The Champions League quarter-finals produced quite a few one-sided ties, and there’s little value on offer when it comes to picking out the sides who are going to line up in the last four. While we’re still waiting for a truly competitive round in this competition, we’re hoping to see some closer clashes as some of Europe’s top sides go head to head across Tuesday and Wednesday night.
We also have to look at the quality of the favourites to progress, ahead of the semi-final draw. Will Liverpool be able to go all the way under Jurgen Klopp? Can Barcelona or Real Madrid maintain the impressive Spanish domination of this competition? Or will Bayern Munich bring that all to an end? Ahead of this week’s Champions League ties, here are our latest betting tips and predictions.
Tuesday 10th April 2018
Man City v Liverpool (19:45) – Over 1.5 Liverpool Goals (11/5 with Betfair)
Liverpool’s incredible first leg win over City has all but ended this tie, and the dangerous thing for the hosts is the pace which the Reds pack. While City will be out to try and pull off an incredible comeback, doing that will take patience. They are likely to panic and speed forward, but that’s only going to create chances for the visitors. As we saw in their first leg meeting, Liverpool are more than capable of taking City apart if given the chance.
That 3-0 win for the Reds is just the latest among their incredibly high scoring matches in Europe this term. They’ve scored seven goals on two occasions in the Champions League this season, while they’ve found the net 18 times across five away trips. That form should see them cause trouble in this clash, especially as we can’t see the visitors coming into this one and looking to sit back. Should Jurgen Klopp’s men score, then City will need to hit five in order to progress. With the Reds looking great going forward and with the Citizens likely to leave gaps behind them, we think there’s big value in backing the visitors to score twice in the second leg too.
Roma v Barcelona (19:45) – Under 2.5 Goals (11/8 with Betfred)
Barcelona took advantage of Roma’s mistakes in the first leg meeting between the pair, with the Italians being punished despite a strong display overall. They head in to this game aiming to restore a bit of pride, knowing that turning around a three goal deficit is unlikely against the side who are favourites to win this competition. Eusebio Di Francesco is still building up this Roma side, and he’s done remarkably well in what was supposed to be a transitional season for the Giallorossi. A large part of that has been down to their displays at the back, so could they keep Lionel Messi and co. quiet?
Well, Roma have yet to concede at home in the Champions League this term. They’ve been putting on strong defensive displays in Europe, and they’re hosting a Barca side who aren’t expected to be going full throttle. Changes for the visitors wouldn’t be a shock really, while Messi has been clearly conserving his energy for the World Cup throughout the campaign, so don’t expect him to force the issue for Barca in this one. We see a low scoring tie, so we’re going for under 2.5 goals in Tuesday’s meeting in Rome.
Wednesday 11th April 2018
Bayern Munich v Sevilla (19:45) – Both Teams to Score (20/23 with Coral)
Bayern Munich took control of their clash with Sevilla by claiming a 2-1 win in the away leg, and now they’re 1/50 favourites to make it through to the semis. The bookies clearly don’t fancy Sevilla’s hopes of pulling off an upset like the one they produced at Old Trafford. However, the better news is that the first leg meeting between them was pretty exciting, much better to watch than United’s visit to the south of Spain. We are likely to see that continue when the pair meet in Germany this week, as the Bavarians try to secure their place in the last four.
Sevilla’s strike in the first leg means they have still scored in all but one of their European games this term. They now have a goal in 10 of 11 matches in this competition, and the Spaniards should trouble a Bayern defence who have been exposed in Europe of late. The hosts should rack up enough goals in this clash to be able to afford to concede an away goal, so we’re backing an open game and we’re going with both teams to score at 20/23 with Coral as our tip here.
Real Madrid v Juventus (19:45) – Real and Over 2.5 Goals (5/4 with Ladbrokes)
Real Madrid are in no danger of missing out on the semi-finals, as they’ve got a 3-0 lead to take to Madrid. Juve know they’re basically out at this point, which has been hugely disappointing to those in Turin. The Italian champions should make changes to their side in order to keep themselves fresh for the Serie A title race, while Paulo Dybala is suspended following his red card in the first leg. That leaves the visitors weakened, with Real in fine form.
With Cristiano Ronaldo flying, we expect Real to run out heavy winners in the second leg and progress to the last four. Juve should accept their exit at this point, and we’re backing changes for the Italians to lead to a few goals here. It’s been hard to stop Real and Ronaldo of late, and with the league beyond them they’ll hardly rotate for this clash. We’re backing Real to run riot once again, and they look like great value for the victory on the result and over 2.5 goals market, where they are best priced at 5/4 with Ladbrokes.