The Champions League Knockout Phase Play-Offs are far more star-studded than fans will have expected pre-season, with the teams that have won four of the last five editions contesting ties they might have skipped with a better league phase showing.
Bayern Munich, Manchester City and Real Madrid are all in action and the first two o f those look well worth taking on as favourites, while elsewhere Atalanta have the quality to grab a first-leg lead in Belgium.
Champions League Knockout Phase Play-Offs best bets
Real Madrid to beat Man City (draw no bet) @ 11/10
Celtic first-half double chance vs Bayern Munich @ Evens
Atalanta to beat Club Brugge @ 21/20
Bet on the latest Champions League odds at Betzone
Fragile City must be taken on with defending champions
Manchester City are far too short to beat Real Madrid at 5/4 having lost four of their last five games in the Champions League and gone behind in the other.
Pep Guardiola’s men have also been battered 5-1 by Arsenal since their last outing in the competition to underline the fact that the fragility that’s dogged this term remains close to the surface.
Real racked up 11 goals in winning their last three league phase games, which included a 3-2 win away at Atalanta and a 3-0 win in Brest. They look well worth chancing against brittle hosts at 11/10 with the draw no bet concession.
Tip: Real Madrid to beat Man City (draw no bet) @ 11/10
Iffy Bayern away form suggests Bhoys can reach HT on terms
That Bayern Munich are playing in the playoffs at all after winning all four of their league stage home games tells you all you need to know about their UCL road struggles.
Die Roten lost three of their four away games in the competition en route to this juncture, failing to net against Aston Villa and Feyenoord and shipping three times or more on visits to both the Dutch side and Barcelona.
On that basis they’re well worth opposing at just 4/11 to turn over Celtic at Parkhead, especially given Celtic haven’t lost at home since December 2023.
The even money about the Scottish champions not being behind at half-time offers fair value in this regard. Bayern have only been ahead at the interval in one of their four Champions League road games so far this season.
Tip: Celtic first-half double chance vs Bayern Munich @ Evens
At their best on the road Atalanta can grind out win in Bruges
Atalanta were the highest-placed league phase team to miss out on getting a bye to the round of 16 and they look worth backing at 21/20 to beat Club Brugge.
The Italians lost just once across the eight games and claimed three wins and a draw from their four away assignments, scoring 13 road goals and giving up just three.
Bruges appear to have dipped slightly after a run of 15 wins and three draws across all competitions from late October to mid-January. They’ve now won just one of their last five outings and may well come up short against Gian Piero Gasperini’s classy side.
