The quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League kick off this Tuesday, and four matches are on the schedule this week. We will review each one, do a short preview, and present our predictions, which might come in handy. After all, over the past few years we have been pretty good when it comes to betting on the UCL.
Pairs for this round are:
- Bayern Munich vs. Inter Milan
- Arsenal vs. Real Madrid
- Barcelona vs. Borussia Dortmund
- PSG vs. Aston Villa
By the way here are the odds for all these games. BetXchange has the best possible offer and don’t hesitate to look around for more betting options.
Bayern Munich vs. Inter Milan
Bayern beat Augsburg last Friday night 1-3, but they lost Jamal Musiala. Germany’s top playmaker is out, and he won’t be ready for this event and the rematch as well. This is a big hit for Vincent Kompany, whose playstyle isn’t very creative, let alone imagine what it would be without Musiala.
Inter played 2-2 in Parma on Saturday, dropping a two-goal lead. Though, if nothing else, the Nerazzurri are all ready for this one without injuries or suspensions. Inter plays strong football with plenty of physicality, and Simone Inzaghi made a perfect blend that pushes hard no matter the rivals.
Kompany lacks the experience to compete at this level, and we constantly say that he is Bayern’s weakest link. After analyzing this matchup, the best bet here would be a moderate efficiency, which is 2 or 3 goals.
Arsenal vs. Real Madrid
Both teams had shocking weekends. Though, we can say that Arsenal not winning aginst Everton isn’t that surprising. On the other side, Real’s 1-2 defeat at home to Valencia looks pretty stunning. And it came in the 5th minute of the injury time, which makes it more painful for Los Blancos.
Arsenal’s troubles with injured players continue, and as usual, this team’s depth is seriously thinned by all the absences. As for Real, their defense is terrible. Believe it or not the Spanish and the European champions have conceded in the previous 8 straight games. When we add that Mbappe and Vinicius aren’t working together as expected, it’s no wonder Real’s form looks shaky.
Arteta can’t allow his team to open and attack despite the home-field edge. Meanwhile, Ancelotti knows that, but he, too, can’t risk anything with a terrible backline. That’s why our top pick would be under 2.5 goals. This will be a conservative game without too many chances.
Barcelona vs. Borussia Dortmund
Despite not fully utilizing Real’s loss and playing with Betis just 1-1, Barcelona’s players are happy to increase their advantage in La Liga over their biggest rivals. This was the 22nd game in a row without a failure. They are in very good form and play flamboyant football. Just to tell, Barca scored 4 or more hits in a game 20 times this season.
Borussia was better in Freiburg; there, they trashed the Zebras 1-4. After 3-1 against Mainz last weekend, this is a sign that they aren’t going to Barcelona with a white flag.
Still, even with all this, we can’t give any decent chances to Borussia in Barca. Why? Their defense is fragile and it often cracks under pressure. After all, Borussia isn’t among the top teams in the Bundesliga, and their reaching this stage in UCL is more because of luck. Therefore, we take Barcelona -1.5.
PSG vs. Aston Villa
It was a big game for Unai Emery, who once worked in Paris and didn’t meet the owners’ expectations. His Villa is on the rise, having won eight in a row in all competitions and looking rather sharp in the attack. The Villans have scored multiple goals in all but one event during this stretch.
As for PSG, this team might be in the best form of all eight units in the UCL. They have one loss in the past 29 matches (vs. Liverpool), and that’s it. Right now the Saints ride a 7-game winning streak.
Our pick here is for the home team to triumph. We respect Villa, and Emery, but PSG at home is a different kind of animal compared to what Aston Villa faced recently.
