After a lengthy break over the Christmas period, the UEFA Champions League returns this week with a fantastic slate of games in the Round of 16! Teams will compete over two legs in this round of play, and we have a preview and betting tips for the key games of the week here!
Note: We are only previewing games taking place from the 13th-14th of February. Chack back next week for the second half of the Round of 16 matchups.
Champions League Round of 16 Betting Tips
Manchester United vs Paris Saint Germain (Wednesday 7am AEDT)
Manchester United will get their knockout stage underway with a tough matchup against French giants Paris Saint Germain on Wednesday morning. However, some key injuries to PSG forwards Neymar and Cavani will weaken the Ligue 1 team that currently sits atop the domestic competition by 10 points. World Cup hero Kylian Mbappe will likely start up front for PSG, while Angel Di Maria and Julian Draxler will complete a makeshift front three.
The Red Devils will see this as a great chance to take a lead into their away leg with the form they have been in at domestic level of late. They have lost just one of their last 10 Premier League games and currently sit in fourth place on the table, behind only Manchester City, Liverpool and Tottenham. Manchester United havent lost a game since December 17th, when they went down to Liverpool at Anfield 3-1.
The Red Devils have had a fairly easy run since that loss to the Liverpool back in December, playing just one of the top 10 teams in the league. It will be a massive step up in opposition on Wednesday morning and although PSG have some key injuries, they still possess one of the most talented squads in the world. $3 is just way too much value for the French juggernauts, at home or away.
Tottenham vs Borussia Dortmund (Thursday 7am AEDT)
Tottenham have won their last four games in a row in the Premier League and have lost just two of their last 10. They currently sit third on the table behind just Liverpool and Manchester City and will be looking to make their first Champions League quarter final since the 2010-11 season when they lost to Real Madrid.
Borussia Dortmund have been one of the best bounce back teams in world football this year. After struggling in the Bundesliga last season, they currently lead the domestic competition over rivals Bayern Munich by five points. They have lost just one of their last 10 games and were dominant in the group stage, winning four of their six games and losing just one.
This fixture has become quite common over the last few years in European competition. The two sides will be facing each other for the third time over the last four seasons this week, and both sides have two wins each. Tottenham won both of the group stage matches in last year’s Champions League but Borussia arguably have the better form coming into this game. We think home field advantage will be big in this fixture, so look for Tottenham to take a lead into the 2nd leg.
Ajax vs Real Madrid (Thursday 7am AEDT)
After a slow start to the domestic season, Real Madrid have won their last five games in a row and eight of their last 10 to currently sit just six points behind Barcelona in the La Liga. They haven’t been at their dominant offensive best that we have come to expect over the last few seasons, but have still managed to rack up 40 goals through 23 games so far. They’ll be looking to reach their 9th Champions League quarter final in a row after having won the tournament the last three years.
Ajax are the sole representative of the Dutch league in the Round of 16 and will be looking to make their first Champions League quarter final since the 2002-03 season where they last to A.C. Milan. Ajax currently sit second on the Dutch League table with 16 wins from their 21 games, six points behind leaders PSV Eindhoven.
Ajax have lost their last six games in European competition against Real Madrid, scoring just two goals in those games and conceding 20. Granted, Cristiano Ronaldo was playing in the majority of those games, but the Madrid side is still a class above and has been in dominant form of late.
