bernabeu, matchups still look dicey for City. Play Real Madrid on ML

The first thing Borussia Dortmund did when getting the fixture list for the Champions League was sigh relief at this game vs. Bodo/Glimt taking place at Signal Iduna instead of inside the arctic circle. This might be one of the more entertaining matches on the Wednesday slate as Bodo has been throwing some haymakers since last season in Europe, with four of its five UCL matches featuring at least four goals. With only two draws to show for their efforts, the Norwegians are swimming upstream, but that makes for electricity vs. BVB, which has scored goals for sport in this competition, four times netting four goals in five outings, with Serhou Guirassy on the board twice vs. Villarreal two weeks ago. Play BVB-Bodo/Glimt Over

This might be the time to catch Monaco, as the principality side has won just one of five matches across the past month. The win was a doozy over PSG two weekends ago, but Sebastien Pocognoli’s men slumped back to a 1-0 loss against Brest last Friday. Recent inconsistency is best reflected in top scorer Ansu Fati, who hasn't scored a goal in over two months as ASM has dropped to mid-table in Ligue Un. Meanwhile, Gala is cruising on top of the Turkish League, and finally won on the road in the UCL November 5 at Ajax. Familiar names dot Okan Buruk's side, among them ex-Napoli Victor Osimhen, behind only Kylian Mbappe for goals in the Champs League with six. Play Gala on Spread

Sporting Lisbon's appearance in the top eight of the Champions League might be a surprise. Hot on the heels of Porto in the Portuguese Liga, Sporting is also unbeaten its last three Champs League matches, including wins over Marseille and Club Brugge, plus a draw sandwiched in between at Turin vs Juventus .Diminutive Colombian Luis Suarez has emerged as a livewire up front, with seven goals in his last nine. That might allow Sporting to at least chase omnipotent Bayern Munich, currently 3rd in the UCL table, but catching the Bundesliga leaders will be a chore as Harry Kane & Co have banged in 40 goals in league play (only Barcelona has more in Europe), plus another 15 in UCL. Play Bayern Munich-Sporting Lisbon Over

We can't say Xabi Alonso didn't know what he was getting into at Real Madrid; he of all people knew having featured for several years at the Bernabeu. But the demanding support base wants to see more and senses a disconnect between Alsonso and his troops, who had to scramble to a 2-2 draw vs. Elche on the weekend in Liga. One complaint is not using Vinicius enough, but there's also a gnarly Olympiacos to worry about on Wednesday in Athens, especially as the wily Jose Luis Mendilibar has taken points off of Real Madrid before while at Valladolid, Eibar, and Osasuna. This one stay close in Greece. Play Olympiacos on Spread

For the sake of Spurs fans, hoping Thomas Frank decides to do a bit more than on the weekend when Tottenham seemed almost content to hold down the scoreline vs. Arsenal. After a quick start this season, Frank is suddenly running afoul of the support base which can't seem to figure out what style of play Spurs are trying to implement; at least with Ange Postecoglu, Spurs fans knew what they were getting. Not the most promising scenario to head into the Parc des Princes, where holders PSG hold enough built-in advantages even before visiting managers decide it's no use. The pistons are firing for Luis Enrique, with PSG scoring three times in each of tis last two UCL outings. Play PSG on Spread

We know how it's going at Liverpool, in the completely wrong direction, especially in the EPL, where losses in six of seven have pushed Arne Slot's side into the bottom half of the table, and defense of the title now looking off the table. We don't have room to discuss Liverpool's many EPL ills...but those can seem to briefly go away in the Champions League, where the Reds recently saw off Real Madrid and are in a comfy qualifying position for the knockout phase. While not struggling as are fellow Eredivisie Ajax in this competition, PSV isn't tearing up the Champs League as it is at home, either, For one night, a chance for the misfiring Liverpool offense to get well. Play Liverpool on Spread

Arsenal has been rolling in the EPL, but as good as the Gunners have been, Bayern Munich is looking even a bit better, with a goal difference of +33 in the Bundesliga and rolling to four straight Champions League wins, seeing off Chelsea and PSG along the way. Harry Kane also returns to London; a longtime nemesis of Arsenal from days with Spurs, he's notched 15 career goals vs. the Gunners (six of those at the Emirates). Arsenal progressing just as nicely in this competition, but can't pass up this chance to back Bayern Munich, as we're not likely to see a price like this for a while. Looking ahead...will this be a preview of the final in Budapest? Play Bayern Munich on Spread (+0.25)

