We’re just around the corner from the resumption of play in the 2019-20 UEFA Champions League. When the tournament of Europe’s top soccer clubs went on hold in March, four teams had advanced to the quarterfinals: Paris-St Germain, Atletico Madrid, RB Leipzig, and Atalanta. Eight other teams had not yet finished their Round of 16 ties, with the second legs still yet to be played. The second legs will be played in the home stadiums of the teams involved, with no fans. Then the remainder of the tournament will take place in Lisbon, Portugal. In this article we put forth Champions Legaue betting predictions on the four remaining Round of 16 matches, and you can see the entire tournament schedule as well.
Soccer News: Early UEFA Champions League Game Predictions
Champions League Schedule |
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Round of 16 – Second legs |
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| August 7 | Juventus vs Lyon (Lyon leads 1-0) Manchester City vs Real Madrid (City leads 2-1) |
| August 8 | Bayern Munich vs Chelsea (Bayern leads 3-0) Barcelona vs Napoli (1-1, Barcelon has an away goal) |
Quarterfinals |
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| August 12-15 | Lisbon |
Semifinals |
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| August 18-19 | Lisbon |
Champions League Final |
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| August 23 | Estadio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica, Lisbon |
| All matches will take place at 3:00 pm ET (9:00 pm Central European Time) | |
Juventus vs Lyon Betting
Amazingly, Lyon was able to hold Juventus to a clean sheet when the two teams played in France for the first leg. If Lyon could snag an early away goal in the rematch, it would be difficult for Juventus to storm back and win by what would need to be a two-goal margin in order to advance. Juventus is expected to cruise to a Serie A title, while Lyon has the disadvantage of not having been able to resume competitive play in the wake of the COVID-19 shutdown. Ligue 1, the French first division, never resumed play unlike the rest of Europe’s main soccer leagues. Even without fans in the stands, Juventus comes in as a significant favorite. If Juventus wins 2-0 or another two-goal margin, they would advance. If they win 1-0, matters would move to penalty kicks; if they win 2-1 or another one-goal margin that has Lyon scoring, Lyon would advance on the basis of an away goal. Given the rust that has had to form on Lyon’s team in the Ligue 1 shutdown and Juventus’ solid offense in the resumption of Serie A play, I’m predicting Juventus to win and advance.
Juventus vs Lyon | Check the Odds
Manchester City vs Real Madrid Betting
Real Madrid was able to overtake Barcelona in the La Liga standings and take the season title in a bit of an upset. However, they head to Manchester City in real trouble, down 2-1 in aggregate. City scored two away goals in the first leg. Real Madrid would need to win by a goal and score at least three goals, or win by two or more goals, to advance outright; a 1-0 win would not be sufficient to advance because of the away goal tiebreaker. A 2-1 Real win would send things to penalty kicks. City came in second in the English Premier League, a good distance behind Liverpool, but they have the system in place to manage a conservative enough effort to keep that sort of scoring from taking place. Real Madrid has won eight matches in a row since the COVID-19 hiatus came to an end, but Manchester City has won five in a row and looks set to win the FA Cup, England’s domestic trophy. I’m predicting City and Real to draw, and City to advance.
Manchester City vs Real Madrid | Check the Odds
Bayern Munich vs Chelsea Betting
Chelsea made it into the Champions League again for 2020-21, thanks to a fourth-place finish in the English Premier League. However, their defense has been a mess. They permitted 56 goals in the 38 EPL matches, one fewer than their worst defensive performance in club history. So if they do not score, they are in real trouble, and they’ve been giving up goals in ugly fashion: cross set pieces and counterattacks when they give up the ball. Bayern Munich cruised to yet another Bundesliga title and stacked up three away goals in a 3-0 shellacking of the Blues in England in the first leg, and they stand ready to dismantle Chelsea’s Swiss-cheese defense yet again. I’m predicting Bayern to win and advance.
Bayern Munich vs Chelsea | Check the Odds
Barcelona vs Napoli Betting
Barcelona saw their offense vanish down the stretch in La Liga play, and that series of 1-1 draws, 1-0 losses and 0-0 draws that they put up allowed Real Madrid to pass them down the stretch. Napoli hasn’t fared much better though, now slipping to seventh in the Serie A standings. They did hand Sassuolo a 2-0 beating on Saturday, but I would watch how they do down the stretch to see if their offense wakes up. Their last two Serie A matches come against Inter Milan and Lazio, so those should be decent tests. Barcelona is idle as the La Liga season has ended. For now, though, I’m looking at the upset here. I’m predicting Napoli to win and advance.
Barcelona vs Napoli | Check the Odds
