The second legs of four Uefa Champions League Round of 16 matches take place on Tuesday and we take at look at all four games including Barcelona v Benfica and Liverpool v PSG
Match result prices quoted from Betway are correct at the time of writing but subject to change.
Barcelona 1 / 3 Draw 5/1 Benfica 66/10
Raphinha scored the only goal of the first leg in Lisbon last week. We had to wait while just after the hour mark for the breakthrough after Barca had Pau Cubarsi red carded on 22 minutes.
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 remain top of La Liga, ahead of Real on goal difference and 1 point clear of Atletico and Barca have a game in hand of those rivals for the title.
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.
The Verdict
The red card probably had a big say in low scoring first leg but the betting markets suggest this will be a high scoring affair. That could well be the case but for a betting interest I'm with the price boost for Raphinha to have 3 or more shots on target
Bets: Raphinha 3+ shots on target, was 5/2 now 31/10 with Sportingbet
Inter 1 / 3 Draw 44/10 Feyenoord 76/10
Inter are in total control of this tie after a 2-0 win in the first leg away from home. Goals from Marcus Thuram and Lautaro Martinez either side of half time gave Inter a deserved victory and yet another clean sheet
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 this competition. Inter currently top Serie A, 1 point clear of Napoli and 3 better off than Atalanta.
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 fifth.
The Verdict
I think Inter will get the job done and hopefully with a goal in each half.
Bets: Inter to score in both halves? (yes) at 21/20 with Betway
Bayer Leverkusen 18/10 Draw 2.65/1 Bayern Munich 14/10
Bayern won the first leg 3-0 in Munich last week. Harry Kane opened the scoring after just 9 minutes, early in the second half Musiala made it 2-0 and Kane added the third from the penalty spot on 75 minutes. Nordi Mukiele pickd up a red card for Leverkusen who were 2-0 down at the time in what was a surprisngly one sided contest.
Leverkusen qualified for the Ro16 automatically after finishing sixth with a record of 5 wins (including all 4 home games), 1 draw and 2 defeats (which came away at Liverpool and Atletico).
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.
In the Bundeliga Bayern top the log and although Leverkusen are second the gap is 8 points. Both sides lost their league games at the weekend.
The Verdict
Prior to the first leg these teams had 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 but last week there was only 1 team in it.
I'm not overly keen on this match and Harry Kane “anytime” is something of a token pick.
Bets: Anytime goalscorer Harry Kane at 13/10 with Sportingbet
Liverpool 12/10 draw 29/10 PSG 19/10
Harvey Elliot was a late Liverpool substitute in the first leg and he scored on 87 minutes with his first touch. That was the only goal of the game which had largely been dominated by PSG who couldn't find a way past goalkeeper Alisson who was in inspired form. VAR decisions also went in Liverpool's favour and they came away with the 1-0 win.
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 have now kept 6 clean sheets in 9 UCL games. Liverpool are now 15 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 well before the end of the season.
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 16 points clear at the top of Ligue 1, undefeated with 20 wins and 5 draws.
The Verdict
Liverpool rode their luck last week and PSG did everything but score. I think there is scope for a twist or two in this one and I'm siding with Dembele to score for PSG
Bets: Anytime goalscorer Ousmane Dembele at 17/10 with Betway
Note, prices quoted are subject to change
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