The UEFA Champions League has reached its semi-final stage, with Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Monaco and Juventus the four teams left battling out for a place in the final at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium. On Tuesday, Madrid rivals Real and Atletico go head-to-head at the Santiago Bernabeu, with Monaco hosting Juventus the following day.
In the UEFA Europa League, Ajax play Lyon on Wednesday, before Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United make the trip to Celta Vigo on Thursday. We’ll be previewing all four first legs of the semi-finals taking place next week.
- Real Madrid v Atletico Madrid – Real Madrid to Win -1 (12/5 at Coral)
- Monaco v Juventus – Draw and Both Teams to Score (7/2 at BetVictor)
- Ajax v Lyon – Ajax to Win (13/10 at Betfair)
- Celta Vigo v Manchester United – Manchester United to Win 2-0 (11/1 at BetVictor)
Champions League
After beating Bayern Munich after extra time in a dramatic quarter-final at the Bernabeu, Real Madrid have set up a spicy semi-final tie with rivals Atletico Madrid. Diego Simeone’s men beat Leicester City 2-1 on aggregate in their quarter final contest. Meanwhile, Juventus were too strong for the mighty Barcelona, winning 3-0 over two legs. Monaco impressively beat Borussia Dortmund home and away to reach the final four and they are looking good.
Real Madrid v Atletico Madrid – 2nd May
These two are no strangers in this competition, with two of the last three Champions League finals being contested by Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid. With the first leg at home, Zinedine Zidane’s men will be looking to take an advantage to the Vicente Calderon and defeat their city rivals yet again.
Despite being 10 points off the pace in La Liga, Diego Simeone’s organised outfit are a different animal in Europe. They may be underdogs, but they will back themselves to get a positive result at the home of their rivals. A few weeks ago, Atletico earned a 1-1 draw at the Bernabeu in a league game and a repeat result here will be much welcome for Los Rojiblancos on Tuesday.
The current CL champions are very strong at home though. In fact, last Sunday’s 3-2 defeat to Barcelona was their first home league loss of the season. Therefore, we can see Los Blancos sealing a handy first leg advantage on Tuesday. Coral’s 12/5 for the hosts to win -1 stands out, a result which would give them one foot in yet another Champions League final.
Real Madrid to Win -1 – 12/5 at Coral
Monaco v Juventus – 3rd May
The second semi-final sees Leonardo Jardim’s Monaco welcome Massimiliano Allegri’s Juventus to the Stade Louis II on Wednesday. Monaco may have been the only side to win both home and away in 90 minutes in the quarter-final, but they head into this tie with the Italian giants as second favourites.
The Old Lady have once again been far superior to all their domestic rivals in Serie A, sitting at the summit of Italy’s top table by eight points. They have also had an excellent Champions League campaign, winning seven and drawing three of their 10 CL games so far, which includes a stunning 3-0 win over Barcelona in the previous round. Their defence has proved almost impregnable and has been the bedrock of their success.
Monaco, meanwhile, have also had a tournament to remember, seeing off the likes of Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund, among others. Monaco are one of the most attacking, highest scoring sides in the world so there is an interesting contrast.
We feel the French side can hold Juve to a draw at the Stade Louis II on Wednesday. However, we also believe Allegri’s boys will seal an important away goal. Because of that, check out BetVictor’s 7/2 for the draw and both teams to score.
Draw and Both Teams to Score – 7/2 at BetVictor
Europa League
After finally seeing off Anderlecht in extra time, Manchester United progressed to the semi-final of the Europa League, setting up a tasty tie with Spanish side Celta Vigo. Elsewhere, Ajax beat Schalke in a thriller, whilst Lyon saw off Besiktas on penalties. With four pretty evenly matched teams left, which two can take a first leg advantage next week?
Ajax v Lyon – 3rd May
Ajax and Lyon did it the hard way to reach the final four, but neither will want their Europa League journey to come to an end at the semi-final stage. With the first leg taking place at Ajax’s Amsterdam Arena, Peter Bosz’s men are the bookies’ favourites to hold a lead when they travel to France for the second leg.
Still, Lyon are capable of beating anyone in the Europa League, having seen off AZ Alkmaar, Roma and Besiktas since dropping out of the Champions League. However, Bruno Genesio’s boys have only won one of their last five Ligue 1 games. Meanwhile, Ajax have come out on top in four of their previous five league fixtures so confidence and momentum could be with them.
This tie could go either way, but the Dutch side will be banking on taking a positive result to Lyon. Betfair are offering 13/10 for a home win, a price we feel is worth having a nibble on.
Ajax to Win – 13/10 at Betfair
Celta Vigo v Manchester United – 4th May
Finally, Jose Mourinho takes his Manchester United side to Spain on Thursday to face Eduardo Berizzo’s Celta Vigo in what looks a tricky tie on paper for the Red Devils. United have been quite dominant in the knockout stages, but can they go one further and book their passage through to next month’s final at the Friends Arena?
Jose’s troops huffed and puffed against Anderlecht in the previous round, with Marcus Rashford’s extra time goal finally seeing off the Belgians. As for Celta, they beat Genk in their quarter-final. These two have never met in any competition, which should make for fascinating viewing.
As expected, Man Utd are favourites to go through, they are also fancied to win at Balaidos on Thursday evening and are, indeed, favourites for the competition outright. We’re backing United to seal a comfortable first leg victory, with BetVictor’s 11/1 for a 2-0 away win catching our eye.
Manchester United to Win 2-0 – 11/1 at BetVictor