Champions League Tips: Sheriff BTTS-swerve the pick

Moldova's Sheriff rarely engage in both-teams-to-score combat

Michael Lintorn counts down the three best bets for Tuesday's Champions League third qualifying round first legs...

3
Sparta Prague v Malmo
Tuesday, 18:30
Back Sparta Prague to win @ 1.574/7

This price might be a little shorter than you would usually enjoy backing at, but there are several reasons why it is worth devouring. Sparta Prague are on a 19-match winning streak at their Generali Arena that now stretches over a year and three competitions.

The resurgent Czech champions, who are back on top after three successive second places, are similarly ruthless when asked to perform hosting duties in Europe, triumphing in four of their last five Champions League ties in Prague, scoring 13 times in that period while leaking just three times.

2
Debrecen v BATE Borisov
Tuesday, 19:30
Back under 2.5 goals @ 1.625/8

When you think of BATE Borisov in the Champions League, their 3-1 victory over Bayern Munich in the season in which the Bundesliga behemoths won the trophy is probably the first point of recollection, but goals aren't as frequently featured in their qualifying contests.

Each of their last nine such encounters have sailed south of the 2.5-goal shore, with their most recent four delivering a mere four in total. Debrecen have similar tendencies. Their last four Champions League outings, as well as their latest six across all competitions, have produced two goals or fewer.

1
Slovan Bratislava v Sheriff
Tuesday, 19:15
Back Both Teams to Score? No @ 1.84/5

Sheriff's admirable attempts to put Moldovan football on the map have seen them reach the third round of the Champions League preliminary process for the fifth time in six seasons (they didn't participate in the other), despite always entering at a relatively early stage.

The regularity of their presence provides a big batch of results from which to find patterns, and the most blatant is that they are both-teams-to-score-repellent, with only one of their prior 12 fixtures being completely devoid of clean sheets. Ten of Slovan Bratislava's last dozen Champions League games also denied both-teams-to-score backers a payout.