It's time for Marseille to make a move if L'Om want to make the next phase of the Champs League. Just three points from four matches has Marseille outside of the qualifiers for the KO phase, but Ligue Un form (second place) continues to be good, and romps past Brest and Nice in the last two (8-1 combined score) suggests the pistons are firing. Especially for controversial striker Mason Greenwood, once at Man U and familiar to the Toon but flourishing at the Velodrome and on pace to better his 21 goals last season. Newcastle is faring better in the Champs League than the EPL, and off a rousing win over Man City, but Eddie Howe has been feeling heat. Play Marseille on ML

As we suspect these two could blow by the 2.5 total on Wednesday, we might recommend a bit of shopping in the marketplace to see if any better prices are available on a total of 3. No matter, over is our preference mostly because BVB continues to score goals for fun (3-3 on the weekend vs. Stuttgart in Bundesliga action) and in the Champs League; 24 goals have been scored in tis four matches, and that's with lethal striker Serhou Guirassy barely registering (just one goal). Meanwhile, Villarreal is desperate for a result though its Liga form has been good, as vet Gerard Moreno (goals in two straight in Liga) seems to have relocated his scoring radar. Play BVB-Villarreal Over

This is the best price we could find on a Gala win but well worth the -141. Yes it's a matchup of leaders in both the Belgian Pro League and the Turkish Super League but in the Champs League thus far it's advantage Gala, sitting nicely on nine points and in ninth place, well inside of qualifying for the next stage and only tiebreakers from a top 8 spot and a first-round bye. Victor Osimhen leads all Champs League goalscorers with a blistering six but Gala features several who have featured in major Euro leagues, including Mauro Icardi and Leroy Sane. Meanwhile, USG has struggled in the Champs League, on just 3 points, its focus more it seems on domestic chores. Play Galatasaray on ML

Plus price on Gala win? Why not? This isn't Joihan Cryuff's Ajax, or even the Davids/Rijkaaard/Kluivert Ajax of the mid 90s...teams that actually won European Cups/Champions League. Ajax is running off of the pace in the Eredevisie and has been left in the gate in the UCL, losing (mostly heavily) in an 0-3 start. Galatasaray looks significantly more menacing, topping the Turkish League and off to a good start in the UCL, with real established European flavor (Mauro Icardi, Leroy Sane, Victor Osimhen) throughout the lineup. Winning on the road in Europe has been a challenge for Gala, but was good enough to beat Liverpool on Matchday 2. Winning in Amsterdam isn't the challenge it used to be. Play Gala on ML

A look at the Champs League table and we see Dortmund in a qualifying position for a bye past the first knockout phase, the result of scoring four goals in each of its first three UCL matches. Only PSG and Bayern Munich have matched this goal total in Europe thus far, so BVB has a puncher's chance if nothing else at the Etihad. Serhou Guirassy back on the scoresheet last Friday vs. Eintracht Frankfurt looms another potential plus. Of course Erling Haaland has been scoring goals for sport for City and should have an extra spring facing his old Dortmund team, but Pep Guardiola's side has failed to convince on several occasions this term, and extending the margin won't be easy. Play BVB on Spread

Not that Erling Haaland needs any extra motivation to score goals these days, but a chance to do some business vs. his old team (in this case Borussia Dortmund) in the Champions League at the Etihad) might put an extra spring in his step. Though it seems Haaland and no one else is doing the scoring for Man City these days (Haaland on 13 goals in the Prem; no one else more than one), that's usually enough for Pep Guardiola's side. Still, we expect Dortmund to chase this match, having displayed its own ability to erupt (four goals in each of its first two UCL matches), and the potent Serhou Guirassy back on the scoresheet last Friday vs. Eintracht Frankfurt. Play Man City-BVB Over

Juve has already been involved in a couple of wild Champs League clashes, draws vs. Borussia Dortmund (4-4) and Villarreal (2-2), so getting involved in another barnburner vs potent Sporting Lisbon in Turin looks a decent possibility. Last week's switch to Luciano Spalletti behind the bench seemed to unlock the Old Lady on the weekend, when Juve used a pair of strikers (Dusan Valhovic and Loïs Openda) and looked generally lively in the 2-1 win over Cremonese in Spalletti's debut. We know Sporting likes to attack, and with Juve likely to do the same, expect this scoreline to reach at least three later today. Play Juve-Sporting Lisbon Over