Champions League Predictions & Best Bets Today 21/01/2025

For the first time since being put to bed back in early December, the UEFA Champions League is back, with games in Europe’s premier footballing competition due to be played on both Tuesday and Wednesday.

As we often do ahead of such occasions, we’re here to try and pinpoint some of the best betting opportunities ahead of Tuesday’s UCL games. Read on for our free Champions League predictions and best bets.

Champions League predictions for today

Each of the games featured in this article will be played on 21/01/2025, with the first kicking off at 17:45 GMT, before the second game takes place at 20:00 GMT.

Ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League games, two player bets stand out from a value point of view.

Monaco vs Aston Villa - Lamine Camara to Receive a Card

We’ll start with one of the early kick-offs. Monaco and Aston Villa are due to clash at Stade Louis II, where the principality side will be looking to ensure that they stay in a relatively healthy position in terms of qualifying for the knockouts, which is exactly what the visitors already have.

As Unai Emery’s men are in a more favourable position regarding the league-phase table, I think we can expect them to go to Monaco with frustration in mind, so don’t be surprised to see one or two of the home-team players getting riled up.

One player who struggles to avoid referee attention at the best of times is youngster Lamine Camara, who is far from scared to put himself about in the middle of the park.

Tenacious, tough in the tackle and clearly hugely talented, the 21-year-old French midfielder has found it tough to toe the line this season, receiving seven bookings. He’s averaging 0.56 yellow per 90 minutes. I’m not quite sure odds of 14/5 reflect this.

Let’s face it, Camara is a player who typically gets booked in big games, picking up cards this season against PSG, Nice and Lyon in Ligue 1, as well as against Bologna and Barcelona in the Champions League. Given the odds, that’ll do for me.

Atletico Madrid vs Bayer Leverkusen - Edmond Tapsoba to Receive a Card

As Atletico and Leverkusen clash in the Spanish capital of Madrid, I’m interested in visiting defender Edmond Tapsoba, who like Camara above, looks generously priced to go into the referee’s book.

For starters, only one Leverkusen player has made more fouls than Tapsoba this season, while the Burkina Faso international has developed a habit of struggling to stay out of trouble in the big games, and this is definitely a big game.

Away against Gladbach earlier in the season, the defender made three fouls, while he’s also made multiple fouls against the likes of Leipzig, whom he was booked against, Bremen, Liverpool, Bayern (booked) and Dortmund (booked), so I really would not be surprised

Given what we know about Tapsoba, and given the hostile environment that teams find themselves faced with at the Metropolitano, with the hosts known as a side adept at winding up opposition players, 4/1 looks far too big.

Recap - Champions League best bets for 21/01/2025

Here’s a quick recap of Tuesday’s Champions League bets:

Monaco vs Aston Villa - Lamine Camara to Receive a Card @ 14/5 with BoyleSports

Atletico Madrid vs Bayer Leverkusen - Edmond Tapsoba to Receive a Card @ 4/1 with BoyleSports

Before betting on the UEFA Champions League, we urge you to ensure that you're using a safe and secure betting site, which you can find by checking out our list of the best sports betting sites.