The Champions League once again takes centre stage this week, with four last 16 first-legs taking place across Tuesday and Wednesday. Here’s how we see them going…
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Juventus 3-1 Dortmund
After a horrific start to the Bundesliga season, Dortmund have been much improved in recent weeks, winning their last three domestic games. The 2013 Champions League finalists are still a dangerous team on paper, but they should be no match for Juve, who are once again running away with the Serie A title in Italy. Juve are unbeaten in their last 21 matches in all competitions!
Manchester City 1-3 Barcelona
Barca lost 1-0 at home to Malaga at the weekend. That freak result will give City hope, but the La Liga giants had won their last 11 games prior to that shock defeat, scoring 42 goals in the process. City lost home and away to Barca last season, ending both matches with 10 men. If they can keep 11 players on the field for the full 90 minutes on Tuesday they have an outside chance of taming Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar. However, I strongly fancy this will be a comprehensive away win.
Arsenal 1-0 AS Monaco
The Gunners are widely seen as really heavy favourites for this match, which is slightly surprising when you consider that they traditionally struggle against teams who set up to keep a clean sheet. Monaco, who currently sit fourth in France’s Ligue 1, have an incredible defensive record – they have only conceded five goals in their last 19 matches. I predict a frustrating night for Arsenal, but I can see them nicking it late on.
Bayer Leverkusen 0-0 Atletico Madrid
Leverkusen have conceded nine goals in their last three Bundesliga games and I can see them setting up very defensively as they try to fix their leaky rearguard. Atletico boast a very strong home record and, as a result, the Spanish side would probably be content to take a draw at the BayArena. I can see this being very cagey, with both teams desperate not to give anything away. 0-0 kind of suits everyone – no deficit for Atletico and no away conceded by the German side.
