Top Soccer Betting Picks & Predictions of the Week – April 9th

Major League Soccer and the UEFA Champions League take center stage in our Soccer betting preview of your best soccer picks for the coming week. We have a number of big matchups in the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinal, and in MLS play we have a number of teams that are already separating themselves from the rest of the league on the table. Check out our previews from the pitch before you lock in your soccer wagers for the week ahead.

Top Soccer Betting Picks & Predictions of the Week – April 9th

⚽️ FIXTURES ⚽️ Which four are you backing to reach the semi-finals? #UCL pic.twitter.com/Gt7oDSMhDZ

— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) April 9, 2018

Tuesday, April 10

Champions League: Liverpool at Manchester City (2:45pm ET)

Manchester City come into this Champions League quarterfinal second leg already down to Liverpool in the aggregate series, 3-0, and on the heels of a 3-2 setback at home to Manchester United this past weekend. Manchester City have seen a couple of awful halves recently, one of which involving three goals by Liverpool (in the first leg here) and the other this past weekend against Manchester United in the derby. There are a couple of trends that will come into conflict in Tuesday’s tilt, as Liverpool have never lost a tie against European competition after taking the first leg by a 3-0 score, but City have tallied at least three goals in over half of their 23 matches at home this season. City as no significant injury concerns heading in, and Fernandinho will likely play the whole way after taking a two-game EPL suspension. Sergio Aguero could crack the XI after showing some promise in his return against Manchester United. Liverpool will have to play without Jordan Henderson, whose yellow card in the first leg earned him a suspension for this leg. However, Mohamed Salah (groin) should be at full strength. However, as livid as we are likely to see City on Tuesday, I don’t see them taking the quarterfinal, as a single Liverpool road goal would mean that City would have to win by four. Soccer Betting Prediction: Manchester City 4, Liverpool 2

Wednesday, April 11

MLS: Real Salt Lake at NYC FC (7:00pm ET)

NYC FC sit atop the Eastern Conference with a 4-0-1 record (13 points), and they hold a game in hand over Sporting KC, who lead the Eastern Conference with 13 points as well. They welcome a Real Salt Lake team that sport a 2-2-1 record (7 points), good for fourth place in the Western Conference. However, Real Salt Lake have won the last three meetings against NYC FC, including a 2-1 home result in May 2017. With that said, NYC FC have emerged as a real contender in the last few seasons, and their form to this point shows that they are ready to contend for the MLS Cup. They have two men with three goals apiece (Maximiliano Moralez and Ismael Tajouri), while Real Salt Lake’s only multiple-goal scorer on the season so far is Joao Plata, with two. Real Salt Lake did follow up a disappointing 3-0 loss to Toronto FC with a 2-1 home win over the Vancouver Whitecaps. However, I don’t see Real Salt Lake offering up enough resistance playing against Yankee Stadium against an NYC FC club that are flying high at this point in the season and ready to get the RSL monkey off their backs. Soccer Betting Prediction: NYC FC 3, Real Salt Lake 1

Champions League: Juventus at Real Madrid (2:45pm ET)

It’s hard to imagine a team with an easier road to the Champions League semifinals than Real Madrid, as they prepare to take on Juventus at Santiago Bernabeu already ahead 3-0 after the first leg, holding three immense road goals. Cristiano Ronaldo posted a brace, including an overhead kick that went viral on the Internet, and Marcelo put the third goal home. No team has ever come back from a 3-0 home loss to advance in Champions League play, but Juventus’ road is even tougher with Rodrigo Bentancur and Paulo Dybala serving suspensions (Sergio Ramos will be out for Real Madrid). Given that Real Madrid’s advancement is just about certain, you might consider some other props for this game. For example, if you want to take Real Madrid winning the second leg but both teams scoring goals, that’s available at 9/4 odds. Also, if you see Juventus storming out to lead at the half and at full time, you can get that at 7/1 odds. I see this is as a game where Juventus will come out looking to score, but Real will pack it in on defense and cruise to the semifinals. Soccer Betting Prediction: Juventus 1, Real Madrid 1