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Paris Saint-Germain v Real Madrid
This is hands down the best Round of 16 tie in the Champions League. You have the hosts, PSG, who have spent every dollar imaginable to try to win this tournament. Big transfer money on Neymar Jr and Mbappe while also signing expensive free agents Messi and Donnarumma. Real Madrid is also built to contend for this trophy with Benzema and Vinicius Jr up front while their historically great midfield trio of Kroos, Modric, and Casemiro start again today. Perhaps the biggest loss in this fixture will be the early absence of Neymar Jr who is still recovering from injury. He will, however, be eligible to come off the bench today for PSG. There is enough explosivity on the pitch to see an enthralling match but the reality is both these teams have been a bit cagey this year. Mauricio Pochettino has not been able to get the most out of his squad and despite leading Ligue 1 by a hefty margin, they have yet to impress. Real Madrid had a great start to the season but injuries and a general lack of match fitness has caused them to hit a snag as they’ve failed to score more than 2 goals in a win since the start of the calendar year. I think this tie will be decided in the second leg as neither top club is quite on top of their game.
The Bet: Under 2.5 Goals
Alternate Bet: Draw
Prediction: PSG 1-1 Real Madrid
Sporting CP v Manchester City
This tie features two reigning league champions in Sporting and City. Sporting had a fantastic campaign last year winning the top flight league in Portugal and followed that up by beating out Borussia Dortmund for 2nd place in the group stage. Manchester City ran away with the Premier League title last year and is poised to do the same again this year. There is a gulf in quality between these two sides but not by as much as you think. Sporting has some serious talent on their team, including Joao Paulinha who could walk into most top European teams midfield, Manchester City loanee Pedro Porro who can fly as a wing back, and multiple options off the bench like Englishman Marcus Edwards. Manchester City boasts arguably the deepest squad in all of world football and can roll out any combination of 11 players and find success. Although today we see an interesting decision by manager Pep Guardiola to play 3 center backs in his back 4. Typically Man City plays a 4-3-3 but with 3 center backs in the lineup this makes me wonder if we will see a different structure for City today, and that unfamiliarity could be the difference.
The Bet: Sporting to Cover +1.5
Alternate Bet: Both Teams to Score
Prediction: Sporting 1-2 Manchester City
Bonus Premier League Midweek Match Preview:
Manchester United v Brighton & Hove Albion
Manchester United is in horrible form at the moment and they truly find themselves in a deep battle for 4th place and Champions League qualification. They have drawn back to back Premier League games against lesser opponents and lost an FA Cup tie to a lower league side. They still have strong quality in their lineup but no organization or leadership. Constantly relying on individual moments of brilliance is not a recipe for success. Brighton meanwhile are quite the opposite. They have a manager in Graham Potter who has great direction and leadership and despite being 9th in the table, Brighton play like a quality side more often than not. Today Brighton starts arguably their strongest lineup as all their top players are in, minus Tariq Lamptey. Playing at Old Trafford gives the Red Devils an advantage but I’m not so sure it's enough to earn all 3 points here. Their manager has publicly called out Cristiano Ronaldo and normally that means he's a good shout to score, but their defense is so shambly that you know they will concede at some point
The Bet: Both Teams to Score
Alternate Bet: Draw
Prediction: Manchester United 1-1 Brighton
