We’re down to the last day of the UEFA Champions League qualifying round. Two teams in a position to move on — PSV Eindhoven and Bayern Munich — will face off on Wednesday. All 36 teams are kicking off at 3:00 p.m. ET, meaning we’ll have a clear picture of the final 24 teams by the end of the afternoon.
Bayern is a -165 favorite to win on DraftKings Sportsbook while Eindhoven is at +400. There are +350 odds that the teams will split the points. Let’s get into a prediction and pick for Wednesday’s UEFA Champions League matchup.
PSV Eindhoven vs. Bayern Munich prediction, pick
The standings play a big role here, especially when it comes to Bayern Munich.
Bayern and Arsenal are the only two teams that have secured their spot in the Round of 16. This may be an opportunity for the Munich manager, Vincent Kompany, to rest some of his key players. Between their domestic duties and a robust start to the UCL campaign, perhaps this is their rare chance to deploy some deeper bench players in a competitive match.
Eindhoven has no such luxury. Sitting at 22nd in the table, they’re into the Round of 16 playoff on goal differential at the moment. But they’re walking a tightrope here, especially as the only thing that can absolutely secure their safety is a win. Tough luck for them having to play one of the best teams in Europe.
At the very least, PSV Eindhoven has the high-end talent to get this done. That’s led by central midfielder Joey Veerman, who has 18 goal involvements in 19 league matches as they roll through the Dutch Eredivisie. They have a good crop of young forwards and defensemen, plus experienced veterans like Ivan Perisic. And it’s likely that a few Bayern regulars will be seated for this contest.
I’m taking the value of Eindhoven here. They have all of the motivation, while Bayern have none. That is enough for me to close the gap and take a stab at the Dutch side to win.
