After an incredible week of Champions League action, how on earth will this next round of games match up? Arsenal may have been humiliated and eliminated, but all eyes were on an incredible comeback from Barcelona. We’re not likely to see anything like this this week, but at least this batch of second leg ties are tighter after their first encounter.
Both Manchester City and Leicester are in contention for the quarter finals, with 90 minutes to book their place. City’s 5-3 lead puts them in an interesting position ahead of their rematch with Monaco, while the Foxes have an away goal in the bag against Sevilla. Elsewhere Atletico Madrid and Juventus are in action, what will we learn about those two contenders for this trophy?
Tuesday 14th March 2016
Leicester v Sevilla (19:45) – Sevilla clean sheet (23/10 with Coral)
Many comparisons have been made between Leicester and Chelsea’s 2012 run to the Champions League final. That was the last time an English club dispensed with their manager in between a last 16 tie. Roberto Di Matteo stepped up from assistant to see out the season, and he went on to make history with an incredible finish. That gives Craig Shakespeare an awful lot to live up to, but even guiding his team to the quarter-finals of this competition would be a fantastic achievement. Thanks to Jamie Vardy’s strike in Seville, that’s a real possibility here. A 1-0 win puts the Premier League champions in to the next round.
However, the Europa League holders are experienced in Europe. They’re having a fantastic season, pushing Real Madrid and Barcelona for the Spanish title. It’s difficult to see a way for Leicester to match that, given their league struggles this term. Obviously there’ll be a bit of a boost in morale for the Foxes, but Sevilla have kept a clean sheet in 35% of their league games, and picked up 0-0 draws at Lyon and Juventus in the group stage to make it this far. We can see them doing a similar job here, as they’re organised enough to grind out the result they need.
Juventus v Porto (19:45) – Juventus to win to nil (8/5 with BetVictor)
Juventus are going to bring something different to the Champions League, following a week of heavy defeats and embarrassing collapses. The Italians face Porto, and they’ll be aiming to show their very best defensive resolve in this game, after claiming a 2-0 win in the first leg. That was an efficient, ruthless victory. It certainly boosts their chances of winning this competition, although they’ll face more difficult tests than Porto along the way. While the away side are pushing for the Portuguese title, Benfica’s 4-0 defeat to Dortmund showed how far behind the Primeira Liga is.
Juventus should have little trouble booking a quarter-final spot, we doubt they’re going to even need their two away goals from the first leg. The Italian champions have enough strength in depth to rotate, and they have an excellent defensive set up at the back. Juventus have kept a clean sheet in 50% of their home league matches, while Porto drew a blank at Leicester and Copenhagen in the group stage. We’re backing a home win to nil, which is well priced at 8/5 with BetVictor.
Wednesday 15th March 2016
Atletico Madrid v Bayer Leverkusen (19:45) – Atletico -1 Asian Handicap (21/20 with Bet365)
Atletico Madrid probably have the most commanding lead from the first leg amongst these ties. They won 4-2 in Germany, racking up away goals and putting distance between themselves and struggling Bayer. Diego Simeone will be looking for his side to record a comfortable second leg victory. Their league hopes are gone, but they can push for the Champions League after losing two finals. Booking a place in the last eight should be a straightforward affair, as they’re streets ahead of their last 16 opponents.
Bayer lost 6-2 to Borussia Dortmund recently, so they come into this game in an awful position ahead of a crunch meeting with Atletico. They’re stuck in mid-table in the Bundesliga, facing Atletico is going to be a stretch for them. We’re backing a comfortable win for the hosts, who are fantastic defensively in Europe. The win in Germany showed them at their very best going forward. Kevin Gameiro and Antoine Griezmann were in great form, and we’re backing them to run riot at home to Bayer. Atletico with a -1 Asian Handicap is priced at 21/20 with Bet365.
Monaco v Manchester City (19:45) – Monaco to win and BTTS (11/4 with Ladbrokes)
The first meeting between these two was an incredible 5-3 thriller. Will we get as much entertainment when they meet for a second time? Pep Guardiola has already said that his team need to score against the Ligue 1 leaders in order to book a place in the next round, which doesn’t exactly give a ringing endorsement for the quality of their defence. While they managed a 0-0 draw with Stoke in their last league game, expect John Stones and co to struggle when they take on Europe’s strongest attacking force. They’ve already stormed past the 100 goal mark, and we can see more on the way here.
City have struggled for clean sheets this term, but they are effective going forward. They’ve been excellent of late, with Leroy Sane and Raheem Sterling shining out wide, either side of a resurgent Sergio Aguero. That should see them threaten Monaco, but we can’t imagine they’ll match the three goals that the French leaders scored at the Etihad. While we’re backing them to get an away goal, we’re going for a home win on Wednesday night. Monaco will be aiming to claw back the deficit, especially given City’s defensive record. We’re going with Monaco to win and both teams to score at 11/4 with Ladbrokes.