After a two month break, the Champions League returns this week. It’s been a long wintery wait but we finally have the top European competitions back on our screens. Recent figures have shown that these games aren’t getting quite the same viewing figures on BT as they were on ITV and Sky Sports, hardly a surprise, but we’re willing to bet that there are plenty of people out there excited for the return of big European nights.
There’s only one Premier League interest in the first week of the Champions League, but there is plenty going on in each of the four matches. Benfica v Zenit and Gent v Wolfsburg might not be the glamour ties, but they are something different at this stage of the tournament. If those don’t interest you, we’ve also got PSG v Chelsea and Roma v Real Madrid coming up, and here we’re previewing all of the week’s big European action, with a great value betting tip for each game.
Tuesday 16th February 2016
Benfica v Zenit (19:45) – Both teams to score (Evens with Coral)
This match is unlikely to get too much attention, with the huge clash between PSG and Chelsea taking place at the same time. But, this could well end up being the more entertaining of the two games on Tuesday. Zenit would have been the top seed that everyone wanted in the draw back in December, but they’ve put together a pretty decent side. Andre Villas Boas put together a group who did very well in the group stage, but they aren’t going so well in their domestic league, currently sitting sixth. AVB is off at the end of the season, so he’ll be hoping to sign off on the back of an impressive European run.
Benfica are top of the Portuguese league coming into this one, so they have to be respected. They’ve put together a strong recent run, but they do have a bit of a problem ahead of this tie. This comes on the back of their top of the table clash against Sporting Lisbon, so just how prepared will the two sides be? Neither team are the most organised, but they’re strong going forward, so we’re backing both of them to score in this one at great odds.
PSG v Chelsea (19:45) – Over 2.5 goals (13/10 with Betfair)
This should be the biggest tie of the round, as the French champions face the English champions. On top of that, it’s the third consecutive meeting between the two teams, who have each knocked each other out once in the past two years. The only issue is, Chelsea have fallen apart, while PSG have gone from strength to strength. The French side signed Angel Di Maria last summer, and they’re currently on a 17 game winning streak! They’re in the mix to win this competition, so what chance do the Blues have of stopping them?
Their only hope is that they catch PSG either on an off day, or off guard. The French side won’t have been tested much during the Champions League’s winter break, so they might be a little rusty. If that happens, and Chelsea pull of a performance like the one seen recently at the Emirates, they’re in with a shout. We just don’t see that happening though, as this Blues’ defence is too unreliable. Now missing Kurt Zouma, they’re only going to be weaker. While they can catch PSG out at the back, we can’t see them shutting out the French side, which is why we’re going for over 2.5 goals.
Wednesday 17th February 2016
Gent v Wolfsburg (19:45) – Gent win (11/5 with Betfair)
Belgium may be seeing an international boom, but their club game hasn’t really reaped too many rewards from that. They finally have a team in the knockout stages of the Champions League, after Gent beat both Lyon and Valencia to second place behind Zenit in Group H. They were seen as group minnows, but they had an incredible run, which has set up a tie with Bundesliga side Wolfsburg, which isn’t actually the worst draw by a long stretch.
The Germans may have gotten the better of Manchester United but they’re still having an awful season (which shows just how poor the Red Devils are). They sit eighth in the table and there’s a very real chance that they’ll miss out on this competition next season. Having won just four of their last 15 away games, they clearly have a problem on the road and Gent can take advantage of that. The Belgians won their final three group games on the spin, including home wins over Valencia and Zenit. We think they’ll record another win here, as Wolfsburg are in no shape to get a result in this one.
Roma v Real Madrid (19:45) – Draw (27/10 with Coral)
Finally, Wednesday sees two sides who aren’t delivering in their league go head to head. Roma sit fifth in Serie A, and they were unable to take advantage of Juventus’ poor start to the season. Despite being title challengers in recent years, Roma are nowhere near this time around. Real aren’t doing so well themselves, as they’re off the pace in La Liga and currently sitting third. This is a first taste of Champions League management for Zinedine Zidane, a man who had plenty of magic moments in this competition as a player.
His side have been doing ok in the league so far, but there’s not been a huge improvement since Rafa Benitez’s tenure. Benitez got some pretty good results in the group stage, can Zidane follow that up and get his side on a Champions League run? It is a massive test for the Frenchman, and we’re not exactly sure he’ll pass. Roma may not have been up to much domestically, but they got a draw here with Barcelona in the group stage, and they should be able to repeat that trick against Zidane’s Real side.