Betting enthusiasts will be keen to get their wagers on ahead of this week’s resumption of all three major European club competitions, starting with the Champions League.

As always, Tuesday and Wednesday nights will see the first set of four First Leg ties played in the Champions League Round of 16, with the second set of four First Leg ties played next week.

However, in both the Europa League and Europa Conference League, we will see the two legs of the Playoffs for each competition played over those two dates. Eight games in each competition on consecutive Thursday nights to decide which eight teams will join the eight top seeds who have already secured a spot in the Round of 16.

Then in a three weeks’ time when the second leg of the Champions League ties are played over consecutive Tuesday and Wednesday night’s once again to decide the line-up of the quarterfinalists, the first and second legs of the Round of 16 in the other two competitions will be contested on the Thursday of those two weeks.

That will mean that after that five-week period, all three competitions will then be at the quarterfinal stage.

Of course, you can enjoy a wide range of betting, including In Play betting, across all three competitions with bet365 Sport over the remainder of the season.

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Let’s begin our preview of the games taking place this week with the action on Tuesday and Wednesday night in the Champions League, followed by a look at the Europa League and Europa Conference League Playoffs 1st Leg games.

Champions League Round of 16 – 1st Leg Ties

Tuesday 14th February

  • AC Milan v Tottenham Hotspurs

Both these teams are not in the best of form at the moment, with inconsistent performances and results seeing them unable to improve from their position of fifth in their respective leagues at present.

Spurs could well be without Rodrigo Betancur after the midfielder was injured at the weekend in their 4-1 defeat at Leicester City, while Milan have had a bit of extra time to prepare for their game after they played, and won, 1-0 on Friday at home to Torino.

Spurs though have never lost to Milan, winning 3-2 on aggregate in the 1972 UEFA Cup (a 2-1 home win followed by a 1-1 draw on the road) and drawing 0-0 at home and winning 1-0 away in the 2011 Champions League Round of 16.

I’m not confident either team is ready to claim the win here, so I think in those circumstances a draw at 9/4 is the best option for a bet on the outcome.

  • Paris St Germain v Bayern Munich

Without doubt, a game worthy of being the final, which it was a few years ago. Finishing second behind Benfica in their group meant PSG could always find themselves given a tough draw as a second seed and so it has proved.

However, I don’t think this Bayern team is quite the force it once was. They are top of the Bundesliga but are only clear by a point and PSG are top of Ligue One, but they do not as big a gap at the top as they have enjoyed in previous years.

That said, this is still a clash that could well be decided by one moment of magic, or disaster and I think we will head into the second leg with everything still at stake. PSG to win 2-1 is a 10/1 chance with bet365 Sport and I think that is an excellent option here.

Wednesday 15th February

  • Borussia Dortmund v Chelsea

The German side come into this game in great form at the moment, while Chelsea’s form has been very sketchy with just one win in their last eight games in all competitions. Graham Potter’s team therefore face a huge task against this talented Dortmund side.

Chelsea’s new signings, those that are registered in this competition, need to start repaying the faith the club has shown in signing them in the transfer window but this looks like being a very tough ask against a Dortmund side unbeaten in 10 in all competitions.

My gut feeling is that Dortmund will win and playing a key role for them will be Jude Bellingham. The English midfielder is 5/1 to score at any time in this game with bet365 and I think that is a fantastic value bet.

  • Club Brugge v Benfica

Scott Parker is now in the manager’s hotseat with Club Brugge ahd he faces a tough test here against a Benfica side thet topped a group with PSG in and who have been in excellent form in both the Champions League and domestically this season.

Club Brugge have hit a slump in form, drawing five of their last six games and that comes against Belgian opponents and Benfica are a class or two above that and as such, I strongly fancy the away side to hold the advantage in this tie after the first leg.

Benfica’s young striker Goncalo Ramos has scored five goals in the Champions League already this season and he is 4/1 to open the scoring in this game with bet365 Sport and I think that is a great value bet here.

Europa League Knockout Phase Playoffs 1st Leg

Thursday 16th February

  • Ajax v Union Berlin (5.45)
  • Barcelona v Manchester United (5.45)
  • Bayer Leverkusen v AS Monaco (5.45)
  • FC Salzburg v AS Roma (5.45)
  • Juventus v Nantes
  • Sevilla v PSV Eindhoven
  • Shakhtar Donetsk v Rennes
  • Sporting Lisbon v Midtjylland

Already Qualified for the Round of 16 – Arsenal, Fenerbahce, Real Betis, Union Saint-Gilloise, Real Sociedad, Feyenoord, SC Freiburg, Ferencvaros

There are some intriguing games in the Europa League with Sevilla v PSV, Juventus v Nantes, Salzburg v AS Roma, Leverkusen v Monaco and Ajax v Union Berlin all very interesting games for a variety of reasons.

But the one fixture that sticks out like a sore thumb in terms of quality is the clash between Barcelona and Manchester United at the Nou Camp, in one of the four 5.45pm kick off games.

This matchup has twice been a Champions League final and also a Cup Winners Cup Final back in the day and it promises to be a huge game between two of the world’s biggest clubs, both of whom have been in very decent form of late.

Barcelona will start as the favourites in this game with bet365 having them as 3/4 favourites to win on the night, but I do feel United have a chance of taking something back with them from this tie, so I am very tempted by the 16/5 on the draw here.

Other bets I like the look of include Union Berlin to get the better of Ajax at 16/5, Salzburg and Roma to share a draw at 23/10 and I think Sevilla v PSV Eindhoven will also be a draw at 5/2.

Europa Conference League Knockout Phase Playoffs 1st Leg

Thursday 16th February

  • AEK Larnaca v Dnipro-1
  • Bodo Glimt v Lech Poznan
  • Braga v Fiorentina
  • FK Qarabag v Gent
  • Lazio v CFR Cluj
  • Ludogorets Razgrad v Anderlecht
  • Sheriff Tiraspol v Partizan Belgrade
  • Trabzonspor v FC Basel

Already Qualified for the Round of 16 – Istanbul Basaksehir, West Ham, Villarreal, Nice, AZ Alkmaar, Djurgarden, Sivasspor, Slovan Bratislava

It’s not quite as glamorous a line up of teams in the Conference League playoffs, but we do have the likes of Lazio, Fiorentina, Braga, Gent and FC Basel in the tournament who have often played in the two bigger tournaments.

The biggest game of the night looks to be the game between Braga and Fiorentina in Portugal, two sides who will fancy their chances of going deep in this tournament if they can get past this playoff knockout phase.

Gent are running away with the Belgian league title and I think they are good odds (23/10 with bet365) to win the first leg of their game with FK Qarabag, I also like the treble bet which would see you back Bodo Glimt, Lazio and Trabzonspor to win their respective first leg ties, which is a 3.09/1 shot with bet365.

As for the Braga v Fiorentina game, the Portuguese side have the better form at the moment, so I would back them to land a narrow win here at 29/20 once again with bet365 Sport.

*All odds shown in this article were correct at the time of writing but may change in the run up to each game.