Football Multi Bet: $8.78 Tip for Wednesday

Champions League qualifying is back, and the second round first legs on Wednesday morning NZT give us 11 fixtures to work with for this football multi bet. I’ve gone for a handicap plus two outright winners here - a combination of European pedigree and poor opposition form that gets our combined odds close to $9.00.

Wednesday July 22, 5:00am NZT, Chobani Stadium

Fenerbahce at $1.27 to win this match isn’t worth touching in a multi, but the -1.5 handicap at $2.20 is juicy enough. They’ve been ruthless in preseason - 5-0 against Admira and 4-0 against Pogon Szczecin before a tighter 2-1 win over LASK. 

Over 2.5 goals has come in on six of their last seven outings across all competitions.

Gornik Zabrze won the Polish Cup this year for their first major trophy in 38 years, and 41-year-old Lukas Podolski has since retired from professional football to become the club’s majority owner. A nice chapter, but they lost 3-1 to Lech Poznan in the Polish Super Cup five days ago and haven’t played European football for eight seasons. 

For those who want to bet on football, I’m backing Fenerbahce by two or more.

Wednesday July 22, 6:00am NZT, Stockhorn Arena

Thun’s season is one of the best in European football right now. Promoted from the second division, then winning their first ever Swiss Super League title. I’ve got nothing but respect for it. 

But their late-season form fell apart: they lost 8-3 to Young Boys at home, dropped games to Basel and Sion, and were beaten by Lugano at the Stockhorn Arena. Four losses in their last five league games.

Dinamo Zagreb won the Croatian league for the 26th time last season, reclaiming the title after Rijeka took it from them in 2024-25. Dion Beljo scored 31 league goals and they went on a 23-match unbeaten run across the campaign. 

At $2.10 on the best betting sites in NZ, this is the leg I feel most confident about.

Wednesday July 22, 6:30am NZT, Merkur-Arena

Hearts finished second in the Scottish Premiership with 80 points and were heading for a first title since 1960 - that is, until Celtic scored twice in the final minutes on the last day to win 3-1 at Celtic Park. Now they’re in Champions League qualifying for the first time in 20 years, with new manager Wouter Vrancken trying to bed in a rebuilt squad. 

This is their first competitive match of the new era, away in Austria. And it could come too soon.

Sturm Graz were in the Champions League group stage two seasons ago and Otar Kiteishvili scored 16 goals from midfield last year. I could be wrong about Hearts - they were close to winning a title for a reason - but Sturm at home with European experience feels like a safe anchor at $1.90, particularly with free bets on offer across most bookmakers.