After an intense group stage, the 2016-17 UEFA Champions League has finally reached the Round of 16. We take a look at the first 4 games to be played Wednesday and Thursday morning (AEDT), and give our best bets for each game below.
UEFA Champions League Round of 16 Betting Tips
Paris Saint-Germain vs Barcelona (Wednesday 15th 6.45am AEDT)
After a few disappointing off-season departures including mega-star Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Manchester United, the French side has stood resolute and currently sits second in the Ligue One. German wunderkind Julian Draxler has been a handy pickup for the PSG while Edinson Cavani has stepped up to fill the massive void left Ibrahimovic. PSG won’t be threatened by the Spanish giants, with a midfield containing the likes of Draxler, Thiago Motta, Angel Di Maria and Blaise Matuidi, they are one of the only teams in the world capable of matching the likes of Barcelona in that area.
Barcelona have been rolling through the La Liga, as they do, and currently sit 2nd on the table after 22 games. They are one point behind rivals Real Madrid, however, Madrid have played 2 fewer games. The trio of Lionel Messi, Luis Saurez and Neymar is the most lethal forward combination in the world and should be a nightmare for the PSG defence. The Spanish side has already scored a ridiculous 61 goals in their 22 games so far, 7 more than anyone else in La Liga.
It’s a tough game to call, these are two of the premier sides in the world. I think with the home field advantage, the French team might just have a slight edge, but it’s hard to bet against a team with Lionel Messi. I’m taking the over, both teams play a very aggressive style of football and they should be able to muster 3 goals between them.
TIP: Total Goals OVER 2.5 - $1.84 at Unibet
Benfica vs Borussia Dortmund (Wednesday 15th 6.45am AEDT)
Reigning Portuguese Champions Benfica will host German giants Borussia Dortmund Wednesday morning (AEDT). The Eagles will be hoping to capitalise on some hot form in their domestic competition which currently has them atop the table with just two losses from their 21 games. Dortmund on the other hand have been struggling by their lofty standards in the Bundesliga, sitting 4th with just 10 wins from their 20 games.
Contrastingly, Dortmund’s form in the group stage of the Champions League was outstanding as they topped Real Madrid to win their pool after scoring a ridiculous record 23 goals over their six group games. It’ll be an interesting battle between two clubs who probably sit in tier two of the world club spectrum at the moment. With Dortmund’s hopes of a domestic league title all but lost after falling 15 points behind rivals Bayern Munich, you could see them pushing really hard to make something happen in the Champions League. Benfica on the other hand are in a tight race at the top of the Primeira Liga table, just 1 point ahead of Porto, so they could be focusing some energy toward that.
TIP: Borussia Dortmund to Win - $2.37 at Sportsbet
Real Madrid vs Napoli (Thursday 16th 6.45am AEDT)
After only managing second in their group, reigning UEFA Champions Real Madrid will have to host Group B winner Napoli in the Round of 16, which won’t be an easy task even for the Spanish juggernaut. Currently sitting 3rd in Serie A, Napoli have been in a hot run of form, remaining unbeaten through their last 18 domestic games. The forward trio of Callejon, Mertens and Isigne have been scoring goals for fun, exampled by a 7-1 routing of Bologne just last week.
Real Madrid sit a point clear of rivals Barcelona with two games in hand in the La Liga, but year after year they manage to juggle remaining a top competitor in both their domestic league and Champions League campaigns. It’s hard to see them getting beaten at home, while Napoli’s offence has been ridiculous of late, they have been playing relative minnows compared to the likes of Real Madrid.
With not much value on the H2H side of things, I like the mega-star striker Ronaldo to find the back of the net and Madrid to win here. The Portugal international has already netted 14 goals in La Liga so far.
TIP: Ronaldo to score and Real Madrid to win - $1.91 at Ladbrokes
Bayern Munich vs Arsenal (Thursday 16th 6.45am AEDT)
Arguably one of the most consistently dominant teams in world football, Bayern Munich, will host English side Arsenal in leg one of their Round 16 matchup Thursday morning. Bayern have won the last four Bundesliga titles and show no sign of slowing down, sitting 7 points clear on top of the current league table. Arsenal on the other hand have not won a domestic title in over 10 years and have zero Champions League titles compared to Bayern’s 5.
It’ll be an extremely tough test for the English side, especially away from home. A star studded line-up that boasts the likes of Thomas Muller, Robert Lewandowski and Arjen Robben will be one they rarely come up against anywhere in England. If there’s one thing the Gunners have going for them, it’ll be the dynamic forward line they possess in Alexis Sanchez, Theo Walcott and Mesut Ozil, who have combined to help Arsenal score a league leading 54 goals this season.
