UEFA Champions League is back, and we have four Round of 16 events this week. The derby is in Paris, where PSG awaits Bayern Munich. But we can’t say that the other three events won’t be interesting to our readers.
BetXchange delivers the odds, the preview, and picks for all four events.
🎬 Round of 16 fireworks 🎆 #UCL pic.twitter.com/aaaQ2VPqxg
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) February 13, 2023
PSG VS Bayern Munich
The Saints lost the past two events, lost Mbappe, and maybe lost Messi, who won’t be fully ready to meet the Bavarians. Losing in Marseille, 2-1, was followed by a defeat in Monaco, 3-1, and all this created tension in Paris, with the fans waiting for the players in front of the training center.
Overall, the Saints struggle with defense, allowing at least one goal in the past five games. All those matches saw both teams scoring and over 2.5 hits.
On the other side is Bayern, who finally started playing as they did over the past few years. Despite all the injuries, Bundesliga champs managed to find the formula after three consecutive draws, to win three straight with a combined goal difference of 11-2.
In each of these three events, Bayern netted at least three times, with Sane, Muller and the boys covering up Sadio Mane’s absence upfront.
Our pick here would be Bayern’s win. The Germans accelerated significantly over the past three weeks, and even if Messi starts for PSG, that won’t help the hosts too much.
Pick: Bayern Munich wins 3/2 at BetXchange
AC Milan VS Tottenham Hotspur
The Serie A champions defeated Torino on Friday, 1-0, and that was their first triumph after seven straight games without one. Throughout that interval, Milan suffered heavy losses like those against Lazio, 4-0 and Sassuolo at home, 2-5.
Tottenham had three victories prior to a shocking and humiliating failure in Leicester, where the Foxes beat the Spurs 4-1. By the way, Conte’s team had a 0-1 lead before conceding four in a row. Their defense was solid before that, with three clean sheets posted one after another.
Tottenham looks like a better team when looking at the overall situation, even though they come into this clash following a big loss. Milan’s defense doesn’t have the capacity to compete with Kane, Son, and the rest of the Spurs, plus, Conte knows this unit very well, and he will prepare something to break them.
Pick: Tottenham wins 19/10 at BetXchange
Dortmund VS Chelsea
The Millionaires are flawless following the World Cup and are the best team in Germany during that span. Six games played, six wins posted, five in Bundesliga and one in DFB Pokal. In all but one game, this crew has scored at least two goals, and five ended with both teams netting.
Chelsea, on the other side, falls apart. Just two victories in the recent nine games, three losses, and four draws aren’t encouraging for the Blues and their fans. Graham Potter and his crew haven’t won in the previous three contests, all of them ending without winners and with Chelsea failing to score in two.
The logic forces us to bet on the home unit. Their form is on a different level compared to Chelsea’s, and even though the Blues have more sounding names, we can’t rely on that.
Pick: Dortmund wins 3/2 at BetXchange
Club Brugge VS Benfica
Over the past few years, Brugge has been the absolute ruler of Belgian football. Things aren’t like that now. Following a blazing start of the season, especially in the Champions League, this team has struggled to gain the least consistency since the restart of the campaign. Just one win in the last nine events, six draws, and two defeats are proof of poor form.
The Eagles had seven consecutive contests without a loss until they suffered elimination from Taca de Portugal. Braga was better following the penalties, thus snapping Benfica’s four-game winning streak in which they haven’t allowed a goal.
Brugges is on the decline, and Benfica has what it takes to beat the Belgians in their own house, which is why we pick the guests to triumph.
Pick: Benfica wins 9/10 at BetXchange
