There are 2 Champions League last 16 first leg encounters taking place on Wednesday and we take a look at each of them from a betting angle.
You can click here for all of the Long Term Champions League Markets which are updated at the end of each match day.
ATLETICO MADRID v MANCHESTER UNITED
Atletico Madrid advanced to the group stages despite losing 3 matches, 2 of which were at home against AC Milan and Liverpool. Interestingly they didn’t get a victory at home in the group stages and their other match was a goalless draw with Porto.
Atletico Madrid were in good form in the League on the weekend beating Osasuna 3-0 on the road, but prior to that they had lost 1-0 at home to Levante and overall their League and Cup form has been very hit and miss, but there is one common denominator amongst recent Atletico Madrid games is that goals have tended to flow and over 2.5 goal backers would have collected in 4 of their last 5 matches and in fact 3 of those games had 5 goals or more in them.
Manchester United only lost 1 game in their group campaign and on the road they beat Villarreal, drew to Atalanta and lost to Young Boys. Both teams have found the net in 5 out of the 6 Manchester United group matches.
Having a look at their domestic form they were involved in a thriller on Sunday beating Leeds 4-2 on the road.
BETTING – Click here to bet
Atletico Madrid 11/8
Draw 2/1
Manchester United 85/40
Suggested Bet: Over 2.5 goals at 23/20
Atletico Madrid are traditionally a cagey, low scoring team, but recent matches suggest we could have quite a bit of goal mouth action and United are also a team that scores plenty, but tends to concede goals. I think that anything above even money is a nice bet here on the over 2.5 goal market.
Another bet which interests me, but at a slightly shorter price, is both teams to find the net at 9/10.
BENFICA v AJAX
Benfica had to come through the qualification stages just to make the group rounds and they then got through despite winning only 2 games. Both of those victories coming at home against Barcelona and Dynamo Kiev. Their other home game was a 4-0 defeat to Bayer Munich.
Looking at Benfica’s domestic form they drew 2-2 on the road at Boavista on the weekend and prior to that had won their 2 previous League encounters.
Ajax swept through their group with a 100% record and their away victories included a 3-1 defeat of Dortmund. Over 2.5 goal backers would have collected in 5 of the 6 Ajax group matches and both teams found the back of the net in 4 out of the 6 games.
Ajax have been in excellent form and have won their last 10 matches in all competitions including a 1-0 victory over Willem II and they have scored 14 goals since they last conceded 1.
BETTING – Click here to bet
Benfica 29/10
Draw 27/10
Ajax 17/20
Suggested Bet: Ajax win at 17/20
I am going to keep this bet simple and just go for a straight win for Ajax at a price which I think is quite generous given their recent form and the fact that I consider Benfica quite fortunate to have progressed to the last 16.
Note: All prices correct at the time of writing but are subject to change
