Champions League Ro16 betting picks – Wednesday, March 9


The UEFA Champions League returns this week, and there is a lot of intrigue in most of the matchups. Manchester City are essentially already through to the next round, but just about every other matchup is still competitive. Half of the teams will play this week, including powerhouse clubs such as Bayern Munich, Liverpool and Paris St-Germain.

We are now into the second leg of the last-16 ties, so there will be a completely different strategy for certain teams depending on how they fared in the first leg. It can be difficult to wager with that in mind, but it can also make things more predictable. Hopefully it’s the latter.

Manchester City vs Sporting CP

Manchester City are the runaway favorites to hoist the Champions League trophy, and they proved why when they dominated Sporting to win 5-0 in the first leg of this tie. That makes the Premier League giants all but a lock to advance, as Sporting would need to outscore City by five goals to even force extra time. It’s safe to say that won’t happen. Man City, however, have bigger fish to fry than this second leg. They know they’ve essentially already advanced. It’s all over. That could cause them to rest some players, take their foot off the gas and open the door for Sporting.

Sporting are not a bad football team. They have a talented squad that is constantly competing in the Portuguese league. They are known as having a great youth academy where Cristiano Ronaldo started his illustrious career. What does all this mean for this game? Not a ton, but it shows Sporting can hang with City. They clearly can’t keep up with a fully motivated Manchester City, but in this matchup, where there’s no reason for City to keep their foot on the gas, Sporting look a good bet. They may not win, but if they lose by less than three, this bet will cash. If City are smart, they will rest some key players and Sporting can take advantage of that.

Real Madrid vs Paris St-Germain

This will be a fun bet to have in what should be a very open game. Both of these teams will think that they are title hopefuls, but only one will advance. PSG won the first leg 1-0 on the back of a phenomenal Kylian Mbappe goal. That was a cagey game without an abundance of offense. It felt like they were feeling each other out and didn’t want to make any mistakes. Now, it’s all on the line. PSG can try and sit back and protect their lead, but that’s not their strong suit. They are an attacking team and it would be wise for them to put pressure on Real.

Real Madrid have no choice but to go for it. They need to score at least a goal to force extra time and will be doing everything they can to get that goal. That may include them playing more attacking than normal and leaving more defensive holes than normal. Either way, it is good for the over on the total goals line, as this game should have multiple goals in it. These teams both have players who can score all by themselves and win a game off their own boot. It should be a thriller, so having the over and rooting for goals is a fun way to bet on it. It also makes sense, given how the first leg unraveled.