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The opening night of the 2025/26 Champions League league phase on Tuesday boasts a blockbuster fixture card, with a handful of European giants in action.
Athletic Bilbao entertain Arsenal and PSV clash with Union Saint-Gilloise in the early kick-off slot of 17:45, before four further fixtures get underway at 20:00.
Villarreal travel to the home of reigning Europa League champions Tottenham Hotspur and fellow La Liga outfit Real Madrid host Marseille at the Bernabéu.
The potential tie of the night sees Borussia Dortmund challenge Italian heavyweights Juventus in Turin, while Benfica will be expecting to claim all three points against underdogs Qarabağ in the Portuguese capital.
We’ve crunched the stats to provide you with a set of data-driven betting tips, investing our focus in several of Tuesday’s marquee Champions League fixtures.
These selections can be combined to create an enticing 16/1 acca, but also stand alone as four good value individual bets.
Tuesday Champions League accumulator selections
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Athletic Bilbao vs. Arsenal – Draw @ 5/2
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Real Madrid vs. Marseille – Real Madrid HT/FT @ 10/11
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Juventus vs. Borussia Dortmund – Juventus or Draw @ 30/100
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Tottenham Hotspur vs. Villarreal – Under 2.5 goals @ 1/1
Acca pays @ 16.37/1
Athletic Bilbao vs. Arsenal – Draw @ 5/2
Although the bookmakers have unsurprisingly installed Arsenal as favourites for this tie, Athletic Bilbao come with a strong European pedigree.
Ernesto Valverde’s men won six of their seven continental fixtures at the San Mamés last term, which helped them progress to the Europa League semi-finals.
Furthermore, the Basque outfit have only lost two of their previous 10 European contests against English sides.
If they do triumph in Bilbao on Tuesday evening, the Gunners will be the first English side to beat Spanish opposition on six consecutive occasions, having added to that sequence with victories over Girona and Real Madrid (twice) during the 2024/25 campaign.
Could these in-form opponents cancel each other out?
Real Madrid vs. Marseille – Real Madrid HT/FT @ 10/11
Despite hammering Lorient at the weekend, Marseille will head into Tuesday night’s tie with an understandable sense of trepidation.
Les Olympiens have lost all four Champions League meetings with Real Madrid, only suffering more defeats in Europe’s top-tier club competition to Portuguese big-hitters FC Porto.
In contrast, the most successful club in Champions League history have never been beaten by French opposition on home soil, while managing to find the net in all 15 fixtures in this sequence.
Los Blancos will also be buoyed by their impressive domestic form, having raced to the La Liga summit in the opening weeks of the new season.
Juventus vs. Borussia Dortmund – Juventus or Draw @ 30/100
This will be the tenth competitive clash between Juventus and Borussia Dortmund, with Tuesday’s hosts enjoying the superior head-to-head record.
Moreover, the Bianconeri have never lost when playing their opening Champions League fixture in Turin, registering 11 wins and three draws on such occasions.
Although the omens look positive for Juve, they’ll need to find a way to contain Dortmund dangerman Serhou Guirassy.
The Guinea striker concluded last season’s Champions League as joint top scorer, netting an eye-watering 13 goals in his 14 appearances.
Expect the Old Lady to eventually emerge victorious in what promises to be a pulsating tie.
Tottenham Hotspur vs. Villarreal – Under 2.5 goals @ 1/1
With both sides desperate not to drop points on their return to the top table of European football, we may be in for a cagey affair in North London.
A colossal 42% of Tottenham’s Champions League (following its rebrand in 1992) goals have come courtesy of legendary duo Harry Kane and Son Heung-min, who have both moved on to pastures new.
Richarlison is the only player in the current Spurs squad to have netted more than once in UEFA’s flagship competition – both of the Brazilian’s goals came against Marseille in September 2022.
Villarreal have tightened up last season’s leaky defence, shipping just three goals in their opening four La Liga fixtures this term, two of which were conceded at the Metropolitano in a 2-0 loss to Atletico Madrid on Saturday evening.
