Two more huge matches take place in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday. European giants Bayern Munich and PSG face off in a mouth-watering tie, with the Bundesliga champions a goal up from the first leg.
In England, Tottenham host AC Milan needing to overcome a one-goal deficit to progress to the quarter-finals.
Bet9ja Ambassador Victor Ikpeba gives us his thoughts on both intriguing Last 16 second leg matches.
Bayern Munich vs PSG:
VI: As I said before the first leg, you can never write off Bayern Munich’s experience in these big European ties. And so it proved as Julian Nagelsmann’s side won 1-0 to inflict PSG’s first home loss of the season, showing how Bayern raise their game on the big stage. Kingsley Coman scored the all important goal against his former club but in truth, it could have easily been more if it wasn’t for Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Of course, it could be a different story in the second leg. But the biggest problem with this PSG side is you have the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi and the now injured Neymar, who all can’t defend. This is a big problem. Offensively they are dangerous but the biggest issue is when they lose the ball. In contrast, the German giants will be very disciplined with their approach to that match. It will be a difficult game for them because PSG will be on the front foot looking to wipe out the deficit as quickly as possible.
If Bayern can defend well throughout then they will make it through. PSG will have chances though. Mbappe already has scored 30 goals this season and Messi 18, so it only takes one moment. It’s going to be very tight and hard to call. I wouldn’t be surprised if PSG win, so will slightly edge in favour of the visitors.
Prediction: PSG win. Bet9ja Odds (at time of writing, 90 minutes only): 3.65
PSG to qualify: 4.77
Eric Choupo-Moting: First Goalscorer 6.90, Anytime 2.80
Sadio Mane: First Goalscorer 8.00, Anytime 3.20
Kylian Mbappe: First Goalscorer 6.10, Anytime 2.50
Lionel Messi: First Goalscorer 8.90, Anytime 3.50
Tottenham vs AC Milan:
Tottenham are a hard team to predict. They stunned Manchester City last month to win 1-0 and also performed well to beat their rivals Chelsea 2-0 at the end of February. But since, Antonio Conte’s men were dumped out of the FA Cup by Championship side Sheffield United and then lost 1-0 to struggling Wolves. So you never know which Spurs side will show up.
But they are coming up against an AC Milan team who aren’t the greatest like their predecessors of the 1980’s, 90’s and 00’s. They have some quality players, such as Rafael Leao who will be one to watch on Wednesday. However, they are very inconsistent domestically and lost to Fiorentina 2-1 last weekend. Despite being the current Serie A holders, Milan are nowhere near contention this season, outside the Champions League qualification places in fifth.
Milan played well to win the first leg thanks to a Brahim Diaz goal and will try and be very hard to break down and punish Spurs on the counter-attack. Having said that, I’m in favour of Spurs at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, especially with Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min both dangerous. I expect Spurs to progress to the next round.
Prediction: Tottenham win. Bet9ja Odds (at time of writing, 90 minutes only): 1.95
Tottenham to qualify: 2.27
Harry Kane: First Goalscorer 4.50, Anytime 2.30
Son Heung-Min: First Goalscorer 6.60, Anytime 3.25
Oliver Giroud: First Goalscorer 7.70, Anytime 3.75
Rafael Leao: First Goalscorer 11.25, Anytime 5.25
