The Quarter-Final stage of the Champions League often produces some of the best matches of the tournament and this year’s edition should be no exception.
The majority of the leading Champions League contenders have avoided each other in the draw for the quarter-finals, but there are intriguing storylines in all four ties and the battle between Paris Saint Germain and Manchester City should be a ripper.
Bayern Munich survived a big scare against Juventus to qualify for this stage of the tournament, but they are still clear favourites to beat Benfica in front of their home fans at Allianz Stadium.
Benfica got out of a strong group that included Atletico Madrid, Astana and Galatasaray before they beat Zenit in the round of 16 and they are on a very impressive eight game winning streak that includes a victory over Sporting Lisbon.
The Portuguese side have done well to qualify for this stage of the tournament, but they don’t really have the fire power to match it with a Bayern Munich that is packed full of superstars.
Bayern Munich should be able to record a very comfortable victory and they are a safe bet to beat the Asian Line Handicap of -1.5 points.
Recommended Bet: Back Bayern Munich To Beat The Asian Line Handicap (-1.5 Goals) @ $1.60
Barcelona head into this clash with Atletico Madrid on the back of a draw with Villarreal and a loss to Real Madrid in El Clasico, while their Spanish rivals scored a dominant win over Real Betis last start.
It is incredibly rare to see Barcelona lose back-to-back games and their recent record against Atletico suggests that is not going to happen here – they have lost just one of their last 18 games against Atletico.
Atletico were very solid defensively against PSV, but they face a whole other challenge attempting to stop the incredible combination of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar.
Atletico are likely to park the bus here in order to stay in touch with Barcelona for the return leg, but I still expect the defending Champions League winners to break them down and record a comfortable victory.
Recommended Bet: Back Barcelona -1 Goal @ $2.38
Real Madrid will head into this match on a high following their upset victory over Barcelona, but they face a tricky encounter against Wolfsburg on Thursday morning (AEST).
Wolfsburg have been inconsistent this season and they lost to Bayern Leverkusen on Friday, but they have beaten the likes of CSKA Moscow, Manchester United and Gent to make it to this stage of the Champions League.
The German side have scored plenty of goals this season to date and I expect them to take the challenge to Real Madrid, which will give the likes of Ronaldo the space that he needs to be effective.
I am confident that Real Madrid will get the job done, but it would not surprise me if Wolfsburg were able to score a goal in the process and really lay down the challenge to their rivals.
Recommended Bet: Back Both Teams To Score And Real Madrid To Win @ $3
This is expected to be the most hotly contested of the Champions League Quarter-Finals, but Paris Saint Germain will be very tough to beat in front of their home fans.
This is now PSG’s main assignment this season after already wrapping up the Ligue 1 title and their recent record in the Champions League at home is exceptional – they have lost just one of their past 19 games at Parc des Princes.
Manchester City have performed well in the Champions League to date this season, but they really needed to have a full fit side to match it with their rivals here and they will really fell the absence of Vincent Kompany, Raheem Sterling and Yaya Toure.
PSG are a very safe bet here and the $1.67 for them to start the tie off with a win is good valye.
Recommended Bet: Back PSG To Win @ $1.67