Champions League Round of 16 Odds: Leg 1
UCL Returns for Knockout Stage
PSG vs. Bayern Face Off in Round of 16
The Champions League knockout stage gets underway on Tuesday with some excellent round of 16 matchups. PSG take on Bayern Munich in a dream matchup while AC Milan face Tottenham. Club Brugge host Benfica and Borussia Dortmund will clash with Chelsea on Wednesday. Then, there will be four other opportunities to bet on the Champions League round of 16 odds next week. Let’s take a look at all of the first leg matchups from this week.
Matches This Week:
PSG vs Bayern Munich
Date & Time:
Location: Parc des Princes Stadium, Paris, France
With Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi out, Paris Saint-Germain fell 3-1 to Monaco over the weekend. It marked a second straight defeat, in all competitions, for PSG. Now, they face the team they lost to in the 2020 Champions League final.
Messi is expected to return, while Mbappe is expected to miss Tuesday’s match. PSG manager Christophe Galtier left Achraf Hakimi, Sergio Ramos and Nuno Mendes on the bench on Saturday but the defenders could all start on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Bayern Munich have won their last two Bundesliga matches. Sadio Mane is still out but the Bavarians have scored 11 goals in their last three competitive matches. They also went a perfect 6-0 in the group stage and finished in first place in the Group C Champions League standings.
In this pick’em, Bayern are -120 favorites to cover, while PSG pk sits at even odds. Most recently, these teams met in the 2021 Champions League quarterfinals. In the last season of the away goals rule, PSG advanced with a 3-2 away win and 1-0 loss at home.
PSG are unbeaten at the Parc des Princes this season but Bayern are still +145 favorites. The Bavarians are also -165 favorites to qualify for the quarterfinals. Thomas Muller and Kingsley Coman have been on target in each of Bayern’s last two matches. However, Muller came off in Saturday’s 3-0 win over VfL Bochum with a calf injury.
Eric-Maxim Choupo Moting could take his place if he doesn’t suit up. Even with Mane and Mbappe out, there’s a lot of attacking talent on both sides. It’s no surprise that over three goals show -125 odds for what should be a great first leg matchup.
AC Milan vs Tottenham
Date & Time:
Location: Giuseppe Meazza Stadium, Milan, Italy
Neither AC Milan nor Tottenham have been in great form recently but they have a fresh start in the Champions League on Tuesday. AC Milan finally broke a seven-game winless run last Friday by defeating Torino, 1-0. Now, they’ll host a Tottenham side that lost 4-1 to Leicester City on Saturday.
Along with the deflating loss, Spurs lost midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur for the rest of the season with an ACL injury. They have a midfield criss heading into the match, with Yves Bissouma and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg suspended. As a result, Milan show -125 odds to cover as a pick’em.
Tottenham also come in at +105 Champions League round of 16 odds to cover. Both teams will be missing their first choice goalkeepers on Tuesday as well. Milan’s Mike Maignan could be back for the second leg but Tottenham’s Hugo Lloris is out for a longer period. Ciprian Tatarusanu and Fraser Forster are expected to start for AC Milan and Tottenham, respectively.
Despite the Rossoneri’s poor recent form, they are +155 favorites heading into Tuesday. These teams haven’t met for 12 years but Milan have never beaten Tottenham in a competitive match.
This is also AC Milan’s first appearance in the UCL knockout stage since 2014. Antonio Conte’s Tottenham are +185 underdogs and may have to rely on Oliver Skipp and Pape Matar Sarr in midfield. A draw would be a good result for Spurs, who are -170 favorites to qualify, and it’s priced at +235 odds.
AC Milan’s Olivier Giroud scored vs. Torino on Friday and scored four goals in the UCL group stage. France’s all-time leading scorer is no stranger to playing vs. Tottenham and he’ll be key for Milan on Tuesday. Under 2½ goals currently sit at -115 odds for the match.
Club Brugge vs Benfica
Date & Time:
Location: Jan Breydel Stadium, Brugge, Belgium
This is the most unexpected round of 16 matchup on the round of 16 Champions League schedule. Club Brugge kept five clean sheets in the UCL group stage, which was more than any other team. However, their league form has been incredibly concerning in recent months.
They’re unbeaten under Scott Parker but with just one win and five draws. Meanwhile, Benfica finished above PSG in the group stage and have been excellent in the Primeira Liga this season.
Benfica lost in penalties in the Taca de Portugal last week but they’ve won their last four Primeira Liga matches. Joao Mario has been in excellent form and the midfielder scored four goals in the UCL group stage.
Benfica are massive -375 favorites to qualify but the first leg is on the road at Brugge. Benfica are -115 ATS and moneyline favorites in the first-ever UCL meeting between these clubs. Brugge +½ shows -105 ATS and they’re +320 home underdogs.
Although Club Brugge had an excellent defensive record in the group stage, they’ve conceded in most games recently. In fact, they’ve allowed a goal in nine of their last 10 competitive matches. That’s good news for a Benfica, who have scored well over two goals per game this season. For this first leg matchup, over 2½ goals sit at -115 odds. Meanwhile, a draw displays +265 odds for Wednesday’s match.
Borussia Dortmund vs Chelsea
Date & Time:
Location: Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund, Germany
Chelsea have won just two of their nine matches, in all competitions, since the World Cup break ended. They’ve disappointingly drawn their last three EPL matches heading into Wednesday’s UCL match at Borussia Dortmund. Meanwhile, Dortmund have been in excellent form. They’ve won all six of their matches in 2023.
Dortmund are +130 underdogs to qualify for the quarterfinals but are favored in the first leg. In another pick’em, the Champions League round of 16 odds price Dortmund at -130 odds to cover. Dortmund have averaged nearly three goals per game in their last six and show +140 odds to win.
Goals have been hard to come by for Chelsea, who haven’t scored two goals in a match since December 27th. Graham Potter’s Blues did finish the UCL group stage with four straight wins, though. Joao Felix also scored his first Chelsea goal in the 1-1 draw vs. West Ham last weekend.
Many of the Chelsea new arrivals are expected to feature on Wednesday but they haven’t logged many minutes together. Enzo Fernandez and Mykhailo Mudryk starred in the group stage for Benfica and Shakhtar Donetsk, respectively. Regardless, Chelsea come in at +110 odds to cover and +200 odds to win the match.
A fourth straight Chelsea draw sits at +240 odds and it’d be a fine result for them. Dortmund have a fully fit Sebastien Haller to start up top. They may also have the most talented player on the pitch, in midfielder Jude Bellingham. The momentum is clearly on Dortmund’s side but Chelsea have often turned it on in the Champions League in recent years. In the first-ever UEFA meeting between these teams, both over and under 2½ goals are priced at -110 odds.
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