This week sees the return of the UEFA Champions League with four of the eight round of 16 second legs set to take place across Tuesday and Wednesday evening.
Wednesday night hosts two of the favourites to go on and win the entire competition in Manchester City and Real Madrid, who are both heading into their respective second legs in the lead.
While both are ahead in their ties, neither side will want any complacency to creep into their performances as every side at this stage of the competition is more than capable of getting back in the game.
With tension and action sure to take place, we’ve picked out our top tips and booking codes for the upcoming fixtures:
Manchester City vs FC Copenhagen
Manchester City hold a 3-1 lead over their Danish opponents coming into the second leg. This leaves City firmly in control of the tie with the game also taking place at their home ground the Etihad Stadium, where they are yet to lose so far this season.
Despite this, Pep Guardiola rarely starts a weakened side and we expect him to go full strength once again against Copenhagen. One player who will likely make an appearance if Guardiola is to name a strong side will be Phil Foden, who has been exceptional this season and especially in recent weeks.
The English talent has already started more games than ever before in the league this campaign, with it also being his most productive in terms of output as well. Foden has registered 18 goals and 10 assists in all competitions, including four goals and three assists in six appearances in the Champions League.
Alongside these excellent statistics, Foden comes into this game in great form too. Foden has scored seven and assisted two, including scoring twice to bring Manchester City from 1-0 behind to 2-1 up in City’s eventual 3-1 win over rivals Manchester United at the weekend.
With this, we expect Foden to continue his fantastic season and get yet another goal in this game as he looks to extend upon the most productive season of his career.
Phil Foden to score anytime, 2.50
Real Madrid vs Leipzig
Real Madrid also took a lead home from their first leg with RB Leipzig, leaving them 1-0 up ahead of Wednesday’s game at the Santiago Bernabeu.
The first leg was an extremely tight encounter between the two sides and Real Madrid were arguably rather fortunate to come out with the 1-0 victory. Goalkeeper Andriy Lunin produced an outstanding performance as he made nine saves, with five of these coming from shots inside the penalty area. Brahim Diaz then scored a Messi-esque goal to put Madrid in the lead and help them take control of the tie leading into the second leg.
We expect this game to be much of the same with both sides creating chances and providing an entertaining game. However, Real Madrid are firmly in control of the game with them having a 1-0 lead at home, where they are yet to lose a game in any competition this season. For this reason, we believe that Real Madrid will uphold their unbeaten home streak and win this one.
Real Madrid to win and over 3.5 goals, 3.15
Booking Codes: 6B5GSZ3, 6B5GVBR
