UEFA Champions League
Champions League quarter-final second leg preview: Man City look set for third semi-final in a row
The second leg of the UEFA Champions League quarter-final is upon us with Manchester City on the brink of another last four appearance.
We preview their clash with Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena as well as the other three quarter-final fixtures this week.
Napoli v AC Milan – Tuesday 20:00
Going into this fixture 1-0 down, the Serie A leaders Napoli will hope to turn around their fortunes in the stadium that has seen so many victories and dramatic moments this season.
Napoli sit atop the Italian top flight with a points advantage of 14 over second place, surprising many with the below par performance that saw them succumb to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of fourth placed AC Milan, that have only won one of their last five in the league.
Regardless of the result, Napoli are still the favourites to triumph in 90 minutes at the Diego Maradona Stadium at 4/5, but are now the underdogs to progress to the semi-final at 11/10.
AC Milan, known for their heroics in the Champions League earlier this century, last won the competition in 2007, and despite their poor league form, look to have rediscovered some of the prowess that saw them as one of the powers of European football in the early 2000s.
Considering all factors, we are backing a Napoli turnaround and a comfortable win by the home side with a winning margin of at least two goals on the day. We especially like the look of three total Napoli goals at 5/1 and the high returning; Napoli to keep a clean sheet, at 11/10.
Get the best betting odds here with William Hill
Chelsea v Real Madrid – Tuesday 20:00
Chelsea welcome holders Real Madrid to Stamford Bridge and not in the circumstances they would have hoped, having fallen 2-0 behind in the tie at the Santiago Bernabeu last week.
Usually, Chelsea would not be in the domestic situation they are now, having suffered since the new owner Todd Boehly took over, with their numerous high-profile signings struggling to fit into a winning system as quick as he would have hoped.
Looking at the state of Chelsea at the moment it would be easy to predict a comfortable win for Los Blancos, but the Champions League is rarely that simple.
Last year the tie between these two sides in the quarter final ended 5-4 to Madrid and while we don’t expect this to happen again, there will certainly be some unexpected moments in this tie.
We are predicting an onslaught from the visitors soon after kick off, and over four shots on target combined from Karim Benzema and Vinicius Junior at 14/5, as our pick.
As good as Real Madrid are likely to be in possession against the less experienced Chelsea, we feel the Blues will muster up some sort of defence, and looking at their talented forwards there is no reason why they won’t score. We are backing both teams to score at 4/6 and the match to feature over 2.5 goals at 17/20.
Bayern Munich v Manchester City – Wednesday 20:00
Bayern Munich have a mountain to climb in front of their fans on Wednesday night – Erling Haaland made it 3-0 to Manchester City in the 76th minute after goals from Rodri and Bernardo Silva had put the hosts two goals to the good at the Etihad.
Dubbed as the side to destroy City’s hopes of a first Champions League title this season, Bayern did not look up to the task last week, as Pep Guardiola’s creative players ran riot for 90 minutes virtually unchallenged – will we see a repeat in Germany?
Now full with confidence that they can go onto win the Premier League after Arsenal dropped points on Sunday, we are backing City to go at it again and dominate the German Champions from the get go.
The odds suggest Bayern will win in 90 minutes at 17/10, but we feel City will only step on the gas and aim to turn the screw tighter to confirm their place in the last four. We are backing ‘no’ for both teams to score at 6/4 and Manchester City to keep a clean sheet at 16/5.
It might not be as sumptuous as their last meeting, but we have City to win to nil and to score one or more at 7/4. In truth, City could probably score a lot more but there is no doubt the pressure and occasion will cause Pep to dial it down slightly. We expect him to utilise his subs and at 13/10 to score at anytime, Julian Alvarez, will deliver great returns with a goal.
Inter Milan v Benfica – Wednesday 20:00
Benfica head into this tie with the scoreline and history against them. They find themselves 2-0 down after a poor performance in the first leg and to make matters harder, the fact is that they have never managed to beat Inter Milan.
Inter are the favourites at 11/10 to win the tie with Benfica a long 8/1 to progress to the semi-final. Inter aren’t the greatest team left in the tournament but when compared to Benfica who are in a significantly weaker domestic league, many would consider this tie to be over before the first kick.
That being said we are still in for some good betting opportunities with both teams to score offering good returns at 4/5. Similarly, Romelu Lukaku to register over one shot on target is 21/10.
We don’t expect this to be a rout but it should be a comfortable win for Inter, so guessing the correct score of 2-1 at 8/1 is a bet for the bold punter, with Inter Milan total goals of two at 13/5.
If Benfica do manage to conjure up a miracle and bring the scoreline level, it is likely to be Goncalo Ramos who is involved with the striker at 13/5 to score at anytime. On the other side of the coin it is Lukaku who looks to be the biggest money maker, to score anytime at 21/10.
