After a long break over the winter, European football returns this week. Usually the opening round of knockout matches is seen as one-sided, with the real action getting underway in the quarter-finals. That isn’t the case this season, as there are some heavyweight ties in the last 16. Hopefully that should give us a week of excellent matches.
We’ve got a clash between the French and Spanish champions to look forward to, plus Napoli head to Real Madrid and Arsenal face Bayern Munich. Can the Gunners finally end their struggles against the German champions? Ahead of those clashes, we’ve picked out a few betting tips for you to take a look at, which you can find below.
Tuesday 14th February 2017
PSG v Barcelona (19:45) – Barca to win and BTTS (31/10 with Coral)
PSG were targeting this competition at the start of the season, but that ambition has surely changed now. They head into this tie with Barcelona as underdogs. Unai Emery was brought in last summer to bring the European Cup to Paris, but they’re going to have to wait an extra year at least, because little suggests that this side can beat Barca. They’re not even top of the table in France right now, while the squad looks weaker than it did in 2016. Surely Barca should have no problems getting a result here?
The Catalans are behind Real Madrid in La Liga, with Los Blancos aiming to regain the Spanish title. That could see Barca switch attention to the Champions League this term, and they should have no troubles making the next round. They’ve won their last three meetings with PSG. All three encounters between these two in Paris have seen both teams score, so we’re backing an away win and BTTS, which is priced at 31/10 with Coral. That’s an excellent price when you consider how good both sides are going forward.
Benfica v Borussia Dortmund (19:45) – Dortmund to win (6/5 with Betfair)
Benfica have looked sluggish in recent weeks, which has allowed Porto back in to the title race. The Portuguese champions even lost out in the League Cup, a competition they had won three seasons on the spin. Their recent form is worrying, especially their poor defensive displays. That’s allowing their rivals hope of taking the title, while it could hamper what appeared to be an evenly matched tie between them and German side Borussia Dortmund. A Benfica side backed by their home support could pull off a result here at their best, but right now it’s hard to see them managing to cause any problems in this first leg clash.
Dortmund’s league ambitions now seem focused on simply qualifying for the Champions League next season. They’re already 12 points off Bayern Munich, so we can’t see them challenging for the title. That should see their focus switch to pushing for the European Cup, and their young, talented side is capable of going far in this competition. Given that the Bundesliga team are facing an out of sorts Benfica, they have even more of chance of reaching the latter stages. We’re backing them to win here, which is priced at odds of 6/5 with Betfair.
Wednesday 15th February 2017
Bayern Munich v Arsenal (19:45) – Over 2/5 Bayern goals (13/8 with Bet365)
Arsenal are up against Bayern Munich once again in the Champions League, can they finally end their losing run against the German champions? The Gunners lost 5-1 here last season, which must have been a damaging experience for them. After finishing top of their group, they should have avoided a big tie like this, but Bayern were unseeded. That means the second leg is at the Emirates, but will the tie still be alive when it resumes in London? If the visitors aren’t careful, this one could be over at the 90 minute mark in Munich, especially given how they’ve performed of late.
The Gunners’ timid defeat at Chelsea has to point to what kind of result to expect here. Arsenal faced another big challenge, and they wilted under pressure. It’s typical of Arsene Wenger’s sides of late, they never seem to have the mental ability to compete with the very best. We don’t see that changing, as their defending against the Blues was absolutely dreadful. They were disorganised and bullied off the ball at the back. We can see Bayern having a field day if they play like that again, so we’re backing over 2.5 goals for the hosts, which is 13/8 with Bet365.
Real Madrid v Napoli (19:45) – Over 2.5 goals and both teams to score (10/11 with Coral)
This game has the potential to be one of the highlights of the competition this season. While Real are out to defend their European title, they have looked a little shaky in recent weeks. That will be put to the test when they host Napoli on Wednesday, as the Italians are in fantastic scoring form. They currently top the scoring charts in Serie A, having outscored Juventus by 10 goals. They hit seven in their last away game, while they’re lethal on the counter attack. They get from one end of the pitch to the other with speed, and they have clinical finishers ready to bury any chance.
Of course Napoli need to worry about the attacking threat posed by Cristiano Ronaldo and co. but they’ll be aiming to match the European champions. The Italians aren’t realistically going to win the competition, so they can go out on the attack and look to leave a mark on Real. If things go right for the away side, they might just pull off a shock result. We’re backing a high scoring game between these two, given how good Napoli are going forward. Over 2.5 goals and both teams to score is our tip, which is priced at odds of 10/11 with Coral.