Best bets: Champions League and Championship tips for 20 January 2026

Football betting tips: Champions League & EFL

20:00 – Olympiacos vs Bayer Leverkusen

0.5pt Alejandro Grimaldo to be carded at 6/1 (Betvictor)

20:00 – Villarreal vs Ajax

2pts Kasper Dolberg 2+ fouls committed at 11/10 (bet365)

Sky Bet odds | Paddy Power | Betfair

Olympiacos vs Bayer Leverkusen

James Cantrill

Four points and eight places separate these two. Olympiacos are still within striking distance of the top 24 and Bayer Leverkusen still have a slim chance of finishing in the top eight.

So, this could be a bit of a ding-dong.

The hosts have averaged 1.83 cards a game, the visitors average two and with a good referee, there could be a few flashed on Tuesday.

Italian referee Maurizio Mariani has the whistle and he has averaged 4.5 cards per game in the Champions League across his career, dishing out 15Y and 1R cards in three games this term.

At 6/1 ALEJANDRO GRIMALDO’s price TO BE CARDED appeals.

He has picked up four cards in 19 appearances this season and will be opposing Gelson Martins for Olympiacos who has drawn 2.6 fouls per game and one card in the Champions League this season.

Villarreal vs Ajax

Jake Osgathorpe

It’s second-bottom versus third bottom as Villarreal meet Ajax at La Ceramica on Tuesday, and while neither team can make the top 24, there is still a whole lot of money to play for, with a victory worth €2.1 million in the league phase.

Expect both sides to be at it here, and at the prices we’ll take Ajax striker KASPER DOLBERG TO COMMIT 2+ FOULS.

Since moving back to the club that produced him, he’s averaged a huge 2.45 fouls per 90, with this bet landing in four of his six starts across all competitions.

At 11/10, he’s worth backing to rack up a tally once again.

Already advised

17:45 – Bodo/Glimt vs Man City

1.5pts Kasper Hogh 1+ shot on target at 6/4 (bet365)

19:45 – Preston vs Hull

1pt Matt Crooks to be carded at 9/4 (Sky Bet)

1pt Jordan Thompson to be carded at 10/3 (Sky Bet)

19:45 – West Brom vs Norwich

1pt Norwich win (Draw No Bet) at 2/1 (General)

19:45 – Sheffield Wednesday vs Birmingham

2pts Birmingham to score 3+ goals at 2/1 (General)

1pt Birmingham to score 5+ goals at 16/1 (Sky Bet)

Bodo/Glimt vs Manchester City

Jake Osgathorpe

Bodo/Glimt have goals in them, especially on their plastic pitch in Norway which is in the arctic circle. Visiting Manchester City, reeling from derby-day defeat, will have to deal with the change in playing surface and sub-zero temperatures on Tuesday, as well as a continuing defensive personnel crisis.

Pep Guardiola is still without Ruben Dias, Josko Gvardiol and John Stones at the back, while new signing Antoine Semenyo is ineligible just yet, Bernardo Silva is suspended and Nico Gonzalez and Matheus Nunes are questionable through injuries.

The hosts should have some joy in attack then, and Bodo striker KASPER HOGH looks overpriced at 6/4 to have 1+ SHOT ON TARGET.

He’s yet to score in the Champions League this season but that’s not because he’s not getting chances, with the Norwegian striker on the end of 2.85 xG at an average of 0.57 per 90.

Hogh has taken 1.00 shots on target per 90 in this competition, and 1.57 per 90 in the 2025 Eliteserien, so can test City’s stopper here.

He’s only 23/10 to score anytime which is not a big enough jump from the shot on target price to take instead, as not only has he been a tad wasteful in the Champions League, but the Norwegian side haven’t played a competitive game since December, so he could be a tad rusty in finishing too.

Preston vs Hull

James Cantrill

This clash should be a good ‘un as fifth heads to sixth in the Championship.

Good news for card backers as it also sees two card happy teams square off under the watch of a card happy referee.

Stephen Martin is the man in the middle at DeepDale and he has averaged 4.38 yellow cards per game this season.

Preston rank fifth for ill-discipline with 56Y and 1R and visitors Hull are second with 62Y.

The Tigers have the joint-third most carded player and his price TO BE CARDED appeals.

MATT CROOKS has picked up nine cards already this season putting him on track to trump his most cynical season (16Y 1R).

With a career card per 90 average of 0.37, quotes of 9/4 are too big on Tuesday.

Crooks could be up against JORDAN THOMPSON in the middle of the part.

Thompson’s picked up 25 cards across his last 63 appearances in the Championship and has a career cards per 90 average of 0.33.

At 10/3, his price to be booked is too big.

West Brom vs Norwich

Joe Townsend

It was a dramatic but ultimately underwhelming start to life as West Brom boss for Eric Ramsey on Friday, as his side fought back from 2-0 down at home to Middlesbrough only to lose in stoppage time.

Before Isaac Price’s 75th-minute free-kick Albion had showed few encouraging signs, appearing to struggle with a new formation (3-4-3 / 5-4-1) that saw Ramsey shoehorning several players into awkward, unfamiliar positions.

Although Boro required a Charlie Taylor own goal to go ahead initially, it was all too easy for Kim Hellberg’s side for the majority of the match, with them more than deserving of the away win.

NORWICH will arrive at The Hawthorns in high spirits as their improvement under Philippe Clement (W5 D3 L4) continued on Saturday, ending Wrexham’s four-match winning and 10-game unbeaten home runs.

They’re now within a point of escaping the Championship relegation zone and will be just a point behind Tuesday’s opponents should they WIN.

It must be acknowledged that West Brom remain a decent enough home team (W6 D4 L3) but even under former boss Liam Manning Norwich’s best results this season have come on their travels, with 17 of their 27 points collected away from Carrow Road.

They are drawn two, won two over their last four, and at 2/1 DRAW NO BET they should be backed to continue that form against the odds-on Baggies.

Sheffield Wednesday vs Birmingham

Tom Carnduff

Teams should no longer be viewing a trip to Hillsborough as a great chance for three points, they must be eyeing up an improvement to the goal difference too.

The Owls’ dismal season continued at the weekend and they sit rock bottom of the Sky Bet Championship table on -7 – 35 points adrift of safety.

They’ve conceded 30 in 14 outings in front of their own supporters but an already thin squad is now being hit with an injury crisis and Henrik Pedersen has a real task on his hands fielding a somewhat competitive side.

Yisa Alao and Sean Fusire are the latest on the list according to reports from the local media and they join Di’Shon Bernard, George Brown, Nathaniel Chalobah, Pierce Charles, Liam Cooper, Dominic Iorfa, Max Lowe, Iké Ugbo and Ernie Weaver on the sidelines.

Goalkeeper Murphy Cooper is now in to try and ease the issues in that department but that comes following a mixed spell at Barnsley in League One and the attacking options of Birmingham should be fancying their chances of bumping up their own personal numbers.

Bookmakers go 2/1 on BIRMINGHAM 3+ GOALS and 16/1 on 5+ GOALS – I’m taking both at varying stakes.

The Blues have shown their ability to blow teams away with goals. They netted three against leaders Coventry recently with four coming in wins over Norwich and Portsmouth – two sides also at the bottom end of the table.

Sure, the away form could and should have been better but this is a real opportunity for them to get a positive result and restore some confidence after a poor run of results overall.

The price on an away win is short but there is value to be had on taking plenty of goals for the visitors.

Odds correct at 11:40 GMT (19/01/26)

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