Ian Wilkerson
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Wednesday sees the end of the Champions League Round of 16 as Real Madrid meet Liverpool and Napoli battle Frankfurt with all four teams dreaming of a place in the quarterfinals. Madrid hold a 5-2 advantage over Liverpool after crushing them at Anfield and the Spanish team should advance at the Bernabeu Stadium unless disaster unfolds. Meanwhile, Napoli lead Frankfurt 2-0 and will also like their chances of moving to the last 8. We’ve picked out our best bets for each of the second legs below and we will have picks for all the big midweek soccer games in our soccer predictions. Odds shown are available at the time of publishing.
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Real Madrid vs Liverpool best bet: Real Madrid ML(+130)
It is almost 4 years since Liverpool staged a remarkable recovery from a 3-goal deficit to progress in the Champions League against a Spanish team, but the signs are not good about them pulling off another miracle against Real Madrid on Wednesday. The Reds were at the top of their game when they saw off Barcelona in the 2019 semifinal, but that cannot be said of Jurgen Klopp’s team this season.
While they looked as if they could brush aside any team in Europe when they thumped Manchester United 7-0 last week, they followed that with a poor performance in a 1-0 loss to Bournemouth on Saturday. Their road form has been poor this season and the first-leg capitulation which saw a 2-0 lead turn into a 5-2 loss suggests there is no way back against a Madrid team that has been beaten at home only by Barcelona since a 3-2 second-leg loss to Chelsea last April.
Madrid has been beaten by Barca in the Copa del Rey and tied with Atletico Madrid and Real Betis since the Anfield rout, but a 3-1 win over Espanyol got them back on track and they should prove too strong for the Reds again, as they have in 6 of the teams’ last 7 meetings.
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Napoli vs Frankfurt best bet: Napoli ML & Over 2.5 goals (+115)
Eintracht Frankfurt has a mountain to climb to make it through to the Champions League quarterfinals and there is little evidence to suggest the German club can do it. Frankfurt trails rampant Napoli 2-0 from the first leg and has not won in its last 6 road games. Napoli scored 11 goals in 3 home games in the Champions League group stage and should progress in some style. Napoli is well clear in Serie A and bounced back from a surprise 1-0 loss to Lazio by beating Atalanta 2-0 on Saturday.
Led by the red-hot Nigeria striker Victor Osimhen, Napoli tends to cut loose in home games and with Frankfurt having nothing to lose, this could be a high-scoring game. The Bundesliga club has scored in 14 of 16 road games this season, and could take confidence from group-stage wins at Marseille and Sporting and even a 3-2 loss at Tottenham. The underdogs can play their part in an entertaining game even though Napoli should advance comfortably.
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