Champions League Betting – QF Matchups Set

Other than Bayern Munich’s epic comeback against Juventus, the Champions League Round of 16 lacked drama.  The quarterfinals promise to be a little better after the draw was put together this Friday.  Three Spanish teams survived and two – Barcelona and Real Madrid – are among the top-three favorites to hoist the trophy (along with Bayern Munich).

The first legs will be on April 5-6 and the second legs are scheduled for April 12-13. Here are the matchups and odds to advance to the semifinals:

Wolfsburg (+550) vs. Real Madrid (-900)

Helped by a favorable draw, Wolfsburg took advantage of an inexperienced KAA Gent team in the Round of 16.  This is as far as Wolfsburg have ever been in the Champions League, failing to make it past the Group Stage in their only other try.

Wolfsburg have enough offensive weapons to make this series interesting, but they also know they’ve already exceeded expectations and are facing one of the best rosters in the world.

Real Madrid invested millions putting together a roster that can compete for the UCL title. Even a La Liga title would taste sour if they don’t capture the Champions League this year.

However, they already fired one coach, and their style is not well defined.  They should advance, but it won’t be as easy as most expect.

Pick: Real Madrid.

PSG (-187) vs. Manchester City (+150)

Like Wolfsburg, Manchester City have already gotten farther than ever before.  And like Real Madrid, both City and PSG spent plenty of money with a view to Champions League success.

Manchester City are struggling in the EPL and enter this series as underdogs against the French powerhouse.  Manager Manuel Pellegrini would love to leave the team with a Champions League title, but the team is no longer responding to his orders.

PSG, on the other side, showed they’re ready to take the next step by handily beating Chelsea in the Round of 16. They already clinched the Ligue 1 title and can focus all their efforts on the Champions League.

Pick: PSG.

Barcelona (-250) vs. Atletico Madrid (+175)

Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid is the most interesting of the four matchups, mostly because the teams know each other so well.  However, Atletico usually gets the worst of their meetings with Barca, losing the last six games in the series.

Barcelona are the best team in the world, and their passing game is virtually unstoppable.  Atletico will battle with their usual defensive efforts, but it won’t be enough.  They lack the necessary scoring to give Barcelona a real run.

Pick: Barcelona.

Bayern Munich (-550) vs. Benfica (+1600)

This is the most one-sided series of the four.  Bayern Munich were one of the favorites at the beginning of the tournament and proved everybody right when they eliminated Juventus in a Round of 16 thriller.

After the scare against the Italians, the Bavarians are back on track as one of the teams to beat. Like PSG in France, they have the Bundesliga title (pretty much) wrapped up, and will can focus entirely on winning the European championship.

Pick: Bayern Munich.

(Photo credit: By Anish Morarji from St Albans (Own work) (flickr) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.)