UEFA Champions League
Champions League Round of 16: Leg 2 Preview
It’s fair to say the opening leg of the Round of 16 did not disappoint, with many of the favourites left with some work to do ahead of the second leg in order to secure a place in the quarter-final.
We preview two of the games below.
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Bayern Munich (0) v Lazio (1) – 5th March 20:00
After a dramatic first leg which saw Bayern defender Dayot Upamecano sent off and Lazio talisman Ciro Immobile score from the penalty spot as a result, Lazio lead the tie by one goal as they enter the second leg of the fixture.
Lazio couldn’t have asked to be in a much better position after the first leg, with their dreams of reaching their first Champions League quarter-final since the 1999/2000 season looking a possibility. Despite their home success, Lazio are stark outsiders with William Hill at 10/1 for them to win the return fixture in Germany, something they have never done in the Champions League in four attempts.
Bayern on the other hand are 1/4 favourites and given the news that Thomas Tuchel is leaving them this summer, it seems as if they will throw the kitchen sink at everything for the rest of the season so we can expect a bit showing from the German giants here. Bayern have made it to the quarter-finals in 11 of their last 12 campaigns and haven’t lost a Champions League game at home since the 2020/21 season.
The odds suggest Bayern are shoo-ins to progress, but Lazio shocked everyone in the first leg and whether they can build on that success remains to be seen. Should lightning strike twice for the Serie A outfit, it would be one of, if not the biggest, upset of the Champions League so far.
Arsenal (0) v Porto (1) – 12th March 20:00
Yet again, another home 1–0 win in the first leg of the Round of 16 has put the tie favourites onto the back foot ahead of the return fixture. This time, it was the Brazilian Galeno, whose last-gasp strike against Arsenal in the dying moments of the game has given Porto the leverage as they approach the second leg at the Emirates.
Despite Arsenal being firm favourites at 2/9 to reverse the deficit and head into the quarter-final, Mikel Arteta and his men didn’t exactly have the dream first leg, as they failed to register a shot on target in the full 90 minutes for the first time in two years. Should Arsenal hit their stride and produce a performance akin to those of recent displays in the Premier League, they should walk all over this Porto side with ease. However, given the state of affairs that lead them to this situation in the first leg, they have left themselves with a lot to do should Porto nab an early goal at the Emirates.
Much like Lazio in their fixture against Bayern, Porto find themselves out at 11/1 as firm outsiders to maintain their form and beat the Gunners yet again. Arsenal have the additional weight of facing the prospect of elimination at this stage of the competition for the eighth time in a row which could play to Porto’s advantage, and should they bring their A game to this fixture away from home, they could leave North London in tatters. Porto have proven themselves to be a very tough team to beat and following their recent 5-0 thrashing of arch-rivals Benfica in the league, they’ll have plenty of confidence to bolster their chances against one of the Premier League’s best in Arsenal.
