UCL Ro16 Preview 2-16-22

Inter Milan v Liverpool

This is a great Champions League Round of 16 knockout tie. There are two teams with a ton of history in this competition going toe to toe. Inter are the reigning Serie A champions and are still in the hunt this year for the Scudetto. They lost star striker Romelu Lukaku in the offseason but invested that money nicely in savvy veteran replacement Edin Dezko who has a goal scoring history as long as anyone in the top flight European leagues. They also replaced the departed Achraf Hakimi with young wingback Denzel Dumfries who has parlayed a nice showing at the Euros in the summer into a strong first season so far in Italy. Liverpool are serial winners in almost every competition they play in. In the last 3 seasons they have won both the Premier League and the Champions League and are probably second best to win both again this year behind only Manchester City. They have bolstered their team with new signing Luis Diaz, who is eligible off the bench tonight, and young star-in-the-making Harvey Elliott will play in midfield. Summer signing Ibrahima Konate will also get a start in central defense alongside stalwart Virgil Van Dijk. Liverpool is the better team and the unquestioned favorite in this tie but going on the road to the San Siro is never easy. The Reds high line always makes their ability to keep a clean sheet rather shaky but their potency in attack can never be counted out.

The Bet: Parlay-Both Teams to Score and Over 2.5 Total Goals

Prediction: Inter 1-2 Liverpool 

RB Salzburg v Bayern Munich

Goals, goals, goals…and more goals. That is the one thing you can expect from this tie. Red Bull Salzburg is afraid of no one, even when their competition is Bayern Munich who has won 9 consecutive Bundesliga titles. This is a young RB team who plays with pace and passion. They feature a burgeoning star at striker in Karim Adeyemi, who will likely move to a bigger club in the summer, and a creative young American, Brendan Aaronson, who has skyrocketed as an elite prospect in world football. Salzburg was drawn into a group with 3 other teams that all came from the Big 5 leagues and all the Austrian side did was score in every match but one and qualify for the knockout stage. Bayern Munich is as massive a club in world football as anyone else. Every year they run right through the German league and they are always in contention for the UCL, this year is no different. Robert Lewandowski continues to be the most prolific striker in the world and the runner up in the Ballon D’Or seemingly scores every game. Thomas Muller is as impactful as ever, even at the age of 32, and Bayern even has 2 prime wingers with tons of pace in Serge Gnabry and Kingsley Coman who can provide service, and goals. The one negative for Bayern is a leaky defense and that was evident in a brutal 4-2 loss this past weekend to newly promoted VfL Bochum in the Bundesliga. The biggest team sheet news in this game is the absence of goalkeeper Manuel Neuer for Bayern as he misses with injury. His ability as a sweeper keeper is second to none and the way he comes off his line is crucial to limiting chances against, this will be a big miss.

The Bet: Parlay-Both Teams to Score and over 3 Total Goals

Prediction: Salzburg 1-3 Bayern