The Uefa Champions League Round of 16 continues on Wednesday and we take at look at the first leg matches of all four games including Benfica v Barcelona and PSG v Liverpool
Match result prices quoted from Sportingbet are correct at the time of writing but subject to change.
Feyenoord 4.75/1 Draw 33/10 Inter 11/20
Feyernoord finished 19th in the league phase with a record of 4 wins, 1 draw and 3 defeats. Their stand out result was a 3-0 home win over Bayern which helped set up a play off with AC Milan. Feyenoord edged the first leg 1-0 on home turf, they were very much the underdogs in the return but a 1-1 draw saw them through. In the Dutch top flight Feyenoord are a distant fourth.
Inter won 6, drew 1 and lost 1 of their league phase matches to finish fourth and advance straight to the Round of 16. Their only defeat came away to Leverkusen (1-0) and that was the only goal they conceded in 8 UCL matches which included a 0-0 draw away to Man City and 1-0 home win over Arsenal. Inter currently top Serie A, 1 point clear of Napoli and 3 better off than Atalanta.
The Verdict
Feyenoord found the net home and away to knock out AC Milan but Inter look a cut above their city rivals. I'm with Inter to edge this one by a single goal.
Bets: Winning Margin, Inter by 1 goal exactly at 2.65/1 with Betway
Bayern Munich 0.78/1 Draw 28/10 Bayer Leverkusen 33/10
Bayern made hard work of qualifying, they won 5 and lost 3 of their league phase matches to finish 9th and although they boasted a 100% record at home, 3 defeats on their travels saw them pitched into a play off with Glasgow Celtic. Bayern won the first leg 2-1 but the return in Munich went to the wire, eventually finishing 1-1 on the night.
Leverkusen qualified for the Ro16 automatically after finishing sixth with a record of 5 wins, 1 draw and 2 defeats. The 2 defeats came away at Liverpool and Atletico, they were also held away to Brest but did win 4-0 at Feyenoord.
In the Bundeliga Bayern top the log and although Leverkusen are second the gap is now 8 points.
The Verdict
These teams have already met 3 times this season. Both league meetings finished all square, 1-1 in Munich and 0-0 in the return whilst a DFB Pokal clash in Munich saw Leverkusen win 1-0. Both sides have lost just 1 Bundesliga match all season but Leverkusen have drawn 8 to Bayern's 4.
That head to head recent history suggests a tight game and I'm going with another draw.
Bets: Match result draw at 28/10 with Sportingbet
Benfica 5/2 Draw 31/10 Barcelona 0.88/1
Benfica won 4 matches in the league phase, drawing 1 and losing 3 to finish 16th. One of those matches came at home to Barca who edged a thriller 5-4. A 2-0 win at Juve on Matchday 8 set up a play off with Monaco and Benfica won the first leg 1-0 away from home and the return finished 3-3. Benfica are currently second in Portugal's top flight, 3 points behind Sporting but they do have a game in hand.
Barcelona finished as runners up to Liverpool in the league phase with a record of 6 wins, 1 draw and 1 defeat. They lost their first match away to Monaco before reeling off 6 straight wins and a 2-2 draw at home to Atalanta. Barca scored all of 28 goals in the league phase, the best goals return in the UCL. Barca went back to the top of La Liga at the weekend, they are 1 point clear of Atletico and 3 better off than Real.
The Verdict
Benfica have blown hot and cold, they are capable on their day but they will have to be at their best against such a free scoring Barca side. I'm going to see if I can get Otamendi a card.
Bets: Player to be shown a card, Nicolas Otamendi ? (yes) at 16/10 with Sportingbet
PSG 1.35/1 Draw 27/10 Liverpool 1.75/1
PSG looked in trouble at one stage in the league phase but they rallied to finish 14th with a record of 4 wins, 1 draw and 3 defeats. They won each of their last 3 in the new format to set up a play with Brest. That proved to be the most one sided of match ups with PSG winning 10-0 on aggregate. PSG are 13 points clear at the top of Ligue 1, undefeated with 19 wins and 5 draws.
Liverpool topped the league table after winning their first 7 matches before a second string side lost their final game 3-2 away to PSV. They kept 5 clean sheets in those 8 games and they won away from home at AC Milan, Leipzig and Girona. Liverpool are 13 points clear at the top of the EPL standings and although their rivals have a game in hand it looks like they will win the title as they please.
The Verdict
PSG finished the league phase very strongly and Liverpool will be thinking their table topping league phase deserved a more favourable draw than this. Again, the draw looks worth a go to me.
Bets: Match Result Draw at 11/4 with Betway
Note, prices quoted are subject to change
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