After an exciting first leg of Round of 16 matchups, the Champions League continues this week as the remaining teams face off in their second legs. We take a look at some of the key matchups of the week and give our betting tips here.
Liverpool vs FC Porto (Wednesday 6.45am AEDT)
Liverpool took a commanding lead in leg one of their tie with Portuguese outfit FC Porto a few weeks ago. They travelled to Porto and won 5-0, making them nearly unbackable favourites to advance to the round of eight for the first time since the 2008-09 season. They’ll also get the added advantage of being at home for the second leg, meaning they’ll go into the game as hot favourites to win both legs.
FC Porto might have dominated the Portuguese domestic league to date, but the step up in competition against the EPL outfit was too much for them in leg one. They’ll obviously be playing super aggressive here as they attempt to claw back an unassailable 5-0 deficit.
Tough to pick a winner here as Porto will be playing so aggressively and Liverpool will obviously be keen to just grind out a low scoring affair to advance to the next round. Porto’s aggressiveness will likely create plenty of chances at both ends so we like the over on total goals here.
TIP: Total goals OVER 3.5 - $2.61 at Sportsbet
Paris Saint Germain vs Real Madrid (Wednesday 6.45am AEDT)
What a great match we saw between PSG and Real Madrid in the first leg of play. Playing in Spain, Madrid were able to come away with a fantastic 3-1 win, setting up what should be a really exciting second leg in Paris. After trailing 1-0 33 minutes into the game, super star forward Cristiano Ronaldo came to the party just before half time, scoring in injury time, and then again in the 83rd minute. Brazilian wing back Marcelo added another in the 86th minute to give Real a commanding 3-1 lead heading into the second leg.
PSG will be extremely disappointed at giving up that final goal. A 2-1 loss away from home, while not ideal, is considered about par. However, that extra allowed goal could be detrimental as the French team now has to win by 2-0 or by three goals to secure passage to the quarter finals.
Usually with a 3-1 advantage going into leg two, the winning team would play ultra-defensively, but we can’t see that being the case with Real Madrid, whose natural game is based around attack. If they do concede the first, however, we can see them going into their shell a bit to conserve the two-goal advantage. We think this game ends in a one goal margin either way.
TIP: PSG to win by 1 goal - $4.33 at Sportsbet
Tottenham vs Juventus (Thursday 6.45am AEDT)
In what promises to be the game of the week in the Champions League, Tottenham and Juventus will do battle at Wembley Stadium Thursday morning. After going down 2-0 in just 9 minutes of play, Tottenham fought back to level the scores at 2-2 and return from Italy with a positive result. A draw and two away goals is the next best thing for the English side, who will only need to secure a home win or a 0-0 or 1-1 draw to proceed to the quarter finals.
It’s a tough ask for Juventus here, who come up against Tottenham right in the midst of a Spurs hot streak. Tottenham have won their last three in the Premier League and are undefeated through their last 10 games. Harry Kane is one of the best strikers in the world at the moment and will be tough even for the elite defence of Juventus.
Really tough game to call here, both teams won’t want to give an inch from the very start of the game as a loss would see them eliminated from the Champions League. Home field advantage has to play into this one and at $2.10 to win we think Tottenham are a great chance here.
TIP: Tottenham to win - $2.10 at Sportsbet
