It was absolute scenes in the Champions League yesterday, as a 10 man Porto managed to progress through to the Quarter Finals, losing to Juventus on the day, but winning on away goals.
Dortmund also moved through to the next round over Sevilla, as Erling Haaland continued to break records, becoming the fastest ever player to reach 20 goals in the UCL, doing so in 14 games, at just 20 years old.
PSG vs Barcelona
Wednesday, March 10th, 4PM EST
It is PSG’s time to host Barcelona after they embarrassed the Catalonian giants at the Nou Camp in the first leg, winning 4-1 and all but securing their place in the quarter finals. At least one would think so, however, this game looks all too familiar to a round of 16 Champions League clash back in 2017.
The game in question is obviously the famous meeting between Barcelona and PSG, in which Barca came back from a 4-0 deficit in the first leg to win 6-5 on aggregate.
The difference this time around is that the game will be played at the Parc de Princes, and Mauricio Pochettinos’ men will be doing everything in their power to stop history from repeating itself.
Angel Di Maria returns to the lineup for PSG, but they once again go into this match without Neymar, not that it made a lot of difference last time around.
Our Parisians talk about the clash against Barcelona! 🎙️🔴🔵 #UCL| #PSGFCB pic.twitter.com/DtxAPX5FAV
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) March 9, 2021
Head to head these two sides have met 10 times in the Champions League since 2010, PSG have won 3 of those encounters, and Barcelona have won 4.
Both sides have performed well domestically, Barcelona have gone 16 games undefeated in La Liga, while PSG have lost just 2 games from the last 16.
Barcelona really have nothing to lose at this point, conceding 4 away goals in the first leg, they know that they have to go for it and will be heavy on the attack, especially as the game goes on.
This is a favourable position for PSG who can hit them on the counter attack with the blistering pace of Mbappe, so long as they can compose themselves through the relentless attack of Barca.
Given the history of these two teams, and the position that Barcelona are in, it is hard to imagine an outcome of this game that doesn’t involve multiple goals scored. I think that PSG will get the win, as the game goes on Barca will be throwing more bodies up and will leave themselves open on the counter attack.
Champions League Prediction: PSG (+155)
Best Prop: Over 3.5 Goals (+100)
Liverpool vs RB Leipzig
Wednesday, March 10th, 4PM EST
Liverpool and Leipzig meet at the Puskas Arena once again today, following their 2-0 victory in leg 1, that would generally be a terrifying prospect for almost any team, however, Liverpool are currently experiencing one of the most puzzling slumps in form in recent time.
Having won just 1 of their last 7 league games Liverpool do not look like half the team that were crowned Premier League Champions last year.
Mired by injury problems all season, they have never been able to maintain a good run of form, and were forced to reach deep into their squad, using inexperienced players, even trying 17 different centre back partnerships over the course of the year.
However, even in the midst of their bad spell of form, they did defeat Leipzig in the first leg of this round of 16 meeting thanks to goals from Sadio Mane and their talisman, Mo Salah.
Liverpool ➡️ Budapest
Puskas Arena awaits… ⏳#LFCRBL | #UCL pic.twitter.com/5WdfC5agX6
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) March 9, 2021
Leipzig went home from that game and continued to perform in the Bundesliga, winning their next 4 games with an aggregate score of 11-2, highlighting their stellar defense, which leads the league for fewest goals conceded (20). A good defense won’t be enough to advance to the next round though, as Leipzig trail by 2 away goals.
Liverpool’s form is hard to wrap the head around, as so many of the core players are still there, it wouldn’t be like Liverpool to stay down for too long though, and I am backing them to bounce back here against a Leipzig side that don’t have a lead to sit back and defend.
Champions League Prediction: Liverpool (+145)
Best Prop: Both Teams to Score / Yes (-188)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, thanks to Bet365.
