The Champions League provided us with plenty of goals in the opening batch of knockout fixtures last week. We saw a total of 11 goals for the three English sides alone, with Real Madrid beating PSG 3-1 on top of that. While the draw for the last 16 is top heavy, there are still some exciting games to come this week. The rest of the remaining teams return to European competition in midweek, and we should be treated to some high scoring games.
We have former European champions in Chelsea, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Man United in action this week. All four sides will be desperate to continue their progress in Europe, as they all have something to prove. On top of that, the high scoring action rolled in to Thursday night and the return of the Europa League, with the second legs of those ties taking place this week. With some heavy hitters and big ties left in Europe’s second tier competition, we can see some high scoring ties across Europe this week. With that in mind, you can see our both teams to score tips for the coming week below, along with our reasoning behind them.
Tuesday 20th February 2018
- Chelsea v Barcelona (8/11 with Betfred) – Chelsea could be the side to end the great run of English results in Europe this term. They come into this clash with Barca knowing that they’ll be taking on Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi, who are a threatening double act. Given how the Blues have struggled at the back of late, they should score here. In addition, we’re backing a Chelsea goal, after they scored 10 home goals in three group stage matches.
- Bayern Munich v Besiktas (6/5 with BetVictor) – The German giants are in a tricky position here, because Besiktas are a side who could cause them real problems this week. The Turkish side cruised into the last 16, seeing off the likes of Monaco and RB Leipzig. They should continue their high scoring form from the group stage, but they did only keep one clean sheet in their group so BTTS looks good.
Wednesday 21st February 2018
- Sevilla v Man United (20/23 with Coral) – Sevilla drew 2-2 and 3-3 with Liverpool in the group stage, so they should be able to shake this United defence. However, the Red Devils will be desperate for an away goal, and Sevilla have struggled at the back in Europe this term.
- Shakhtar Donetsk v Roma (8/11 with Betfair) – Roma enjoyed some high scoring group games on the road, winning 2-1 at Qarabag and drawing 3-3 at Chelsea. They’ll look to follow that up with an away goal here, but we see them getting caught out.
Thursday 22nd February 2018
- Atalanta v Borussia Dortmund (1/2 with Betfred) – After a 3-2 thriller in the first meeting, Atalanta are bound to go all out for a result in this trip, as they look to continue their European journey. The Italians have seen both teams score in five of their last six in this competition, and we’re backing a repeat.