Week 2 of Champions League Round of 16 sees four European giants take the field across Wednesday and Thursday morning.
We take a look into Atletico Madrid facing off with Chelsea and then travel over to Italy as Lazio hosts Bayern Munich
Time to get serious…
Atletico Madrid v ChelseA
february 24th 7:00am
Atletico Madrid and Chelsea come face to face in Romania on Wednesday morning for the first leg of their Round of 16 clash at the National Arena.
With the match being played at a neutral venue due to COVID-19 protocols it is Atletico Madrid who will feature as the home team in this one with Chelsea keen to erase it’s Premier League mishaps this season.
Recently appointed Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel has kept his side undefeated through seven games in all competitions while Atletico Madrid sit perched at the top La Liga, three points clear and a game in hand on arch-rivals Real Madrid.
It’s been contrasting at league level for both Atletico and Chelsea this season.
After a spate of underwhelming results, Chelsea were left with the unfortunate decision of sacking club legend Frank Lampard but for Atletico, coach Diego Simieone has his side humming along.
The champions league form of Atletico left a bit to be desired though as it scrapped its way through Group A finishing second behind reigning European champion Bayern Munich with nine points.
Needing a win in the last group game against Salzburg to guarantee qualification to the knockout phase, Atletico conjured up a 2-0 victory thanks to goals from Yannick Carasco and Mario Hermoso.
Meanwhile, Chelsea’s European form saw it go undefeated in the group stage to finish atop of Group E by a point but with a huge +12 goal differential in its favour.
Having only conceded two goals and scoring 14 of its own, Chelsea did have arguably one of the easiest fixtures in its group stage with Sevilla and lesser known FC Krasnodar and Stade Rennais making up the teams.
It’s a hair tearing episode attempting to lie these two teams as both are laden with a lot of talent and the neutral venue does not make it any easier.
Chelsea salvaged a win and a draw when it last played Atletico in the Champions League but that was back in 2017.
Going for the stalemate in this one.
Prediction: Atletico Madrid 1 Chelsea 1
Suggested Bet: Draw at $3
Suggested Same Game Multi:
Leg 1: Head to head draw
Leg 2: Total goals under 2.5
Combined odds $3
lazio v bayen munich
february 24TH 7:00Am
Lazio welcomes Bayern Munich to the Stadio Olimpico for the first leg of their Champions League last-16 knockout tie on Wednesday morning.
The Italian based squad led by Simone Inzaghi finished runner-up behind Borussia Dortmund in Group F to qualify for the knockout stages for the first time since 2000, while reigning European champion Bayern topped Group A with consummate ease.
Despite ultimately progressing out of what looked a fairly easy group on paper alongside Club Brugge and Zenit St. Petersburg with an unbeaten record, Inzaghi’s side were made to sweat for second spot.
A two-all draw against ten-man Brugge on the final matchday was enough to see Lazio through to break its drought of appearances in the Champions League knockout phase.
The Italians are currently playing with far more confidence than they were at that stage of the season, and may well be coming up against Bayern at precisely the right moment.
Bayern were stunning in its group stage fixtures but have seen their lead in the Bundesliga slashed to only two points as it looks to find momentum heading into this first leg against Lazio.
Hansi Flick’s men managed 16 points from their six group matches but were held to a 3-3 draw against Arminia and then succumbed to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday.
A different Bayern Munich, though, is sure to take the field on Wednesday morning in a bid to keep its 17-game unbeaten run in Champions League football intact but the defence will have to be onsong.
Ciro Immobile has been in big goal scoring form this season. 14 goals in the Serie A matched by his five strikes in Champions League football will keep Bayern on its toes.
Prediction: Lazio 1 Bayern Munich 1
Suggested Bets: Draw at $4
Ciro Immobile anytime goal scorer at $2.10
