The Champions League ventures into the second leg fixtures as we look at the matchups this week between Barcelona versus Manchester City and PSG taking on Bayer Leverkusen. The first legs were exciting in their own rights and in differing ways but knowing Champions League football there is always a chance of a surprise. Whether we see a surprise result this week remains to be seen but we should have some exhilarating football played regardless.
Odds from Betfair as at 11/3/14
Barcelona ($1.57) versus Manchester City ($6.2), Draw ($4.8)
First Leg Result – Manchester City 0 – 2 Barcelona
The first leg between these two resulted in a 2-0 win to Barcelona which was a great result given Barcelona’s relatively poor track record in England. Perhaps what makes this fixture all the more intriguing though is that both sides will be at near full strength as well as both sides suffering losses in their last fixtures that they will want to rectify straight away with a solid result here. Barcelona suffered a loss to Valladolid whilst Manchester City were knocked out of the FA Cup by Wigan. It will be interesting to see how Barcelona approach this game knowing that City will come at them hard and with nothing to lose knowing that they need to claw back that 2 goal deficit. I’d suspect they won’t play it overly safe knowing that a goal early for themselves will almost seal it though the key difference for me in this fixture will be Aguero. He will be the one that can win it for City here if he plays a blinder. Of course there is the Messi factor as well which certainly gives the edge to Barcelona also given that it is a home fixture. I do think however that this will be a tight result in this fixture that should finish up in a draw to see Barcelona progress.
Predicted result: Draw 2-2
Best Bet: Both teams to score at $1.67
Best Bet Confidence: 80%
PSG ($1.42) versus Bayer Leverkusen ($9.2), Draw ($5.2)
First Leg result – Bayer Leverkusen 0 – 4 PSG
Bayer Leverkusen certainly have a mountain to climb here if they are to progress given they are down by 4 goals so they’ll need a massive 5 goal margin to go through to the next stage. Add to this that Bayer Leverkusen have failed to win over their last 6 games in all competitions including the first leg against PSG and it’s all pointing to a comfortable home win. For the sake of good contest it’d be good to see some fight from Bayer Leverkusen here as they do have a pretty talented side with the likes of young Leno in goals and the highly sought after Son Heung-Min. I doubt PSG will be too complacent here knowing that progression is almost guaranteed bar a catastrophe. I’d expect a spirited first half from the visited as they play for a bit of pride and if they somehow surprise themselves with a goal or two then belief may come into play but at the end of the day I don’t think we can expect much more than a PSG win and progress through to the next stage.
Predicted result: PSG 3-1
Best Bet: Over 2.5 goals at $1.63
Best Bet Confidence: 75%
Please Note:
All of the above are the opinions of the author and are not recommendations or advice. The author may not be taking every bet listed above. Bet at your own risk.
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