The Champions League returned in impressive fashion, with the first four ties packed with goals. We saw 15 strikes in four matches, which included a game which will go down in history, as PSG hammered Barcelona 4-0. Will the second batch of fixtures live up to those matches? There are two English sides in action, across four interesting contests.
Manchester City have an interesting task on Tuesday, as they host Monaco. Will the Citizens pay for finishing second in the group stage? Elsewhere, last season’s runners up Atletico Madrid are in action in Germany, while Leicester return to the Champions League against Europa League holders Sevilla. We have betting tips and previews for each of this week’s four Champions League ties, which you can see below.
Tuesday 21st February 2017
Bayer Leverkusen v Atletico Madrid (19:45) – Atletico to win (6/5 with Bet365)
Atletico Madrid have slipped to fourth in La Liga, they’re unlikely to repeat their shock title win from 2014. However, they could make the final of this competition for the third time in three years. The European Cup is Atletico’s main aim this term, with their league and cup hopes already over. If they’re focused on the Champions League, they’re going to be a very dangerous opponent, which Bayer Leverkusen are likely to find out on Tuesday night.
The Bundesliga side beat Tottenham to make the last 16, but they’re likely to make an early exit. Bayer are struggling domestically, sitting in mid-table. While they beat Atletico two years ago at this stage in the first leg, we can’t see them claiming a result here. Diego Simeone has his eye on ending their nearly men tag in the Champions League, and they’ll want to pull off a result here. Given that the Spaniards are priced at 6/5 with Bet365, we think it’s well worth backing an away win. The visitors won all of their games before their dead rubber at Bayern Munich, and we’re expecting them to return to winning ways in Germany this time around.
Man City v Monaco (19:45) – Over 2.5 goals and BTTS (21/20 with Coral)
Manchester City paid for their failure to top their group, as they’ve been drawn against Ligue 1 leaders Monaco. The French side weren’t seen as a huge threat back in August, when they drew Tottenham in the group stage. However, a fantastic scoring streak has lifted them up to top spot in France, and they’re on course to end PSG’s domination. We saw what the Parisians could do against Barcelona, so how will the side above them in France fare? After all, City were some distance behind the Catalans in the group stage. Pep Guardiola’s side are likely to have problems here.
Man City have a lot of scoring threat themselves, especially in this competition. They scored 12 times in six group stage games, and Sergio Aguero should return to the line-up for this clash. However, City have conceded in 83% of their home league matches, and they’re up against a team who have scored three per game in the league on average. Monaco are one of the highest scoring teams in Europe, and they won 2-1 at Wembley against Tottenham. We’re backing both sides to get on the scoresheet, but we’re also backing plenty of goals. Over 2.5 goals and both teams to score is 21/20 with Coral, which is excellent value.
Wednesday 22nd February 2017
Porto v Juventus (19:45) – Both teams to score (23/20 with Betfair)
In Turin, Juve fans are expecting their side to win the treble this season. They’re on course domestically, leading the way in Serie A with a cup semi-final to come. However, can they get over the line in the Champions League? They were runners up back in 2015, which is something manager Max Allegri is aiming to improve on. They spent big in the summer to strengthen their hopes of winning this competition, so they’ll be expecting big things in their first knockout game. However, the Italian champions have seen their slip ups come on their travels, which puts them in danger here.
Porto have an excellent home record, winning all but one of their home matches in the league. They hit five past group winners Leicester in their last Champions League match back in December. The visitors have recently dropped a centre-half to switch to a 4-2-3-1 formation, which includes five attack minded players. That’s a big change from the side which was impressive defensively in the group stages, and that should create openings for Porto. As a result, we’re backing both teams to score at 23/20 with Betfair.
Sevilla v Leicester (19:45) – Sevilla -1 handicap (23/20 with Betfred)
Leicester are falling apart in the Premier League, so how will they fare when they travel to Sevilla in the Champions League? The Foxes are just a point above the drop ahead of this game away to Spanish title challengers Sevilla. The hosts have plenty of European experience, having won the Europa League three seasons running. They’re not going to take that trophy this season, but could they make a serious push for the European Cup? Given how well they’re performing domestically, they’re going to scare a few sides.
This should be a comfortable win for Sevilla, seeing as Leicester haven’t scored a league goal in 2017. They lost 5-0 in their last European game, and they let in over two goals per away game domestically. Over half of their away defeats in all competitions this season have been by at least two goals, and we’re backing another heavy defeat for them at the Sanchez Pizjuan. We’re backing Sevilla with a -1 handicap, which is priced at 23/20 with Betfred. That looks like fantastic value, as this could be a very heavy defeat for the Foxes if they produce another awful performance.