Champions League Best Bets for Thursday, September 18: Picks & Predictions
The first week of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League wraps up Thursday with four more matches, capping an action-packed Matchday 1. After plenty of drama in Tuesday and Wednesday's slates, bettors now turn their attention to marquee fixtures such as Manchester City hosting Napoli and Barcelona's trip to St. James' Park.
Below, I break down my four best bets for Thursday's action, including picks for Frankfurt vs. Galatasaray, Man City vs. Napoli, Newcastle vs. Barcelona, and Sporting CP vs. Kairat Almaty.
UEFA Champions League Best Bets for Galatasaray at Eintracht Frankfurt
Over 3.5 total goals +120
All signs point to this matchup in Germany being a goalfest. When analyzing Frankfurt's start to the season, they suffered a 3-1 loss to Leverkusen in the Bundesliga over the weekend, but each of their last six matches across all competitions has registered at least four total goals. Plus, with both teams scoring in the second half in the last three, a slow start isn't necessarily equal to few goals.
Galatasaray can't be overlooked when it comes to goals, and the Turkish giants have scored at least two goals in each of their five competitive matches in 2025/26, setting up the stage nicely for this game to hit the over. All but one of their 12 matches in European competitions in 2024/25 saw both teams finding the back of the net, so there's good value in this play.
UCL Anytime Goalscorer Bet for Napoli at Manchester City
Erling Haaland to score first goal +300
Haaland is enjoying an excellent start to the 2025/26 season and is on fire after netting a brace in the derby against Manchester United this past weekend. The Norwegian striker has five of Manchester City's eight goals and has broken the deadlock in the team's two wins against Wolverhampton and Man United.
Knowing that Napoli will probably sit back a bit more than in Serie A, City will need their attacking talents to be at their best. None is more critical than Haaland, and Pep Guardiola's men will rely on their star forward to break the deadlock once again.
UEFA Champions League Best Bets for FC Barcelona at Newcastle United
FC Barcelona to win +140
Barcelona endured some heavy criticism earlier in the season after a couple of subpar displays, mainly the 3-2 comeback win over Levante and the 1-1 draw against Rayo Vallecano just before the international break.
However, Hansi Flick's men flipped the switch and destroyed Valencia in a 6-0 thrashing despite the absence of Lamine Yamal (groin) and without Robert Lewandowski in the XI. Yamal won't be available to play Thursday, and Lewandowski's status as a starter is uncertain, but Barcelona are still slight favorites against a Newcastle United side that has yet to reach its peak form.
Despite securing their first win of the 2025/26 season last weekend, Newcastle have struggled to perform at a high level consistently throughout an entire match. Barcelona won't let any opportunities slip away, and Los Blaugranas should have enough quality to steal the three points away from St. James' Park.
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Kairat Almaty at Sporting CP Betting Odds & Best Bet
Sporting -2.5 spread -130
Kairat Almaty will play in the league/group phase of the UEFA Champions League for the first time in club history Thursday. However, they'll be facing a complicated debut against Sporting CP in Portugal. Sporting enter this game having won four of their competitive six fixtures this season (L2).
Considering the losses came against Benfica and FC Porto, they should feel good about their chances of getting a positive result. Three of those four wins have come by a margin of two or more goals, and it's feasible to think they can do that against Kairat, as well.
Aside from being inexperienced at this level, Kairat's traveling schedule (almost 5,400 miles between Almaty and Lisbon) should conspire against them. Expect the Portuguese side to cruise to an easy win by a multiple-goal margin.
Champions League Betting Picks Thursday, September 18
- Over 3.5 total goals in Eintracht Frankfurt vs. Galatasaray +120
- Erling Haaland to score first goal in Manchester City vs. Napoli +300
- FC Barcelona to win vs. Newcastle United +140
- Sporting CP to win over Kairat Almaty with -2 handicap -133
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