The UEFA Champions League continues on Wednesday and Thursday morning, with the second set of Round of 16 matches getting underway. While many of the eyeballs will be on Atletico Madrid’s match with Manchester United, both Benfica vs. Ajax and Chelsea vs. Lille should be even more enthralling contests. Our preview for the four matches this week is below.
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Champions League Round of 16 Betting Tips
Chelsea vs LOSC Lille
Wednesday 23rd February 7am
Chelsea resumes their UEFA Champions League title defence this week when they host Lille at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday morning. In Group G, Lille finished top with 11 points, while Chelsea finished second in Group H behind Juventus. Both sides met last season in the group stage, with Chelsea winning both matches.
The Blues recently clinched their first Club World Cup title and with the Premier League title appearing out of reach, their focus will now be on repeating last season's Champions League success.
I honestly believe both sides aren’t at their best at the moment. Chelsea’s talisman Romelu Lukaku was abysmal in Chelsea’s narrow 1-0 win to Crystal Palace and they were far from convincing throughout the Club World Cup.
Luckily for Thomas Tuchel, Lille have been struggling themselves. They come into this first leg clash off a 0-0 draw to bottom of the table Metz. They also have only managed two wins from their last seven matches.
I believe the odds about Chelsea for this match are way too short. Both teams are lacking confidence and Chelsea have been struggling to find the back of the net. Lille despite struggling of late have a great counter attacking threat through striker Jonathan David and I do think a surprise result could be on the cards.
Juventus vs Villareal
Wednesday 23rd February 7am
Juventus come into this clash unbeaten in their last seven games across all competitions. Villarreal are also unbeaten in each of their last four games and come into the first leg match off an emphatic 4-1 victory away to Granada at the weekend.
Juventus topped Group H, winning five of their six matches, while Villareal came second to Manchester United by one point in Group F.
Juventus head into the game as underdogs, with several key players missing, but Villareal have their share of injuries too.
I am going to play this game a little differently from a betting perspective. I anticipate there will be goals in this match as both teams are missing experienced players through injuries and have played a lot of games to start 2022, meaning fatigue will be a factor. These teams have never faced each other in the Champions League so I believe there will be a feeling out process early before goals in the second half. Therefore, I am backing the second half to be the half with the most goals.
Half with most goals: 2nd
$2.10
Atletico Madrid vs Manchester United
Thursday 24th February 7am
Manchester United come into this clash off of a 2-0 win over Brighton, while Atletico Madrid won their last match impressively 3-0 over Osasuna.
The Red Devils topped Group F, winning three of their 6 matches. Atleti finished second in Group B, after a dominant second half against FC Porto which saw them progress to the round of 16.
These are the games that are perfect stylistically for Manchester United. United come into this clash, playing quite decent football but struggling to do it for the full 90. Atletico have not been great this year and have looked disjointed for most of the season, hence why they are currently sitting in 5th place in La Liga. Athleti will look to attack and that will leave them open to the Red Devil’s counters. Although it pains me as a Liverpool fan to say, United will win this. As underdogs they are the best bet of the round.
Benfica vs Ajax
Thursday 24th February 7am
This will be a neutral fan's dream as I suspect both teams will play fast, attacking football. Ajax went a perfect 6 from 6, topping Group C, while Benfica scraped through Group B, knocking out Barcelona in doing so.
Benfica’s chances of winning the league are gone, they sit 12 points behind league leaders Porto in third. Ajax, however, look set to win the Eredivisie, five points clear of rivals PSV.
Simply put I believe Ajax will win this. They are better everywhere and are yet to lose a game in 2022. Sebastian Haller has revolutionised their attack as a target man in the box and they are playing full of confidence at the moment, something that can’t be said for Benfica.
