4% Over Bayer Leverkusen/Feyenoord (12:45 ET): Goals should come both early and often in this Champions League fixture Thursday afternoon. We all know Leverkusen’s exploits; the reigning Bundesliga champs not only ended Bayern Munich’s decade-long stranglehold in the German top flight, they also won the DFB Pokal. Incredibly, the only loss Leverkusen took all of last season - in any competition - was the Europa League Final against Atalantaa where they failed to add a third piece of hardware to their 2023-24 cabinet. Now we’ll see how Xabi Alonso’s side fares in Europe’s top competition. 

Feyenoord were runners-up in the Dutch Eredivisie last season, finishing second to PSV, despite actually accruing more points than their 2022-23 title winning campaign. This is no pushover, although last season they failed to advance out of the UCL Group Stage (finishing 3rd). It’s a new format this year, but the run of fixtures will not be easy for Feyenoord, who also drew Man City and Bayern Munich in this “league phase.” There’s also the matter that Arne Slot has left and is now running the show at Liverpool. But at least this UCL run starts on home soil, where Feyenoord have lost just once in the last 18 tries against European competition (14 wins). 

Leverkusen may have already lost one Bundesliga match (3-2 to Leipzig) but goals have clearly NOT been a problem with nine scored in three matches. But they’ve also yet to keep a clean sheet, conceding twice to Gladbach, three to Leipzig and one to Hoffenheim this past weekend. You also have to factor in Leverkusen’s “flair for the dramatic” as they always tend to find a late goal, which could be what we need here. Yet, considering Feyenoord have also not kept a clean sheet this season and played to a 4-4 score with PSV (before penalties) in the Johan Cruyff Shield, we probably don’t need to sweat stoppage time waiting for a fourth goal in this one. 4% Over Bayer Leverkusen/Feyenoord (Play at 3.0 or lower)