Football accumulator tips: Champions League betting picks for Tuesday’s fixtures

We’ve reached the third qualifying round of the Champions League, with clubs now bidding to make the play-offs to have a shot at making the group stage of the competition. 

We have six ties that comprise the Champions Path, while a further two spots are available in the play-offs through the League Path.

Our selections are all first leg encounters and a £10 stake on the below four teams to win currently returns £66.85 with Bet365 if successful.

• Rakow Czestochowa v Aris Limassol
• PSV v Sturm Graz
• KI Klaksvik v Molde
• Olimpija Ljubljana v Galatasaray

Leg 1: Rakow Czestochowa to beat Aris Limassol

Rakow Czestochowa might not be a household name outside of Poland, but the Medallions were the Ekstraklasa champions last season having finished nine points clear of Legia Warsaw. 

There could be more to come from Dawid Szwarga’s side this season and they managed to overcome Qarabag in the previous round when triumphing 4-3 on aggregate, with this coming after a facile passage at the hands of Flora. 

The Miejski Stadion Piłkarski "Raków" is only a small stadium but the hosts will hope to use it to good advantage when they clash with Cypriot opponents who enjoyed a high-scoring triumph over BATE Borisov in the previous round.

The champions of Cyprus claimed a 6-2 win in the first leg before winning 5-3 in the reverse fixture, although this is now a step up in class for Aleksey Shpilevsky’s side who might be found wanting against tough opposition.

Football betting sites favour a home win but the odds are quite inviting so it should give your accumulator a boost. 

Leg 2: PSV to beat Sturm Graz

PSV are the shortest-priced team in our accumulator but we think that the Eredivisie outfit are likely to claim a comfortable win against Austrian opposition.

Peter Bosz is an experienced coach who recently arrived at Eindhoven, with the Dutchman having previously presided over Ajax, Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen and Lyon. He will hope that this is a more lasting position than his last role in France.

PSV were very strong on home soil last term, claiming 14 wins from their 17 clashes at the Philips Stadion and scored 54 goals in the process. It’s easy to see them beating a Sturm Graz team who finished second in the Austrian Bundesliga last season, a lower domestic level.

A home win is around 5/9 on betting sites but it’s probably the selection we’re most confident in.

Leg 3: Molde to beat KI Klaksvik

Molde will feel fairly happy with the Champions League third round draw which pits them against opponents from the Faroe Islands. It’s arguably the easiest opponents that the Norwegian Eliteserien outfit could have received and they are expected to establish a first-leg lead.

Erling Moe’s side are strong favourites to land a victory at Við Djúpumýrar, with Molde having recovered from losing to HJK in the first leg of the previous round to claim a 2-1 aggregate win over Finnish opposition.

KI Klaksvik have made it through two qualifying rounds to reach this stage, overcoming Hungarian side Ferencvaros in the first phase before an exciting 3-3 draw away to Swedish side FC Hacken after the first leg had been goalless.

The Faroese team were then able to prosper on penalties but their shortcomings could be exposed here against stronger opposition.

Leg 4: Galatasaray to beat Olimpija Ljubljana

Galatasaray have enjoyed plenty of European success during their history and they are now bidding to return to the big time. The Turkish side overcame Lithuanian club Zalgiris in the previous round, drawing the first leg 2-2 before enjoying a 1-0 home win to seal their passage and they are strong favourites to make the play-offs.

Okan Buruk’s side were the Super Lig champions last season and they will aim to get on the front foot at Stožice Stadium as they did in the away leg of the previous tie. New signing Wilfried Zaha could be too hot to handle for a Slovenian side who won their domestic league last term.

There was a slender win for the home side in the previous round when overcoming Ludogorets Razgrad, although they have conceded goals in all four of their Champions League matches played to date.