Another week, another group of European knockout matches for us to enjoy and – hopefully – profit from. Both the Champions League and Europa League will lose another half of their teams in second-leg ties which spread over Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday night. Below are our best picks for an easy winner, medium risk and long shot trebles to make some profit out of these three great nights of action.
Easy Winner – 8/5 (BetVictor)
- Monaco v Arsenal over 1.5 goals (1/3) – No team has ever lost the first-leg of a Champions League at home by two goals and progressed to the next round. That is the task facing Arsenal who have to score three goals in Monaco. That makes over 1.5 goals a certainty.
- Barcelona v Manchester City over 2.5 goals (40/85) – City face a huge uphill struggle to get through to the Champions League quarter finals for the first time in their history. This one should have plenty of goals as Pellegrini’s side need to win and Barca have one of the most feared front-lines in world football.
- Ajax v Dnipro over 1.5 goals (1/3) – Ajax would not have expected to lose the first leg against Dnipro but with just the one goal deficit they will believe they can qualify with a home win. Ajax generally score plenty of goals at home and over 1.5 goals is the least we can expect.
Medium Risk – 11/2 (Totesport)
- Roma to beat Fiorentina (19/20) – The first-leg of this one ended 1-1, the same score as when they met in the league at Stadio Artmeio Franchi. If Roma can replicate the 2-0 league win they recorded in the Stadio Olimpico they will sail through to the next round.
- Dynamo Kiev to beat Everton (11/10) – A late penalty saw Everton narrowly beat Kiev in the first leg but they will face a very stiff challenge away in the second-leg. Kiev are unbeaten in their league this season and have only dropped two points at home.
- Atletico Madrid to beat Bayer Leverkusen (8/13) – Leverkusen recorded a narrow one-nil victory at home which will spur Atleti on to come out fighting early doors. Diego Simeone’s team have only lost once at home this season and have beaten neighbours Real Madrid 4-0. The home side should win and get through to the quarter finals.
Long Shot – 60/1 (Bet365)
- Barcelona to beat Manchester City 2-1 (13/2) – This is such a difficult ask for City but you can expect them to give it a real go. They are likely to come up short and a repeat of the scoreline here last year is very possible.
- Atletico Madrid to beat Leverkusen to nil (11/8) – Atletico Madrid have a good defensive record at home averaging around 0.7 goals conceded at home per game. They are a very good side, currently third in the Liga, and can beat Leverkusen without too much trouble.
- Borussia Dortmund v Juventus over 3.5 goals (12/5) – Juventus are up in this tie thanks to their 2-1 win at home but with Dortmund’s ability to attack with verve and their record of exciting knock-out matches, this one could well set light and be a high scoring affair.