Sporting weeks don’t come much bigger than this week. In the United States it is the final of March
Madness tonight, the MLB season has just started and this week also sees The Masters golf tournament kick off the first of four months each with a Major tournament to play for.
In the United Kingdom we see the start of Premier League Darts tonight, with the Grand National race taking place at the weekend. Our focus though today is on the first leg of the quarterfinals in both the Champions League and Europa League tournaments, which will be played across Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights this week.
Of course with so many great sporting events to enjoy, it is going to be a bumper week too for bookmakers with a lot of punters looking to bet this week, and many people also making their only bet of the year in this weekend’s Grand National race at Aintree. However, the midweek European football will also prove to be very popular with punters too.
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Champions League Quarterfinals 1st Leg
Kick off times are all 8pm GMT for both competitions.
Tuesday 6th April
- Manchester City v Borussia Dortmund
For me, this is the easiest game of the four Champions League clashes to pick the result from. Dortmund’s form in the Champions League has been in stark contrast to their flaky Bundesliga form but I do feel they have had a relatively easy passage through the Group Stages and knockout phase so far. City are the form team for me and I reckon they have a great chance of the quadruple this year. As such Man City are the easy pick to win this one at 4/11.
- Real Madrid v Liverpool
A repeat of the 2018 final, which Real Madrid won 3-1 thanks mainly to some horrendous goalkeeping from Loris Karius (responsible for two goals), a Gareth Bale wondergoal and Sergio Ramos injuring Mo Salah early in the game. Real have won the last three between the teams but Liverpool also handed Real their biggest ever two-legged tie defeat a few years back beating them 1-0 in Spain and 4-0 at Anfield for a 5-0 aggregate win. I am backing this one to be close, but I think the Reds will do it and land a narrow win at 6/4.
Wednesday 7th April
- Bayern Munich v Paris St Germain
This game is also a repeat of a final, last year’s one which Bayern won 1-0. PSG will certainly be out for revenge and they will likely score on the night as the only game in the last 43 that they failed to score was last years final. Bayern are also missing their main striker in Robert Lewandowski and that is a huge blow for them. That said, I still feel the German side will do enough to earn the win here but I think it will be very close. Take Bayern to land the win at 20/23.
- FC Porto v Chelsea
I think many people expected a Juventus v Atletico Madrid quarterfinal to take place here, but FC Porto and Chelsea deservedly earned their place in the last eight knocking out the two big European giants. Porto have been tough to beat at home but they have struggled against English teams over the years most notably when facing Liverpool of late. Chelsea were well beaten at the weekend but I think that they will probably be really focused for this game and I think they can do enough to take a slender lead back to the Bridge for the second leg. Back Chelsea to win at 3/4 with bet365.
Europa League Quarterfinals 1st Leg
- Ajax v AS Roma
These two teams were competing in Champions League semifinals not too long ago, so they have plenty of
experience of crucial European ties. Ajax have the best current form of the two sides, having won all of their last six games, conceding just one goal in that time. AS Roma’s form is more erratic and they are having a bit of an up and down season in Serie A. The Italians though are very good at digging our results when required and they won’t make this easy for Ajax, that said, I still expect the home side to land the win. Tip – Take Ajax to win at 21/10.
- Arsenal v Slavia Prague
It is hard to know what to make of Arsenal. They smashed Olympiakos 3-0 in Greece before losing 1-0 at home, then came back from 3-0 down to draw 3-3 with West Ham and then were hopeless against Liverpool at the weekend losing 3-0. Slavia Prague have already knocked out Leicester City and Glasgow Rangers from this tournament in the past two rounds and they have shown they are no pushovers. Arsenal beat them 7-0 at home once. This game will be much, much closer. Tip – Not convinced by Arsenal at the moment, so take Slavia to win here at 5/1.
- Dinamo Zagreb v Villarreal
What a performance Dinamo Zagreb put in over the last round of action, coming back from a 2-0 away leg defeat to Tottenham to win 3-0 at home thanks to an Orsic hat trick. They now face a Villarreal side who have won seven of their eight games in this competition, drawing the other and who will be no pushovers. Zagreb at home though have produced some fantastic results and I can’t see them losing this game, but similarly, Villarreal do not lose many games either (only five in La Liga all season). So, this one is going to be tight. Take the draw here at 23/10.
- Granada v Manchester United
Manchester United won’t be too daunted heading back to Spain for their quarterfinal first leg. They have already beaten Real Sociedad 4-0 in Spain in the Round of 32 of this tournament before drawing at home. Granada also come into this game on the back of a trio of defeats and so they won’t be in the best frame of mind for the visit of United. A battling win over Brighton was an important three points for United and I think sets them up nicely for a solid showing here. Take United to land the win at 8/13.
