UCL Odds: BVB Hope for a Comeback vs. Monaco
Monaco (+200) vs. Dortmund (+130), Draw (+300)
Monaco and Dortmund will play the second leg of the UEFA Champions League this Wednesday (April 19th) at Stade Louis II.
When the two teams were paired for the Champions League quarter-final, there was a lot of excitement in the air. The match-up between two attack-minded teams is a recipe for a thrilling, high-scoring game.
And the first leg delivered just that.
Monaco left Westfalenstadion with a 3-2 win over a rattled Dortmund side. Kylian Mbappe carried the Ligue 1 leaders to victory with two goals, and they were helped by a ridiculous own goal from Sven Bender.
Dortmund came close to getting a draw with goals from Ousmane Dembele and Shinji Kagawa, but their sloppy defending was ultimately their downfall. Mbappe capitalized on a terrible defensive error and picked up the winning goal in the 79th minute.
Keep in mind that the game was pushed back a day after the Dortmund team bus was hit by an explosive that hospitalized defender Marc Bartra. The game was hastily rescheduled for the following day, forcing the Dortmund side to take to the field shortly after a traumatic incident. We don’t know how much of an effect that had on the players, but it’s not unreasonable to believe things would have been different if they had more time to recover.
It was probably the wrong decision by UEFA but what’s done is done, and now BVB need to focus on the game ahead. Monaco only have a one-goal surplus, but they have three away goals to their advantage.
As we saw in the Round of 16 matches between Monaco and Manchester City, the young Monaco squad is pretty much incapable of defending a lead. They guard their lead simply by extending it. So it wouldn’t be surprising to see another high-scoring affair.
Dortmund should enter the second leg with star midfielder Marco Reus returning to the starting lineup. He’s arguably been their most valuable player of the season and may provide Dortmund with the boost they need to advance to the semi-finals.
Monaco have exceeded expectations both in Ligue 1 and in the Champions League this season, but Dortmund is looking like the more complete team. I don’t know if they’ll do enough to advance to the semis, but I’m willing to say they’ll muster a win.
Pick: Dortmund (+130)
Don Aguero is a man of many talents, writing about nearly anything you can put odds to. Don has been writing for SportsBettingDime since 2015, covering sports, entertainment and politics. You name it, he's covered it! He is also a steadfast West Ham fan, and has learned to embrace that suffering.
