The Champions League returns this weekend, as the first knockout round starts to wrap up. The first meetings between these sides saw plenty of goals and a couple of big shocks. Will the return legs have the same entertainment value? We’re hoping for some great action across Tuesday and Wednesday night, although with much almost decided it remains to be seen how things will develop.
It’s easy to say that three of these four ties are already over, so you’ll need a bet on them to keep things interesting. Surprisingly it’s the second seeds who have basically booked their place in the quarter finals, aside from Benfica. If do indeed fancy a bet to keep you interested in the Champions League this week, then check out our tips on all four games below.
Tuesday 7th March 2016
Arsenal v Bayern Munich (19:45) – Arsenal or draw (7/10 with Bet365)
The Gunners have very little hope of overturning their 5-1 defeat to Bayern in the first leg. That meeting in Germany saw Arsene Wenger face calls for his resignation, as his team collapsed against high quality opposition at this stage once again. It was a repeat of their last meeting with the German champions, which shows how poor Arsenal have been in the Champions League in recent years. With their exit from the competition all but assured, just how will they perform on Tuesday night?
Bayern are 1/200 with Sky Bet to make the next round, so we can’t expect an upset this week. However, the hosts do have a chance. We’re expecting Bayern to ring the changes, as they can certainly afford to. It’s hard to see their players being too up for this tie, especially as they’ve comfortably beaten Arsenal several times of late. Carlo Ancelotti is a more relaxed coach than his predecessor Pep Guardiola, so he’s not going to be as likely to name a full strength side. We’re backing the Gunners to take advantage of that and restore a little pride, and they’re 7/10 with Bet365 to avoid defeat.
Napoli v Real Madrid (19:45) – Over 1.5 Napoli goals (21/20 with Coral)
Real Madrid’s hold on La Liga has weakened of late, after some poor results. They pulled off a late escape to win 3-2 at Villarreal, after a 2-1 defeat to Valencia. Their game last week saw them ship three goals at home to Las Palmas, so clearly their defence is vulnerable. That’s not something they can afford against a Napoli side who are excellent going forward. Not only do the Serie A side have a strong front three, they’ve also got attacking options on the bench and goalscoring midfielders.
Real come to Naples aiming to protect their 3-1 advantage from the first leg, but recent form suggests they’ll struggle to do that. The European champions have enough quality to get a goal or two here, but we can see their recent poor run defensively being extended at the San Paolo. Napoli have been blowing teams away domestically, while they’ve hit six goals in their last three Champions League home games. Moreover, Real have let in a goal in every European tie this season. The visitors conceded three at Legia Warsaw and two away to Dortmund, so we’re backing over 1.5 goals for Napoli this week, which is priced at 21/20 with Coral.
Wednesday 8th March 2016
Barcelona v PSG (19:45) – Over 2.5 goals and BTTS (4/5 with Coral)
The first meeting between these two sides saw an incredible result, as PSG hammered Barca 4-0 in Paris. That win shook European football, and it’s played a big part in Luis Enrique announcing his departure at the end of the season. It’s hard to see him doing that had he expected to survive this tie, it seems obvious that even Barcelona know they’re going out. However, they’re still a side who are set up to attack, so the Spanish champions will pour forward regardless of their manager’s stance on the match.
While PSG have a comfortable advantage, they know that an away goal can really kill the game, and give even more shine to their victory in this tie. If the French side score, Barca would need six to make it through. It’s not much of a risk for the visitors to push forward for that away goal, given how big their advantage is after the first leg. With a four goal lead, they can attack in numbers without too much fear. That should make this a great second leg, so we’re backing over 2.5 goals and both teams to score, which is priced at 4/5 with Coral.
Borussia Dortmund v Benfica (19:45) – BTTS (10/11 with Betfair)
Borussia Dortmund come into this tie looking to bounce back from a 1-0 loss in Portugal. That defeat was very unlike the Germans, who have been free scoring and poor defensively in this season’s competition. They’ve seen two 2-2 draws with Real Madrid, and made history with the highest scoring game in this tournament. That was in an amazing 8-4 win over Legia Warsaw, which was part of a 21 goal haul across their six group stage games. The Bundesliga side will be relying on that to help them into the quarter finals, as they need a couple of goals.
Given how poor Dortmund have been at the back in the Champions League, Benfica should see a chance to grab an away goal. The Portuguese champions scored at least twice in each of their away group games, and they should be confident of threatening here. We can see an early Dortmund goal, which would really open this game up. There should be chances for the away side too and we’re backing them to grab a potentially crucial away goal. Both teams to score is our tip here at 10/11 with Betfair.