Ex-Madrid man to punish Barcelona again in Champions League tips

ARSENAL vs BAYERN MUNICH - Over 3.5 goals

Arsenal are having a bit a time of it as of late. Rumours continue to swirl over Alexis’ future and there's the ongoing will he or won’t he with Arsene Wenger’s new contract. The North London outfit have lost 4 of their last 6 matches in all competitions. That’s as many losses as they had seen in the last calendar year, spread out over the course of 43 matches. The last thing a team in their current form needs is Carlo Ancelotti’s Bayern Munich to come to town. 

Bayern are undefeated in their last 14 matches in all competitions, winning 12 and drawing just 2 of those matches. The end of February saw Ancelotti take charge of his 1,000th match - a game Bayern won 8-0 and featured 5 different goalscorers. Wenger reached this milestone nearly 3 years - but found himself on the wrong end of a 6-0 scoreline against Chelsea. 

While they find themselves with a four goal cushion, Ancelotti won’t want to leave any room for a potential upset so will likely field a strong team. In their last 13 away games, the Bavarians have scored 2 or more goals in 10. Ominously, they have only failed to get on the scoresheet once - away to Bundesliga rivals Borussia Dortmund.

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Frustratingly for Arsenal’s fans, these are the sort of games that see Arsenal play some of their best football. In a moment when they appear to be down and out - they will get the performance but inevitably fall just short of the result needed to progress. Wenger has called for his players to show ‘lucid rage’ going forward. Arsenal won’t be going down without a fight tonight. Which means one thing - goals.  

Arsenal have scored 2 or more goals in 6 of their last 9 matches at home while Bayern Munich have failed to keep a clean sheet in 3 of their last 5 games on the road. In fact, Bayern have failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their last 6 Champions League away games. Bet on over 3.5 goals with Bet365 at 2.25

NAPOLI vs REAL MADRID - Both Teams to Score

While they sit third in Serie A, just 2 points behind Roma, Napoli have struggled recently against tough opposition. They have lost 3 of their last 5 matches. Each of those losses have been in a different competition. So it may not impact where they finish in the league this season, it’s a blow to any team’s confidence. Winning is a habit. A win over Roma this weekend may help to get them back on track and in the right frame of mind to host Real Madrid.

The reigning European champions have lost just 1 of their last 10 matches. While it seems an impressive run on paper, those results haven’t come easy. Zinedine Zidane’s side have found themselves fall 2 goals behind in 3 of their last 4 matches. They’ve fought back to ensure only 1 of those games resulted in a loss, and the moniker is that it’s a sign of champions, it’s also a sign that their defence is struggling. They have failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their last 8 Champions League matches.

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Clean sheets aren’t really in Napoli’s current wheelhouse either. Over their last 15 matches they’ve only kept Fiorentina and Genoa from finding the back of the net. It would be a big ask of any defence to stop Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale, let alone Napoli’s. Bet on both teams to score at the Stadio San Paolo at 1.40 with Bet365.

BARCELONA vs PARiS SAINT-GERMAIN - Angel di Maria Anytime

If Barcelona think there’s even a glimmer of hope that they can overturn their 4 goal deficit, they’ll need to play expansive attacking football. While wonderful on the eye, it could leave them exposed in midfield and vulnerable to counter-attacks. Barcelona will fancy they can outscore Paris Saint-Germain but the dreaded away goal, something they failed to do in the first leg, could haunt them here.

PSG may be more pragmatic in their approach to tonight’s game. They’ll know if they can contain ‘MSN’ for the second time they’re into the quarter-finals.  However, an away goal would change everything. It would all but dump Barcelona out of the competition.

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The safe money would be on Lionel Messi to score tonight. Or even Neymar, who is rumoured to have a bet with teammates that he will score twice on Wednesday against PSG. However, a surprise goalscorer could be Angel Di Maria. He’s known as primarily a creator rather than a goalscorer himself, but he’s recently added goals to his game. He’s scored in 3 of his last 4 Champions League appearances - including a brace against Barcelona in the reverse fixture.

The Argentinian has found the back of the net in 3 of his last 4 starts for the Parisian outfit - scoring 5 and registering another assist. He was also named WhoScored man of the match in 2 of his last 3 starts. If Di Maria starts tonight you can get him at 4.00 to score anytime.

BORUSSIA DORTMUND vs BENFICA - Dortmund to Qualify

Benfica will have considered themselves fortunate after the reverse fixture. They walked away with a 1-0 win but were very lucky not to have conceded. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang missed a penalty and a clear-cut chance that would have put the visitors in full control of this tie. They are unlikely to make the same mistakes again and will atone for their missed opportunities in Lisbon when they return to home soil on Wednesday.

Benfica have won just 3 of their last 11 away games in the Champions League, keeping a clean sheet in just 1 of their last 9. They won’t be able to contain a free-scoring Dortmund side twice - and may not have the firepower to outscore their hosts.

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Borussia Dortmund have fallen 13 points adrift in the Bundesliga this season, but much of that has to do with the dominance of Bayern and RB Leipzig as well as their away form. At Westfalenstadion, they have been dominant, scoring 9 in their last 2 games. In fact, they’ve not lost a match at home since their Super Cup defeat to Bayern at the very start of the season.

It came as a surprise to everyone that Dortmund failed to score in their last outing against Benfica. They set a record for goals scored in the Champions League group stages this season - netting 21 times over the course of their 6 matches. They’ve lost none of their 5 games at home to Portuguese opposition in UEFA competition. Bet on them to progress to the quarter-finals with Bet365 at 1.72