Back this 5/1 UEFA Champions League acca on Wednesday

Our Champions League coverage continues with another treble pick across Wednesday's fixtures. 

Okay, I'll be transparent. I'm currently writing this on Tuesday morning and so I'm not currently aware of how successful I was with my first selections for those games. Fingers-crossed we're heading into day two with a successful 5/1 acca already banked this week. 

Brad Walker's best Champions League bets for Wednesday, September 18th, 2024

Bologna to beat Shakhtar Donetsk (10/11) - 1 pt

Borussia Dortmund to beat Club Brugge (11/10) - 1 pt

Manchester City to beat Inter Milan (8/15) - 2 pts

Bologna, Borussia Dortmund & Manchester City treble (5.18/1) - 0.5 pts

TOTAL POINTS STAKED: 4.5 pts

Champions League 2024/25 P/L: +3.5 

Selection #1 - Bologna to beat Shakhtar Donetsk (10/11)

The Italian side enjoyed a joyous Serie A season last time out. Bologna rose to a fifth-placed finish - their joint-highest since 1980/81 in Italy's top-flight - saw both their manager and several star performers plucked by several of Europe's big-hitters. 

Manager Thiago Motta now occupies the Juventus dugout, dynamic defender Riccardo Calafiori has signed for Arsenal and Joshua Zirkzee penned a deal with Manchester United over the summer. 

Their early-season form suggests they are a side in transition - they have failed to win any of their opening four matches in Serie A (D3, L1) - and both of their home outings have seen them squander leads to eventually settle for a point. 

Nevertheless, new manager Vincenzo Italiano is well-versed at earning results in Europe after guiding Fiorentina to consecutive Europa Conference League finals in 2023 and 2024.

Bologna will also be bouyed by the fight and spirit shown in their most recent outing - a 2-2 draw away at Como. Italiano's men trailed by two goals with under 15 minutes remaining but fought back to eventually earn a point at the Stadio Comunale G. Sinigaglia. 

Given Shakhtar's poor record on the road in the Champions League - they've lost six of their last 10 away fixtures in the competition - I'm going to back Bologna to pickup their first competitive victory of the season in a competitive match-up here.

Former Fiorentina boss Vincenzo Italiano has replaced Thiago Motta in the Bologna dugout. (Photo credit: Alamy Images)

Selection #2 - Borussia Dortmund to beat Club Brugge (11/10)

Nuri Sahin and Borussia Dortmund have made a solid start to the 2024-25 campaign, having won two of their opening three Bundesliga matches. 

The latest saw them secure an entertaining 4-2 victory at home to Heidenheim, where striker Karim Adeyemi bagged his first two goals of the season.

Dortmund head into the new-look Champions League after finishing runners-up in last season's iteration following a 2-0 loss to Real Madrid in the final.

Former boss Eden Terzic opted to walk away from the Dortmund dugout following the defeat at Wembley Stadium, paving the way for former midfielder Sahin to replace him in the Signal Iduna dugout this term.

Forward Karim Adeyemi scored twice in Dortmund's 4-2 victory over Heidenheim at the weekend. (Photo credit: Alamy Images)

The German club are more established on the continent than their Belgian counterparts but still travel to face a Club Brugge side who have lost just two times in their last 35 home matches. 

Their stunning record perhaps explains why Dortmund enter as odds-against favourites at 11/10, though it should be said the hosts face a significant step-up in opposition on Wednesday evening. 

Dortmund boast a quality Brugge won't have bumped into in Belgium's First Division A. In fact, three of their last five home matches in the Champions League have all ended in defeat - to Benfica, Porto and RB Leipzig - in games where they failed to score a single goal while shipping a combined 11. 

Sure, the Belgium champions home form shouldn't be scoffed at - they can only beat what's put in front of them. But, in reality, the record is significantly padded with victories against opposition nowhere near Dortmund's level, and so I'll be backing the away victory in this one.

Selection #3 - Manchester City to beat Inter Milan (8/15)

The final selection for Wednesday's treble centres on a repeat of the 2023 Champions League final at the Etihad Stadium. English champions Manchester City host Serie A holders Inter Milan, 15 months on from a 1-0 victory over their Italian counterparts in Istanbul. 

The win saw City claim their first ever Champions League title, forming part of a historic treble alongside a successful pursuit of both the Premier League and FA Cup. 

Fast-forward to September 2024 and both sides are targeting another deep run in the competition after being crowned champions in their respective domestic leagues last season. 

City have hit the ground running once again in the Premier League, winning all four of their matches while hardly breaking sweat.

The same cannot be said of Inter, though, who have endured a mixed bag in the early weeks of the new campaign. 

City won the Champions League for the first time after beating Inter 1-0 in the 2023 final. (Photo credit: Alamy Images)

Simone Inzaghi's side are yet to taste defeat but have dropped points in disappointing draws at Genoa and then Monza at the weekend. The results mean Inter are now without a win in three away matches - all of which have ended in draws.

Hardly ample preparation for a City side who have lost just one match at the Etihad in their last 23 in the Champions League. The only blemish was a quarter-final penalty shootout defeat to eventual champions Real Madrid last season.

Given the strength of the hosts and the form of star striker Erling Haaland, who already has nine goals to his name this season, I can't see anything other than another City win here. 

Inter will be desperate to avenge their defeat in the final from 2023 but face perhaps the best home side in world football right now.