Champions League Round of 16 Early Picks and Parlay: Bank on Man City, Bayern Munich, and Ajax
Champions League Round of 16 Early Picks and Parlay: Bank on Man City, Bayern Munich, and Ajax
The Champions League will return mid-February with Europe's elite resuming battle to be crowned continental champions. Hopefully, the COVID situation will end, and we will see fans in the stands and the teams.
Sporting vs. Manchester City - Tuesday, February 15 - 3:00 pm ET
Like last season, Manchester City is backed by the oddsmakers as the favorites to win the trophy as they look to go one better than last season when they lost the final to Chelsea. They face a tricky tie against Sporting Lisbon in the first knock-out round, and we expect them to solve the qualification issue from the first leg.
The Citizens finished first in group A, winning four and losing two games in their campaign. However, since losing their final UCL group stage fixture, they won four Premier League games in a row scoring 18 goals in the process. They have a busy domestic schedule with games scheduled every three days, but right now, they look very strong and unbeatable. Before their trip to Portugal, they play bottom-placed Norwich, and we expect Pep Guardiola to rest many of his key players and have them fresh against Sporting.
Pick: Man City ML and Over 2.5 goals (-120)
Salzburg vs. Bayern Munich - Wednesday, February 16 -3:00 pm ET
Salzburg vs Bayern Munich Odds
The Bavarian giants were in ruthless form in the group stage, winning all six of their games and scoring 22 goals in the process. They are one of the most creative and best-attacking sides in European soccer and are fully packed with world-class players all over the pitch. Robert Lewandowski scored nine goals in the competition, sitting second in the UCL's top scorers' chart and 19 goals in 17 Bundesliga games, leading the standings.
The Bundesliga holders and 2020 UCL champions will face Salzburg in the last 16 after being drawn against Atletico Madrid. Even last season, they looked terrific until losing Robert Lewandowski, who got injured, giving Paris Saint-Germain an advantage in the quarterfinals.
They go against Salzburg, a team with great potential and very lucky after being drawn in Group G together with Lille, Sevilla, and Wolfsburg. They pulled off the upset in their final match, beating Sevilla 1-0 on home soil, but now it's time for them to face the European giants, Bayern Munich. They have nothing to lose, but they will be punished because they always have an attacking approach, and Bayern's attacking firepower will take care of business on both legs.
Pick: Bayern Munich -1.5 (+105)
Benfica vs. Ajax - Wednesday, February 23 - 3:00 pm ET
Ajax won all six of their group stage games, with Sebastien Haller scoring ten goals, half of his team's tally (20 goals netted in six games). They destroyed their opponents and qualified in style in the knock-out stages. You must have high expectations when you have players like Haller, Dusan Tadic, Antony, Steven Berghuis, Noussair Mazraoui, David Neres, or Davy Klaassen.
Ajax player Sporting in the group stage, beating them two times and scoring nine against them. Sporting is better than Benfica this season in the Portuguese league, sitting second in the standings, four points above them. True, that's irrelevant, but the difference in quality between a fully fit Ajax and Benfica is significant, and we expect them to win the first leg on the road.
Pick: Ajax ML (+110)
Champions League Parlay (+215)
Inter vs. Liverpool - Wednesday, February 16 -3:00 pm ET
Inter vs. Liverpool should be a high-scoring affair with at least three goals in the game. Both teams are brilliant going forward, having some of the best strikers in Europe. The Italians are enjoying a fantastic domestic league season, and they might push for the quarterfinals spot, but Liverpool should be the better team in the two legs.
Villareal vs. Juventus - Tuesday, February 22 - 3:00 pm ET
The Europa League reigning champs Villarreal and the Italian giants Juventus go head-to-head in what should be a doubled-legged tie full of drama. Juve is huge favorites to move forward, being priced at -250, but Villarreal is way overpriced, and we expect them to at least find the back of the net in the first leg if not to win the game.
2-Leg Parlay Odds (+215): Risk $100 to win $215
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Champions League Round 16 Early Picks
2-Leg Parlay (+215):
Article Author
Alex Campean has been a soccer fan since 1990 when he watched the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy. He knows everything about the top 5 European leagues, Champions League and Europa League and he is well known for his “trade-mark” “Alex Classic” bet (both teams to score and over 2.5 goals in the match). He’s very disciplined, follows a strict set of rules, and has great bankroll management. He’s our European soccer specialist and he's having an average of 55 units of profit in the last 7 years with his soccer picks. He’s all about positive energy, respect, and long-term profit and if you ever hear “Alex’s last-minute goal” that means he did it again winning a bet in the last minute of the game, so never lose hope.