Having witnessed Barcelona’s extraordinary comeback against Paris Saint-Germain, anything seems possible in this year’s UEFA Champions League. After the first batch of last 16 ties, Barca, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid are safely through to the last eight.
With the likes of Juventus, Manchester City and Atletico Madrid all holding handy first leg leads, they are the favourites to join them. Meanwhile, Leicester City, who are 2-1 down from the first leg, will be looking to overturn their deficit against Sevilla.
We’ll also be focussing on Manchester United’s home UEFA Europa League last 16 tie against Russian outfit Rostov, which is very much in the balance as things stand.
- Juventus v Porto – Juventus to Win -2 (5/1 at BetVictor)
- Leicester City v Sevilla – Leicester City to Win 1-0 (12/1 at BetVictor)
- Atletico Madrid v Bayer Leverkusen – Atletico Madrid to Win to Nil (19/10 at Coral)
- Monaco v Manchester City – Draw and Both Teams to Score (18/5 at BetVictor)
- Manchester United v Rostov – Manchester United to Win -2 (21/10 at BetVictor)
Champions League
After a thrilling opening four Champions League last 16 ties, can the second lot continue the trend? Juventus lead Porto 2-0, whilst Atletico Madrid hold a 4-2 lead over Bayer Leverkusen. Meanwhile, it’s all to play for both Premier League clubs, as Manchester City lead Monaco 5-3, whereas Leicester City are 2-1 down against Sevilla.
Juventus v Porto – 14th March
Massimiliano Allegri’s Juventus welcome Nuno Espirito Santo’s Porto to the Juventus Stadium for their second leg on Tuesday. Juve hold a 2-0 lead from the first leg, and look destined to reach the quarter-finals.
The Old Lady are in tremendous form at present, as they sit top of the Italian Serie A by a superb eight points. Bianconeri have won nine of their last 10, and will back themselves to see of their Portuguese opponents on Tuesday. As for Porto, despite being in good shape domestically, they have given themselves too much to do in Turin.
We’re predicting a comfortable home triumph in this one. Juventus, who are unbeaten at home in all competitions this season, are available at the decent price of 5/1 to win with a -2 goal handicap on Tuesday.
Juventus to Win -2 – 5/1 at BetVictor
Leicester City v Sevilla – 14th March
Managerless Leicester City host Jorge Sampaoli’s Sevilla on Tuesday, as they seek to overturn a narrow 2-1 deficit on their own patch. The game at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan turned out to be Claudio Ranieri’s last match in charge, with the Foxes going on to win their subsequent two fixtures since.
Goals from Pablo Sarabia and Joaquin Correa looked to have put this tie to bed. However, Jamie Vardy’s vital strike 15 minutes from time has given the Foxes a Champions League lifeline. Leicester may have had a season to forget in the Premier League, but they have been a breath of fresh air in Europe this season.
Craig Shakespeare, who has taken over on an interim basis, has guided the champions to back-to-back Premier League wins for the first time since April. Therefore, we fancy Leicester to turn this one around on Tuesday. A 1-0 victory would be enough, which BetVictor has available at the eye-opening price of 12/1.
Leicester City to Win 1-0 – 12/1 at BetVictor
Atletico Madrid v Bayer Leverkusen – 15th March
Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid and Tayfun Korkut’s Bayer Leverkusen square off at the Vicente Calderon on Wednesday. Atletico were superb in the first leg at the BayArena, netting four away goals in the process. Even with a new manager, the German Bundesliga outfit will need minor miracle to turn this tie around.
Los Rojiblancos have an excellent recent record in the Champions League, reaching the final in two of the last three years. Unfortunately for the team from Madrid, they are yet to win Europe’s elite competition. Los Cochoneros have been runners-up in 1974, 2014 and 2016, but would love to go one further this time around.
After bagging four in Leverkusen, Atletico look certain to reach another quarter-final. We fancy the home side to progress in style on Wednesday, and we like look of Coral’s 19/10 for Simeone’s boys to win to nil in the Spanish capital.
Atletico Madrid to Win to Nil – 19/10 at Coral
Monaco v Manchester City – 15th March
Manchester City and Monaco played out a thriller when the pair met at the Etihad Stadium in the first leg, and we’re expecting more of the same next week. City will be hoping their 5-3 lead will be enough when they travel to the Stade Louis II on Wednesday.
The first leg in Manchester was one of the greatest knockout Champions League matches of all time, with the lead changing hands several times. Despite being 3-2 up at one point, it was not the worst result for Monaco, especially as they have three away goals to cling on to.
However, we fancy City to hold firm in the Principality of Monaco, and we believe Pep Guardiola’s boys are good enough to get a draw at the very least at the Stade Louis II. The draw and both teams to score stands out from a betting point of view, with BetVictor’s 18/5 being the best available price at the time of writing.
Draw and Both Teams to Score – 18/5 at BetVictor
Europa League
After drawing their last 16 Europa League first leg tie 1-1 in Russia, Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United are still fancied to win the competition outright. They welcome Rostov to Old Trafford on Thursday as the overwhelming favourites to win on the night and progress through to the last eight of the tournament.
Manchester United v Rostov – 16th March
In difficult playing conditions in Southern Russia, Jose Mourinho and his side will have been pleased with their 1-1 draw at the Olimp-2 Stadium on Thursday. With their away goal, United are in pole position to reach the last eight of the Europa League.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s first-half goal was cancelled out by Aleksandr Bukharov’s strike shortly after half time in Rostov-on-Don. Despite failing to hold on to their advantage, the Red Devils will be looking to get the job done on home turf.
We can’t see anything other than a routine home win on Thursday. United are very strong at Old Trafford, losing just one of their 23 league and cup games so far. BetVictor are offering 21/10 for Jose’s boys to win -2, a price we think is worth having a punt on.
Manchester United to Win -2 – 21/10 at BetVictor