All things going according to script, Bayern should win this one pretty comfortably, especially with the home field advantage.
TIP: Bayern Munich -1 - $2.30 at Sportsbet
Manchester City vs Monaco (Wednesday 22nd 6.45am AEDT)
English side Manchester City will host the form side in Ligue 1 in Monaco Wednesday morning in what should be a free flowing match. The French side sit atop the Ligue 1 table, 3 points clear of rivals PSG with a ridiculous 76 goals on the season so far. Their goalscoring ability tops all teams in the five major European leagues by a whopping 13 goals and equates to almost 3 per game. However, Manchester City are no stranger to scoring a goal, their 51 in the Premier League season so far is only 3 less than leaders Liverpool and Arsenal. They have been in some hot form of late going 7-1-2 over their last 10 games and now find themselves in 2nd place on the table.
With the way both teams are scoring goals at the moment, it shold be a fairly open game. Columbian legend Radamel Falcao has found a resurgence in form after a disappointing stint in England to sit 4th on the Ligue 1 Golden Boot tally with 14 on the season so far. Manchester City also have their fair share of fearsome forwards with Sergio Aguero netting 12 goals in the EPL this season and German midfielder Kevin De Bruyne leading the league in assists with 9.
TIP: Total Goals OVER 3.5 - $2.60 at William Hill
Bayer Leverkusen vs Atletico Madrid (Wednesday 22nd 6.45am AEDT)
Two teams that are perenial powerhouses in their respective leagues but have failed to win a lot of silverware over their years square off here as Bayer Leverkusen host Atletico Madrid Wednesday morning. Leverkusen are one of the most consistent teams in world football, reaching the knockout stage of the Champions League in five of their last six campaigns. However, they have failed to reach the round of eight on all of those occassions. Their lack of real star power usually hurts them when they arrive at this stage of the biggest tournament in the world, and could be their undoing here.
Athletico Madrid are masters of defence in the Champions League. They frustrate even the likes of their dominant La Liga counterparts in Barcalona and Real Madrid with their stringent defence and have kept an amazing 25 clean sheets from 42 games in the Champions League since 2011. Their 19 gaols allowed in the La Liga this year is second only to Real Madrid and even away from home I think they will be too organised at the back for a Bayer Leverkusen that has struggled to find the back of the net in domestic games this season. Madrid should also settle for a draw if they get the opportunity here, backing themselves in to win a home leg decider.
TIP: Athletico Madrid (draw no bet) - $1.70 at Unibet
FC Porto vs Juventus (Thursday 22nd 6.45am AEDT)
Serie A leaders Juventus will travel Thursday morning to take on the periniel Portugese giants FC Porto. For all the prestigeousness and glory that both of these two clubs hold, they have only played three times throughout their history, and the Italian side is unbeated through those three games, winning two and drawing one. Porto has proven a hard place to travel to throughout the years, however, as they have only lost 1 of their past 9 knockout stage matches in the Champions League, and no Italian side has won at Porto in their past 5 attempts.
Barring Bayern Muich, Juventus' 17 goals allowed this year is the fewest of any club in Europe's 5 premier leagues, and have been travelling extremely well so far this Champions League campaign. They are the only side to have won all three of their away games in the group stage, with great performances over Sevilla, Lyon and Dinamo Zagreb. Aqcuiring the services of Napoli star striker Gonzalo Higuain has been great for the Italian side this year, and I think they could be too strong for Porto away from home in a low scoring game.
TIP: Juventus to win - $2.30 at William Hill
Sevilla vs Leicester City (Thursday 22nd 6.45am AEDT)
Although they had a fairly dominant group stage, I think Leicester City could be one of the worst teams to ever enter the knockout stage of the Champions League. Their current 5 loss win streak and 1-2-7 record over their last 10 EPL games is the worst in the league, and they haven't scored a goal in their 6 premier league games. A loss to English 3rd league team Milwall last weekend in the FA Cup highlighted their inability to score the ball at the moment, and coming up against the 3rd placed team in La Liga in Sevilla will be a massive step up in class.
It's really hard for me to make a case for the Foxes here. If there's one thing you can maybe highlight it's their decent group stage performance in the Champions League, which saw them win 4 of their 6 games. However, their last Champions League fixture was over two months ago, and their pool was arguably the easiest in the competition. With the added home field advantage, I have Sevilla winning this game pretty handidly.
TIP: Sevilla -1 - $2.10 at William Hill
Take note: Any of the tips in this article are simply the author’s opinion, so bet at your own risk and always gamble responsibly. Also be sure to check out the Before You Bet Twitter Page for all our thoughts in the lead up to bets! Happy punting!
