We have reached the penultimate round of the 2020/21 Champions League, and as things stand, it is incredibly hard to split the contenders.
The two former champions, Real Madrid and Chelsea are set to do battle in Spain, while PSG host Manchester City in a clash between two clubs still seeking their maiden victory in the tournament.
Real Madrid vs Chelsea
Tuesday, April 27th, 3.00 PM (EDT)
Real Madrid welcome Chelsea to the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano for the first leg of the Champions League Semi Finals for a battle between two of the doomed to fail, European Super League founding fathers.
All eyes have been on these traitorous clubs since the news of their plans became public information a little over a week ago, and to the joy of many fans, the founding clubs have not had a great run of it since the backlash.
Chelsea hosted Brighton midweek and could only muster up a 0-0 draw at Stamford Bridge, but they bounced back on the weekend with a huge 1-0 win over West Ham, solidifying their place in the Premier League top 4.
Real Madrid were also plagued with the nil all draw woes in the days since the announcement, drawing to Getafe the next day, and again to Real Betis on home soil on Saturday.
✨🆕 INSIDE TRAINING
🎬 Trabajo antes del partido de ida de la semifinal…
🆚 @ChelseaFC_Sp
🏆 @LigadeCampeones
↪️ VIDEO COMPLETO:https://t.co/K1GBmU4Znw pic.twitter.com/NlIcOGRHvA— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) April 26, 2021
The two sides are among the very best of the best defensively, Madrid have now gone their last 360 minutes in all comps without conceding a goal, allowing an average of just 3.5 shots on target.
Chelsea are no different, conceding just 2 goals from their last 6 games in all competitions. They are let down by their lack of finishing in the final third though, with big money striker, Timo Werner getting in the right places, but often failing to convert.
However, ahead of one of the biggest matches of the season, he picked a good time to end his goal drought with his decisive goal against West Ham on the weekend.
Given how well put together these sides are at the back it would be crazy not to assume a low scoring affair here, but with big chances likely to be rare, the presence of a proven goal getter is likely to make the difference up top.
Champions League Prediction: Real Madrid (+135)
Best Prop: Under 2.5 Goals (-162)
PSG vs Manchester City
Wednesday, April 28th, 3.00 PM (EDT)
The other Semi Final clash is a battle between two sides that have won everything football has to offer short of a Champions League trophy, Paris Saint Germain and Manchester City.
City have enjoyed a breakaway campaign in the domestic league, cruising to their third title in 4 years, and they have not been met with much resistance on their road to today’s game either.
They went undefeated during the group stages, scoring 13 goals while conceding just 1 before disposing of Leverkusen in the Round of 16, 4-0 on aggregate.
Their first real challenge came against Dortmund in the Quarters, but even then they looked convincing, with Phil Foden making his case for the best young talent in world football, scoring in both legs
PSG have not had the same easy ride as their opponents, finishing the group stage with 4 wins and 2 losses, but still comfortably progressing atop their group.
The return of the @ChampionsLeague! 🔛🏆
🔴 𝙒𝙀 𝘼𝙍𝙀 𝙋𝘼𝙍𝙄𝙎 🔵 pic.twitter.com/a79V5g7AEy
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) April 26, 2021
The Parisian powerhouse was then dealt back to back tough blows in the knockout stages, drawing Barcelona in the Round of 16, and subsequently Bayern Munich in the Quarters for a 2019/20 final rematch.
However, they rose to the challenge thanks in no small part from some heroics from their own wonderkid, Kylian Mbappe, scoring a hat trick against Barcelona, and a brace against Bayern Munich.
In both the Round of 16 and the Quarters, PSG were far poorer than in the away leg, but they picked up some big home wins domestically during the week. With devastating attacking options on either end of the field a high scoring match would not be at all surprising. We envision a draw in this first leg, setting up a legendary leg 2 to decide who moves on.
Champions League Prediction: PSG (+270)
Best Prop: Both Teams to Score / YES (-190)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, thanks to FanDuel.
