Andrew Wilsher
The 2024-25 UEFA Champions League Last 16 continues on Wednesday with 4 more first legs to sink our teeth into and tons of crunch matchups. Starting things off is Feyenoord vs Inter Milan at 12:45 pm ET on CBS Sports Network, before a triple threat of games at 3:00 pm ET with Bayern Munich vs Bayer Leverkusen, Benfica vs Barcelona and PSG vs Liverpool. Let’s dive into our expert Champions League best bets for EVERY game, while you can also find out our soccer predictions for more Champions League picks as well as our EPL and MLS best bets each week.
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Feyenoord vs Inter Milan best bet: Feyenoord Win or Tie Double Chance (+145)
Feyenoord defied the odds with their 2-1 aggregate win over AC Milan in the Champions League play-off last month and now they set their sights on another Milanese giant on Wednesday when they host Inter Milan. The Dutch club beat AC Milan at this stadium in the first leg and shocked Bayern Munich 3-0 here back in January, and they have good value to at least avoid defeat when Inter Milan come to town. Inter comfortably qualified in the top 8 of the league phase, but they did drop points in 2 of their 4 road games in this competition and they have struggled away from home recently, failing to win any of their last 4 trips. Feyenoord pose good value to either win or earn a tie at home here.
Read our full Feyenoord vs Inter Milan prediction
Bayern Munich vs Bayer Leverkusen best bet: Bayer Leverkusen Win or Tie Double Chance (-105)
Bayern Munich have raced away at the top of the Bundesliga, but that doesn’t accurately reflect where these 2 teams are right now. The German giants struggled through a play-off game with Celtic in the last round, while Leverkusen backed up last season’s great European run with a 6th-placed finish in the League Phase. Celtic generated more Expected Goals than Bayern in their first leg and they led 1-0 at the Allianz before conceding a last-minute equalizer. The Scottish club missed good chances to double their lead, and Leverkusen should sense an opportunity to cause problems in this clash.
Leverkusen head coach Xabi Alonso has a brilliant record against Bayern as a manager, going unbeaten across all 6 encounters since taking charge in 2023. His first 2 visits to the Allianz finished level, before a 1-0 win in the German Cup in December. Leverkusen’s most complete display against Bayern came only a couple of weeks ago. They prevented the Bavarians from getting a shot on target, while Alonso’s team hit the bar twice, generating 2.0 xG. Bayern have won 18 of 19 Bundesliga clashes with teams currently 5th in the standings or below, while they have won just 1 of 5 encounters with the top 5. Alonso looks to have Bayern tactically figured out, while an all-German tie could play into Leverkusen’s hands, given the domestic pressure on the Bavarians.
Read our full Bayern Munich vs Bayer Leverkusen prediction
Benfica vs Barcelona best bet: Over 3.5 goals (+100)
Barcelona fought back from 3-1 and 4-2 down to win 5-4 at Benfica in a memorable Champions League game during the league phase and the 2 clubs face off again in the Last 16. The first leg takes place in Lisbon and another 9-goal thriller may be unlikely, but we should still see plenty of shots hit the back of the net on Wednesday. Benfica have been in fine scoring form at home with 18 goals across their last 6 home games, while Barca have scored at least 4 goals in 4 of their last 6 overall. The Catalan giants conceded in all 4 of their League Phase trips, shipping 10 goals in total, so their defense has been vulnerable – and both teams have enough quality in attack to hurt each other here.
Read our full Benfica vs Barcelona prediction
PSG vs Liverpool best bet: Over 3.5 goals (+122)
Both PSG and Liverpool enjoy such a stranglehold on their domestic leagues that continental dominance is moving further up their agendas and that should make for an entertaining first leg of their Champions League knockout tie in Paris on Wednesday. The Reds demonstrated that European football was far from a distraction as they won 7 of their League Phase matches, with their only loss, a 3-2 defeat at PSV Eindhoven, coming in their final match when manager Arne Slot elected to field a weakened team. The last few weeks have not been completely plain-sailing for the Reds after they were knocked out of the FA Cup by Championship club Plymouth but, generally, when Slot has selected his stars, they have got the job done. With Liverpool finding at least 2 goals in all but 3 of their last 12 road games, we should see a high-scoring encounter.
PSG are by far the best team in French football – they have won 19 and tied 5 of their 24 Ligue 1 matches and improved in the Champions League after claiming just 1 point from their opening 3 League Phase matches against PSV, Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich. So while Liverpool have been scoring plenty of goals on the road, PSG are more than capable of holding their own and, with the Reds having won just 3 of their last 9 games on their travels, we could be in for a goalfest here.
Read our full PSG vs Liverpool prediction
