Champions League expert picks, predictions, best bets: Milan face Liverpool; Real Madrid look for hot start

The UEFA Champions League officially makes a much-anticipated return on Tuesday, but this season's competition will not be like the ones that came before it.

The switch to the Swiss-system format adds more teams, more games and more days of competition to the schedule, all with the hopes of increasing the competitiveness as early as the league phase, which replaces the group stage. In terms of fixtures alone, Matchday 1 lives up to the billing with a handful of exciting games to kick off the competition. Liverpool's trip to AC Milan headlines the first day of action on Tuesday, while Kylian Mbappe is set to make his Champions League debut in a Real Madrid shirt the same day as they host Stuttgart.

English and Italian champions Manchester City and Inter face off on Wednesday, and the Champions League action continues on Thursday with Arsenal Traveling to Europa League champions Atalanta and Bundesliga winners Bayer Leverkusen return to the comPetition with a trip to Feyenoord.

Ahead of the first batch of Champions League matches this season, the CBS Sports team offers their expert picks and predictions. Take a look below.

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Here are our expert picks for this matchday:

Tuesday

Matchup	James Benge	Jonathan Johnson	Francesco Porzio	Chuck Booth	Pardeep Cattry
Juventus vs. PSV	2-1	1-0	1-0	2-1	2-1
Young Boys vs. Aston Villa	2-2	1-2	0-1	1-2	1-2
Real Madrid vs. Stuttgart	2-0	2-1	3-1	3-1	2-0
Bayern vs. Dinamo	3-0	2-0	2-0	4-0	4-1
Sporting Lisbon vs. Lille	2-1	0-0	1-0	1-1	1-1
Milan vs. Liverpool	0-2	0-1	1-2	1-2	0-2

Game of the day: Milan vs. Liverpool

Player to watch: Christian Pulisic: We might be very much in the world of small sample sizes, but two goals and two assists in his first four Serie A games is as good a return as the USMNT star could wish for. In the likely event that Pulisic starts off the right, he may find himself empowered to attack a relatively weak point of this Liverpool side, Andrew Robertson not quite the force he was either with or without the ball. If Pulisic can ghost into space in the penalty box and get shots, he might just be able to win a game that looks set against Milan. -- James Benge

Man of the match: Mohamed Salah: The Liverpool striker is expected to be the player to create more and should score at least one if the English side fulfills expectations against AC Milan. Salah had a strong start to the season as he scored three goals in four games and also provided three assists to his teammates. There is no reason to think he won't replicate his performance in the Champions League debut. -- Francesco Porzio

Prediction: Milan 0-2 Liverpool: The Reds winning while scoring twice seems to be the most popular pick within our panel. The Rossoneri could keep it tighter but Arne Slot's men are heavy favorites to take the points despite losing at home to Nottingham Forest over the weekend. The Italian side has hardly been impressive so far this early season despite a prolific victory over a sorry Venezia side, while Liverpool have been quite convincing up until that setback at Anfield. Few will be able to forget that this was the 2005 UCL final and an absolute classic with a 3-3 draw which the English giants won on penalties. That alone should guarantee that it will be a special European evening in Milan regardless of the result. -- Jonathan Johnson

Best bet: Liverpool over 1.5 goals (-142): While this isn't the most appealing number from the match, Liverpool will be looking to score against a Milan side that have been suspect defensively after losing to Nottingham Forest over the weekend. For Premier League teams, it's critical to get off to a fast start due to the amount of games on their plates so there's no reason not to keep things simple here. -- Chuck Booth

Wednesday

Matchup	James Benge	Jonathan Johnson	Francesco Porzio	Chuck Booth	Pardeep Cattry
Bologna vs. Shakhtar	1-1	1-2	0-1	1-1	0-0
PSG vs. Girona	3-1	2-0	3-1	4-1	3-0
Club Brugge vs. Dortmund	0-0	0-1	0-1	1-1	0-1
Celtic vs. Slovan Bratislava	2-1	1-0	0-0	2-2	2-0
Man City vs. Inter	2-0	2-1	2-1	1-0	2-0
Sparta Praha vs. RB Salzburg	1-0	1-1	0-0	2-2	0-0

