Andrew Ortenberg
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After an absence of almost five months, the greatest club competition in the world returns to our screens this week as the Champions League knockout stages resume.
The action kicks off on Friday with the four remaining Round of 16 legs, and a couple of clubs have already emerged as leading contenders for the 2019/20 crown. Today we’ll be breaking down two teams we love at current prices.
The Europa League knockouts kick off on Wednesday and our experts have picked out one futures bet they like the look of if you can’t wait for the UCL to get underway.
Bayern Munich to win Champions League +365
Bayern Munich are priced as joint favorites alongside Manchester City and look good value in the futures market.
The Bavarian giants lead Chelsea 3-0 on aggregate heading into their home leg and have enjoyed a leisurely month of time off after lifting the domestic double in July.
While they endured a relatively poor start to the season, Bayern have dominated in 2020 and haven’t lost a competitive game since the start of December. They ended the season on a 17-game winning streak in all competitions, winning the Bundesliga title for the eighth consecutive time and finishing 13 points ahead of second-place Dortmund.
Their form in the Champions League is even more impressive. They boast a perfect record of seven wins in seven games, scoring an incredible 27 times in the process, and possess the talents of a certain Robert Lewandowski on offense.
The Poland native has scored 52 goals in 43 appearances for Bayern Munich this season, 11 of which have come in just six Champions League appearances.
A tie with either Napoli or an out-of-shape Barcelona awaits providing they don’t blow their three goal lead this week, and they look an excellent pick to lift their first European trophy in seven years.
Atalanta to win +950
If you’re on the lookout for bigger odds, you could do a lot worse than backing Champions League debutants Atalanta.
The free-scoring Italians looked down and out after losing their first three Champions League matches, but that all changed in November as they clinched seven points from three games to qualify for the Round of 16.
A typically thrilling 8-4 aggregate win over Valencia followed, and that set up a very neutral-friendly clash with the equally goal hungry PSG.
PSG’s thirst for European success remains but they always seem to suck in the Champions League knockout stages. Their defense has struggled against the best that Europe has to offer, and Atalanta can certainly be placed in that category.
Atalanta ended their domestic campaign as the top scorers in Serie A with 98 goals and, while weak on defense themselves, they will be buoyed by the probable absence of PSG’s top scorer Kylian Mbappe, who is questionable due to an ankle injury.
Atalanta boast another psychological advantage over the competition as well: they have played all their Champions League games so far at neutral venues, which puts them in good position ahead of the end of this season’s tournament in Portugal.
They head into the resumption of continental football with 15 wins and just one defeat in their last 20 competitive fixtures, and they can reach the final from the other side of the bracket against Bayern Munich.
If you want Champions League predictions for all games in the knock out stages then we have you covered.
