By Antony Jordan
This Tuesday evening will see the first set of two semi finalists decided as Real Madrid host Bundesliga side Wolfsburg at the Bernabeu looking to turn around their shock 2-0 loss at the Volkswagen Arena last week while Manchester City aim to make the most of their advantage of two away goals following a 2-2 draw at the Parc des Princes last week against PSG.
Can Wolfsburg and Man City make the most of their slender leads to book their places in their first ever Champions League semi finals tonight? We preview both second leg ties with online sportsbook Bet365.com to provide our best Champions League picks.
Real Madrid v Wolfsburg: 1.20 – 8.00 – 15.00
The Germans once again approach a match with the Spanish giants as the big outsiders but, after last Wednesday’s 2-0 win on home soil, they will be far less afraid of Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and the rest of the Real Madrid side tonight. They showed ability and fearlessness six days ago that belied their first appearance at this stage of Europe’s premier club football competition, but they will also know that a second leg at one of the most imposing stadia in all of Europe, if not the world, against a fired up Real Madrid team is one of the toughest tasks in the world. They were written off last week by many (including myself, shamefully) but do they have the fight in them to defend this two goal advantage in the Spanish capital?
Surprisingly, the first leg victory for Wolfsburg is their only win in five matches and, despite taking a lead against Mainz at the weekend, they could manage only to share the points to leave them six points off European places in Germany. To top this off, they come into this match without a goal in their last two away matches as they were beaten 1-0 and 3-0 in the league by Hoffenheim and Bayer Leverkusen, so they’ll need to find some form just like they did in the first leg if they’re to progress to the final four stage.
The Germans were massively helped by the Spaniards in the first leg as, after a bright start, it was the Germans who dominated play as Real looked to have a hangover from El Clásico the weekend previous, but with that massive clash – and victory – now out of site and a 4-0 home win over Eibar at the weekend seeing them close to within four points of the top of La Liga the home side will be confident about being a much better side this evening.
You can be sure that any poor displays by the home side this evening will be pounced upon by the fanatical home support and we see the home team being cheered onto a much better performance this evening. That said, with Wolfsburg boss Dieter Hecking showing his abilities last week, we can see the Germans again being difficult to beat, and we feel that they’ll get at least one goal against a poor Madrid defence.
Will this see them into the final four? We’ll have to wait to find out, but we certainly see goals this evening!
Our best Real Madrid v Wolfsburg bet is back Both Teams to Score – Yes @ 1.70 with Bet365.com.
Man City v PSG: 2.80 – 3.60 – 2.55
The home side in this second leg of the Champions League Quarter Final between Manchester City and PSG have brought the slightest of advantages back across the English Channel after their 2-2 draw in the French capital last week sees them ahead of goal difference. If they can keep the French champions from scoring any more than a single goal at The Etihad tonight then they will be assured of a place in the Champions League semi finals, assuming that they find the goal themselves.
City certainly have the attacking players to trouble the PSG backline with Sergio Aguero, Kevin De Bruyne and Yaya Toure all fit and ready to play as well as more than capable of putting the ball in the opposition net. However, with PSG having Zlatan Ibrahimovic leading their attack, along with Edison Cavani and Angel Di Maria almost his equal in front of goal, and the home side missing Vincent Kompany in defence keeping the away team to zero or one goal promises to be a tough ask for an outfit that has conceded eight goals in their last seven games on home soil.
Just like the Real Madrid v Wolfsburg match, we can see both of these sides progressing to the final four stage of this competition in what promises to be a close contest, but we do feel that the value is on a particular goalscorer on the blue half of Manchester and we are betting this way.
Our top tip on this Man City v PSG match is back Zlatan Ibrahimovic to score anytime at odds of 1.95 in the Bet365 Sportsbook!