The Uefa Champions League returns on Tuesday night when Atletico Madrid host defending champions Liverpool in the first leg of the Round of 16.
Atletico Madrid v Liverpool
Atletico came through Group D as runners up to Juventus with a record of 3 wins, 1 draw and 2 defeats, Bayer Leverkusen and Lokomotiv Moscow were the teams to miss out. The Madrid side were unbeaten at home, starting the campaign with a 2-2 draw against Juve before wins over Leverkusen (1-0) and Lokomotiv (2-0) sealed their place in the last 16.
At the time of writing Atletico were fourth in the La Liga standings, 12 points off the pace being set by Barcelona and Real Madrid. They have won just 1 of their last 5 league matches but home form is solid with 7 wins, 4 draws and just the 1 defeat, scoring 15 goals and conceding 6.
In the betting to be crowned Uefa Champions this season Atletico are trading in the region of 33/1. Last season Atletico were knocked out in the last 16 by Juventus 3-2 on aggregate even though they won the first leg 2-0 in Madrid.
Win Up To R100,000 Every Week With 4 To Score
Liverpool recovered from losing their opening group match 2-0 at Napoli to top Group E with 4 wins, 1 draw and 1 defeat. Napoli were runners up, 1 point back and Salzburg were third and Genk fourth. That defeat away to Napoli was followed by away wins at Genk (4-1) and Salzburg (2-0) and the victory in Austria was Liverpool's only clean sheet in the group stage.
In the Premier League Liverpool are certainties for the title, unbeaten with 25 wins and 1 draw and a lead of 25 points.
Liverpool are generally 9/2 to defend the Champions League title, vying for favouritism with Manchester City. In the Round of 16 last season Liverpool drew the first leg 0-0 with Bayern before winning the return 3-1 in Munich.
Verdict:
I can see this being tight with Liverpool perhaps edging it and my preference here is for both teams to score? (no). A more adventurous selection would be a nibble on Liverpool to edge it 1-0.
Bets: Both teams to score? (no) at 10/11
Liverpool to win 1-0 at 11/2
GFTG Newsletter
Subscribe to our free weekly betting mailer which will include our best and value bets below.
