The 2024/25 season has started across the majority of the European leagues, meaning plenty of football is taking place across a variety of countries and competitions.
The EFL Cup is one of those competitions set to begin in the coming days, while the UEFA Champions League continues with its third qualifying round second leg matches, moving ever closer to the newly revamped league phase.
In this article, we’re going to take a closer look at a selection of matches from these two competitions and pick out our top tips and best booking codes:
Twente vs Salzburg
Salzburg went into the first leg at their home ground as the favourite to progress through the tie, and they certainly showed their dominance in the game with 66% possession and 14 shots to Twente’s six. However, Twente were able to stay in the tie thanks to a 90th-minute goal from Michel Vlap, leaving them just one behind going into the second leg at their home ground.
While Twente will have the home advantage and are likely to have more of the ball and create more of an attacking threat, Salzburg still have the better quality throughout their side and have much more experience of competing in European competitions.
Because of those factors, we believe Salzburg will win this one and book their place in the next round.
Salzburg to win, 2.57 (at time of writing)
Fenerbahce Istanbul vs Lille
Fenerbahce went into the first leg in France as the underdogs, but under the management of Jose Mourinho, who has vast knowledge and expertise in European football, the Turkish side came within minutes of securing a fantastic draw.
Edon Zhegrova scored a 91st-minute winner for Lille to take into the away leg, but Fenerbahce are likely to be confident after a solid display in their away leg as they prepare to play host in the second match.
The Turkish side lost one league game at their home ground throughout the entirety of last season, while they have only lost one of their last 19 matches at home across all competitions. With this, we believe that Fenerbahce will dominate the second leg and manage to get back into the game, and with Mourinho’s trickery at play, we believe the Turkish side will qualify for the next round.
Fenerbahce Istanbul to qualify, 2.25
Cardiff City vs Bristol Rovers
EFL Championship side Cardiff City will host Bristol Rovers in the first round of this season’s EFL Cup, and the Welsh team are major favourites to progress into the next round.
Despite losing their opening game of the season, Cardiff will have both the home advantage and the benefit of a much stronger and more talented squad than their lower-league visitors on Tuesday. With talents such as Aaron Ramsey, Anwar El Ghazi and Calum Chambers, three players that have proven themselves in the English Premier League throughout their careers, Cardiff should win this one comfortably against Bristol Rovers, a side that finished in the middle of the table in League One last season.
Cardiff City to win by 2, 5.20 (90 minutes only)
Portsmouth vs Millwall
Two Championship sides that appear fairly evenly matched come together in this EFL Cup round one fixture, with newly-promoted Portsmouth hosting Millwall.
Despite being newly promoted into the Championship for the first time since 2011/12, Portsmouth are widely expected to avoid relegation this campaign, with some even tipping them to push higher up the table. They showed their quality in their first Championship outing at the weekend, keeping Leeds United, one of the favourites to win the title, to a highly entertaining 3-3 draw.
Millwall are also expected to survive relegation this year and have been given a narrow chance at earning a shock promotion, but they failed to get off to an ideal start as they were narrowly defeated by Watford in their league opener.
While Millwall have won three of the last five meetings between the two sides, including a 2-1 win in the first round of this competition in 2021, we believe that Portsmouth will continue their positive start to 2024/25 with a win here.
Portsmouth to win, 2.78
Mega Odds Booking Code: 6WRRQ3S
EFL Cup: 6WRS6QR
UCL: 6WRSFTW
