Borussia Monchengladbach vs Manchester City
Wednesday, February 24th, 4PM ET
The Puskas Arena in Hungary once again serves as a neutral playing ground for a Champions League Round of 16 clash, this time between a struggling Borussia Monchengladbach and a Manchester City team which are unstoppable of late.
Manchester City marked their 18th straight victory in all competitions after their most recent 1-0 victory away at the Emirates thanks to a lovely goal from Raheem Sterling.
The Citizens are playing great football of late, with Stones and Dias looking extremely confident in defence, and Ilkay Gundogan providing 11 goals in 19 appearances from midfield.
Historically, City are unbeaten against Gladbach in the Champions League registering 3 wins and 1 draw from 4 matches, a win across the two legs here would see them make their 4th straight Champions League Quarter Final.
𝙁𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 👊
🔷 #ManCity | https://t.co/axa0klD5re pic.twitter.com/DwNu8WvI5S
— Manchester City (@ManCity) February 23, 2021
They face up against a Borussia Monchengladbach side who have had nothing short of a turbulent season, after failing to register a win for 6 games throughout December, Gladbach then went on to go undefeated for their next 8 fixtures, with big wins against Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund in that time.
However, they have now gone winless in their last 3 league ties and will be looking to the likes of Alassane Plea, who has 5 goals in the competition so far, for some heroics against this finely tuned City outfit.
Given the team’s dominance of late, and the welcoming back of Kevin De Bruyne into the team, it’s hard to imagine that Manchester City don’t come out on top in this fixture. Gladbach have scored at least 1 goal in their previous 9 home games in the tournament, however they have only won 2, so a big score line here is expected.
Champions League Prediction: Manchester City (-358)
Best Prop: Win / Over 2.5 Goals: Manchester City / Yes (-109)
Atalanta vs Real Madrid
Wednesday, February 24th, 4PM ET
Atalanta host the 2019/20 La Liga champions at the Gewiss Stadium, in Bergamo, for the first league of their round of 16 tie, with the fixture marking the first competitive meeting between the two sides.
The Italian side sit 10 points behind league leaders Inter Milan, and with just 1 defeat since December, they are enjoying a solid season.
Consistently playing a highly attacking style, Atalanta have been thrilling to watch, thanks to an attack spearheaded by Luis Muriel and Duvan Zupata, with the Colombian strike force combining for 23 goals this season.
Il Real a #BergAMO! 🌟⚽️ The Blancos come to Bergamo!
⠀
🇪🇺 @ChampionsLeague – RO16 – 1st leg
🆚 @realmadrid
🏠 #GewissStadium
⌚️ 24.02.2021 – 21.00 CET
📲 #AtalantaReal #GoAtalantaGo ⚫️🔵 #ForzaAtalanta pic.twitter.com/8sOg7pu9ar— Atalanta B.C. (@Atalanta_BC) February 23, 2021
After a disappointing start to the 2020/21 campaign, Real Madrid now find themselves only 3 points behind league leaders, Atletico Madrid, having only been defeated once in the last 14 league games.
However, Madrid have suffered injuries to some of their most crucial players, with outs that include the likes of the one of the tournaments’ highest goal scorers, Karim Benzema, as well as Sergio Ramos, Dani Carvajal and Marcelo, who make up 3 of the 4 starting backline.
Were this almost any other year in world football and you would be crazy not to back the 14 time Champions League winning Real Madrid, however, given the size of their injury list, and the talent up front at Atalanta, it is incredibly hard to confidently pick Madrid for anything more than a draw.
Champions League Prediction: Atalanta (+230)
Best Prop: Win / Both Teams to Score: Atalanta / Yes (+400)
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