Game of the day: Man City vs. Inter

Player to watch: Erling Haaland: He's quite good, this guy. A mere two goals in the win over Brentford suggests slipping standards from the perennial hat trick hero, but, well, it's hardly a return to be sniffed at. Inter have been a quite exceptional defensive force since at least the start of last season, but, frankly, they've not faced anyone as good as Haaland.  -- James Benge

Man of the match: Rodri: When Manchester City won the 2023 UEFA Champions League final against Inter he was the man of the match, and also the player who scored the deciding goal against the Nerazzurri. He missed the first couple of games of the season due to a hamstring injury, but he's now ready to make his comeback as there are many expectations around his performance on Wednesday. -- Francesco Porzio

Prediction: City 2-1 Inter: City winning by one goal while scoring twice themselves seems to be the overriding favorite scenario in this one. The Premier League leaders up against the Italian champions should deliver a strong dose of opening-day quality for us. It was the 2023 final which many will recall being cagey so do not be surprised if this one is decided by a narrow margin of a goal or so. -- Jonathan Johnson

Best bet: Under 2.5 goals (+134): When two teams who could play each other for the Champions League final again meet to kick off a league stage play, it's safe to expect a cagy affair. Neither team truly needs to win the match to advance in the new setup but early points don't hurt either. I'd expect goals to be hard to come by so getting the under at plus odds feels good here even if Erling Haaland can destroy this at a moment's notice. -- Charles Booth

Thursday

Matchup	James Benge	Jonathan Johnson	Francesco Porzio	Chuck Booth	Pardeep Cattry
Crvena Zvezda vs. Benfica	1-0	0-1	1-1	1-2	0-2
Feyenoord vs. Leverkusen	1-2	0-2	1-2	0-3	0-2
Brest vs. Sturm Graz	2-1	1-0	2-2	4-1	2-0
Atalanta vs. Arsenal	2-2	1-1	2-2	1-2	0-1
Atletico Madrid vs. RB Leipzig	0-1	1-0	1-0	2-1	1-1
Monaco vs. Barcelona	0-2	1-1	0-1	2-4	0-2

Game of the day: AS Monaco vs. Barcelona

Player to watch: Raphinha: Perhaps no one in European Football had a better weekend than Raphinha, scorer of three and provider of another as Real Valladolid were put to the sword at the Olympic Stadium. The Brazilian's place at Barcelona has not always looked secure since he arrived from Leeds United, but he seems to have met a good match in Hansi Flick, who has liberated him in more central positions. -- James Benge

Man of the match: Lamine Yamal: The Spanish gem was the man of the match on Sunday against Girona as he scored a brace in the fifth win in a row for the side coached by Hansi Flick, who has had an outstanding start of the season so far. The Blaugrana will make their international debut against Monaco and there are now many expectations around them and the teenage Spanish attacker, who is expected to be one of the stars of the Champions League season. -- Francesco Porzio

Prediction: Monaco 1-2 Barcelona: Few are giving Les Monegasques a chance in this one given Barca's start to the season in La Liga. Although the Catalan giants are strong favorites to win, the principality outfit's continental pedigree should not be forgotten and this is a good chance for Adi Hutter's side to show that in front of a rare strong turnout of supporters at Stade Louis II. Nothing says a big European Game like the usually sparsely populated but always picturesque venue being full to the rafters and that could aid Monaco in running the Blaugrana close.  --  Jonathan Johnson

Best bet: Barcelona to score in both halves (+154): Under Flick, Barcelona have been scoring early and often in Games. They only know one speed and it's all out attack so the goals will flow in this one. I was between the over 3.5 but took a slightly safer route for Barcelona to net one goal in each half. -- Charles Booth

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