Champions League expert picks, predictions, best bets on Matchday 8: Man City, PSG qualify; Barca top Atalanta

Player to watch: Raphinha — In a world without Mohamed Salah, this guy might be the frontrunner for the Ballon d’Or. It is still faintly baffling to see bookmakers place the likes of Erling Haaland ahead of Raphinha, who has 23 goals and 11 assists so far. An all energy, all attack game like this one should offer a perfect indication of his excellence. — James Benge

Man of the match: Mateo Retegui — Due to the late injury of Ademola Lookman which will force the Nigerian striker to miss the game against Barcelona, all the expectations are on the Italian striker who had an incredible first part of the season as he scored 19 goals in all competitions. — Francesco Porzio

Prediction: Barca 2, Atalanta 2 — A dream matchup for the neutral here and although it would be tempting to tip Barca to come out on top of an absolute goal fest like last week, it feels like the pressure is off now that a top eight place is secured. Expect an entertaining and goal-filled encounter with both sides level by the end. — Jonathan Johnson

Best bet: Robert Lewandowski to score and Raphinha to score or assist (+176) — While this is a parlay that should come in at higher odds, this shows how dominant Rapphinha and Lewandowski have been in Champions League play. The duo are both among the top three scorers in the entire tournament and for Barcelona to close out the league phase on a strong note, they’ll need their stars to be at their best when it matters. — Chuck Booth

Player to watch: Kylian Mbappe — Crisis’ Kylian Mbappe here, with a mere seven goals in his last four games. The signs are that Madrid’s No.9 might be really clicking with his teammates at last, Jude Bellingham getting up close to him to provide one assist, a great run on Vinicius Junior’s outside for the next. Mbappe’s return to France could be quite the spectacle. — James Benge

Man of the match: Jude Bellingham — His 2024-25 season hasn’t been as good as his first one at Real Madrid, at least in terms of goals scored. The English star had only one goal scored so far in the first seven games of the League Phase, but these are the kind of matches he has to make the difference. — Francesco Porzio

Prediction: Brest 1, Real 3 — Brest’s UCL experience has already been an enormous success yet the Prates could still seal a top eight spot. More likely, though, is a plucky showing against Los Blancos before Kylian Mbappe and his teammates get the job done in the hope that they advance directly to the round of 16 instead. — Jonathan Johnson

Best bet: Kylian Mbappe to score (-115) — Coming off of his first hat trick in a Real Madrid shirt, Mbappe’s confidence will be quite high while also facing a Brest team that he’s familiar with from his time at PSG. Rounding into form at the right time this is a match that could get ugly so I’d be comfortable playing Mbappe to score multiple times in a resounding Real Madrid victory. — Chuck Booth

Player to watch: Matheus Nunes — For good or ill, Nunes is seriously impacting City matches at the moment. His run from right back to center forward forced the equaliser against Chelsea at the weekend, but that only went some way to making amends for his struggles against Bradley Barcola. If Christos Tzolis can get going at the Etihad, Club Brugge will feel they have a chance. — James Benge

Man of the match: Erling Haaland — This is the kind of match the Norwegian striker has to deliver, and after signing the new nine-year deal with the Citizens, scoring and winning the tie against Club Brugge need to have the signature of Haaland. Despite the disappointing first part of the season for Guardiola’s men, he scored 24 goals in 30 games played so far. — Francesco Porzio

Prediction: City 2, Brugge 0 — Although City were poor in Paris and threw away a two-goal lead which could have qualified them for the knockout phase already, Brugge is an ideal do-or-die opponent at home with the Belgians set to switch places with City in the likely event that Pep Guardiola’s men win here. — Jonathan Johnson

Best bet: Manchester City to lead at 20 minutes (+145) — The best way to deal with pressure is by scoring quickly and City will come out from the first kick with the intent to put as many goals past Brugge as quickly as possible. It wouldn’t shock me to see the first goal come in the first 10 minutes of the match so it makes sense to double that and still grab a City goal at plus odds. Things haven’t been in City’s favor for most of the season but they’ll have more than enough to get ahead of Brugge early on. — Chuck Booth

Player to watch: Angelo Stiller — If Stuttgart are to hold firm at home then they can ill afford to lose the midfield battle as Manchester City did last week. That means that the highly rated Angelo Stiller needs to do what he does best, setting the tone for the contest with his precise and penetrative passing. Do that and there is a real chance here for Stuttgart. — James Benge

Man of the match: Ousmane Dembele — While PSG fans are waiting to see Kvicha Kvaratskhelia playing in the Champions League as well (he will only be able to do that in February as his January arrival means he’s not on PSG’s registered list), all the pressure is on their most talented players, including Dembele, who needs to make a performance that will qualify the French giants for the playoffs. — Francesco Porzio

Prediction: Stuttgart 1, PSG 2 — With the hardest part done in Paris, Luis Enrique’s men should be able to complete the job in Germany. It might be tight in a game in which ultimately a draw suits both well, but do not be surprised if Les Parisiens see off their hosts by a goal or so. — Jonathan Johnson

Best bet: Over 2.5 goals (+104) — Technically a draw could be enough for these teams to make it through to the next stage, but when a victory can assure it, why settle? Defense isn’t either sides strong suit, so if an early goal goes in, that’s where all bets are off as each can score quite quickly. — Chuck Booth