The Champions League realigns with its more time-honoured format as the round of 16 gets underway in a blaze of brilliant fixtures this midweek, including a Madrid derby and Liverpool travelling to face a revitalised Paris Saint-Germain.
Aston Villa have to be taken on away to Club Brugge in the opening fixture of the stage, while we’ll be swerving goals in Bavaria and backing them in Lisbon.
Champions League round of 16 best bets
Club Brugge to beat Aston Villa (draw no bet) @ 21/20
Bayern Munich vs Bayer Leverkusen – Under 2.5 goals @ 21/20
Benfica vs Barcelona – Over 3.5 goals @ Evens
Bet on the latest Champions League odds at Betzone
Belgians are underrated underdogs given ropey Villa road form
Aston Villa have lost nine of their last 12 away games across all competitions so it’s somewhat surprising to see them priced up as 11/8 to beat Club Brugge in Belgium.
Nicky Hayen’s hosts have already beaten the Villans 1-0 at the Jan Breydel Stadium once this term, yet find themselves 2/1 outsiders to repeat the dose.
The Blauw-Zwart lost their opening home game of this season’s League Phase to Borussia Dortmund but haven’t tasted defeat on their own patch again since (W3, D1).
Brugge are winless in two league games since booking their last 16 spot, but that only tempers the enthusiasm slightly and the 21/20 about them draw-no-bet still looks value.
Tip: Club Brugge to beat Aston Villa (draw no bet) @ 21/20
Expect another cagey clash between the Bundesliga’s best
Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen have already played each other three times this season and under 2.5 goals has clicked on every occasion.
Goals have actually grown harder to come by in their encounters as the campaign has progressed. The sides drew 1-1 in Bavaria in September, Bayer nicked a 1-0 at the Allianz Arena in December and they played out a 0-0 in Leverkusen in mid-February.
At 21/20 it would be churlish not to back under 2.5 goals again, especially given the fact that this is the first-leg of a two-legged tie and pragmatism could be further heightened.
Tip: Bayern Munich vs Bayer Leverkusen – Under 2.5 goals @ 21/20
Flick’s overs magnets are a total goals gift on Benfica mission
Barcelona have been the most entertaining side to watch bar none in this season’s Champions League. Not one of their eight outings in the competition so far have yielded less than three goals, while six of them have seen four or more netted.
Even amongst that high-scoring cohort their 5-4 win over Benfica at Estadio Da Luz in the League Phase stands out. Yet evens is on offer about over 3.5 goals when Hansi Flick’s men return to Lisbon for the first leg of their round-of-16 tie.
Four of the Portuguese side’s five home games in the competition this season have also rewarded over 3.5 goals backers, with their last two alone seeing 15 netted.
