The Champions League Round of 16 got off to a relatively slow start when Paris Saint-Germain settled for a draw with Chelsea while Shakhtar Donetsk salvaged a scoreless draw at Bayern Munich. It didn’t get much better when FC Basel finished with a 1-1 draw versus FC Porto in their first leg as Real Madrid was the first to establish some separation with a 2-0 win over FC Schalke.
Can we please get some more entertaining results this week? Let’s hope so. Judging by the odds alone, we should see some more separation this Wednesday with two games that should feature plenty of goals.
Arsenal vs. Monaco – Wednesday, 2:45 p.m. ET
Champs League Odds: Arsenal -203, Monaco +662, Draw +307
The Gunners will look to capitalize on a relatively favorable draw that sees them facing a quality Monaco side that at the same time isn’t nearly as dangerous as Real Madrid, Barcelona or Bayern Munich. Arsenal has been fantastic since the flip of the calendar as they have won eight of their nine contests in 2015. They have looked downright dominant, outscoring their opponents 22-6 in that span. It says a lot that we’re in the Round of 16 and Arsenal is a -203 favorite.
Expect Arsenal to keep an attacking mindset as they look to take the game to Monaco and push hard to open an early lead and control the tempo. Arsene Wenger’s side has routinely compromised better defensive play for firepower up front but with Alexis Sanchez leading the attack, they should score enough goals to negate the effect of anything that Monaco is able to do as the home side. Sanchez has looked absolutely unstoppable at times since making the move to Arsenal and if he can help the Gunners stake a lead in the first leg, then it will set them up to wrap up this match up on the road where they will need only a draw thanks to the advantage of the away goal. Pick: Arsenal
Bayer Leverkusen vs. Atletico Madrid – Wednesday, 2:45 p.m. ET
Champs League Odds: Atletico Madrid +151, Leverkusen +203, Draw +214
Atletico’s 4-0 win over Real Madrid was testament to that the reigning La Liga champions still have the ability to dominate in spurts. However, question remains whether they will have enough in the tank to finish what they have started either in the Champions League or at home in Spain. The challenge is that they wiped away all of the positivity and gain from their trampling over Real Madrid with a disheartening loss to Celta Vigo last week. That’s dropped them further back of both Real and Barcelona in the La Liga table but the bigger question is where they’re minds are at right now. La Liga might be out of reach but everything is still in front of them in the Champions League.
They have to consider their Round of 16 match up a favorable seeding based on the list of other potential opponents they could have played. Antoine Griezmann and Mario Mandzukic have been outstanding at times for Atletico and there is a good chance Fernando Torres still has some magic left in the tank. The Bayer Leverkusen attack has left a lot to be desired and Diego Simeone’s squad should match up against them well. Atletico is capable of scoring goals in bunches but if they can establish an early lead, they will likely look to clog things up and play more of a possession game in order to carry over a positive aggregate with the additional benefit of the away goals on their side heading in to the second leg.
Leverkusen is not having a particularly strong season with just eight wins 22 games so far. Surprisingly, they have just four wins in 11 home contests too. That’s mostly why we see Atletico favored even though this is on the road.
This game should play out as the oddsmakers are expecting. Take Atletico to cash in this spot. Pick: Atletico Madrid
