Friday, 29th March 2024
To guardian.ng
Search

English pride at stake in Europe as Leicester batte Sevilla, while Man City take on Monaco

By Chinasia Ibonye
14 March 2017   |   5:44 pm
The first leg of this tie prodduced eight goals and we won't be surprised if this return leg follows the same script as both teams are filled with fantastic attacking talents and not too stingy defenses.

Last week in the UEFA Champions league, we witnessed a comeback of historic proportions and an epic collapse from some of the return legs of the last sixteen of the competition. Barcelona defied all the odds and became the first team in the history of the competition to overturn a 4-0 deficit from the first leg as they defeated PSG 6-1 to advance to the quarter-finals of the competition, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid replicated their results from the first legs over Arsenal and Napoli respectively to also advance(Arsenal suffered a record 10-2 aggregate defeat for an English side in Europe) and Dortmund also progressed with a 4-0 victory over Benfica(4-1 in aggregate) in Germany. There will be another set of return leg fixtures in the UCL this week and I will be previewing all four games with betting tips, while also giving out betting tips for the return legs of the last sixteen fixtures in the Europa League to uuse on www.nairabet.com

LEICESTER CITY vs. SEVILLA (1-2)
The first leg of this fixture brought an end to the reign of Claudio Rainieri as Leicester boss and since then, we have witnessed a sort of resurgence from the Foxes as they have won the last two matches they have played since then, beating Liverpool 3-1 and Hull City by the same scoreline. The away goal they got at the Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium in Sevilla might just be a very important factor in this fixture tonight as a 1-0 victory for the Foxes will see them through. Leicester will feel as though they have a good chance here as they have been playing well and getting results since that first leg and also some of their key players seem to have rediscovered their form from last season. Sevilla will go into this game with a pinch of regret as their profilgacy in front of goal from the first leg is the only reason they will be taking a slender one goal lead into tonight’s game. Jorge Sampaoli’s team are one of the most entertaining to watch in Europe. The variety and fluidity in their forward play makes them so difficult to cope with and also their intensity is sometimes too hot for opposing teams to handle. However, There have been signs that they are beginning to slow down. Having been in the La Liga title race for much of the season, they’ve drawn their last two matches against Alaves and Leganes, which means that their focus will now surely be on the Champions League during the run-in. There were plenty of rotations to the playing eleven as Sampoli opted to give key players like Vitolo, Franco Vazquez, Samir Nasri, Sergio Escudero, Wissam Ben Yedder and Steven N’Zonzi some much needed rest. All of them will be back in contention in the starting eleven in Leicester. Leicester City are yet to register a win in five matches against Spanish sides. Their overall record is a draw and four losses, while Sevilla have a decent record against English clubs, with five wins, two draws and three losses from ten matches. However, they haven’t won in away trips to England with two draws and two losses from their four games in England. My betting tips for this game are a double chance bet onn Leicester City and both teams to score.

JUVENTUS vs. PORTO (2-0)
The Old Lady will go into tonight’s game with a healthy 2-0 lead from the first leg in Portugal and are unbeaten at home in all competitions this season with an impressive record of nineteen wins and two draws from twenty one matches. However, the two draws were in the Champions League group stage matches, which also means they won just 1 of their 3 matches in the tournament this term. They are in the driving seat in this fixture and only a monumental collapse will see them fail to advance to the quarter finals. They prepared for this game with a 2-1 win over AC Milan on Friday and will want to continue their winning run tonight. Mario Mandzukic and Juan Cuadrado should return to the first team fold after missing Friday’s win over Milan. Porto have won their three league matches played since that disappointing home loss to Juve and have scored twelve goals without conceding any during that period. However, their away record this season has not been as impressive as their prowess at home. They have a decent away record in Itay though, with four wins, three draws and six defeats from thirteen outings. They defeated AS Roma 3-0 at Rome in the tournament’s qualification round earlier on in the season and a repeat of that scoreline against Juve in Turin will be enough to see them through. These teams have met five times in Europe and juve have the edge with three wins. I will advise on bets of a Juventus win, over 1.5 goals and both teams to score.

MONACO vs. MANCHESTER CITY (3-5)
The first leg of this tie prodduced eight goals and we won’t be surprised if this return leg follows the same script as both teams are filled with fantastic attacking talents and not too stingy defenses. Monaco have bounced back from thst defeat with four straight wins since then, beating Guingamp, Marseille, Nantes, and Bordeaux. They have scored twelve goals and conceded five in those games, so there are still defensive issues to try and sort out. They have an impressive home form, winning eight games on the bounce at the Stade Louis II and fifteen of their last sixteen in all competitions there. Joao Moutinho will be pushing for a start for the hosts, but may be forced to start on the bench, with Tiemoue Bakayoko and Fabinho currently Leonardo Jardim’s first choice midfield pairing, while Radamel Falcao might be a doubt for this game. Manchester City will go into this fixture unbeaten in their last eleven competitive games, winning eight. However, they were only able to pick two pointts from a possible nine away from home in the group stages of the UCL and that poor away form might come to haunt them tomorrow night against the home side. Pep Guardiola could deploy a more defensive formation, with Kevin De Bruyne possibly dropping to the bench and Fernandinho partnering Yaya Toure in a 4-2-3-1 formation. They have scored in twelve of their last fifteen away games and you wouldn’t bet against them scoring tomorrow night. My betting tips for this game will be a double chance bet on Monaco, both teams to score and over 2.5 goals and you can place your bets on www.nairabet.com

ATLETICO MADRID vs. BAYER LEVERKUSEN (4-2)
The first leg of this fixture was surprising for a lot of fans as a total of six goals were scored in a game that was supposed to be tight and cagey. Atletico earned a priceless away win and most importantly were able to rack up four away goals which has put them in a very advantageous position going into this return leg at home. The Rojiblancos have been very disciplined defensively in this competition conceding only four goals in the seven games they’ve played so far and just once in three home games. Offensively, they have been very efficient with a total of eleven goals from seven matches and five of them coming from three home games. Filipe Luis and Gabi picked up yellow cards at the BayArena which means both are now suspended for this tie, while Sime Vrsaljko could return to the side at right-back at the expense of Juanfran after a strong first leg showing. Fernando Torres and Kevin Gameiro are injury doubts, which means that Angel Correa could get to partner Antoine Griezmann in attack at the Vincente Calderon. Bayer Leverkusen sacked coach Roger Schmidt after a run of poor results and his interim replacement, Tayfun Korkut, will need to perform a miracle if his side are to overturn the first leg deficit. Hakan Calhanoglu is suspended for the remainder of the season, while full-back Benjamin Henrichs is also banned having been booked in the first leg, with Tin Jedvaj set to replace the youngster and Aleksandar Dragovic should continue to feature alongside Omer Toprak at the heart of the defence, despite being one booking away from a ban should Bayer Leverkusen complete an unlikely upset. The fact that Atletico have won their last seven two legged ties against German opposition will not inspire any confidence in Bayer. My betting tips for this match will be an Atletico win and under 2.5 goals.

There will be eight return leg fixtures in the Europa League and we should be expecting some cracking fixtures. Manchester United will host Russian side Rostov with the tie finely balanced after the first leg in Russia ended one goal apiece. Lyon will carry a 4-2 advantage into Rome when they play Roma and the Belgian derby already seems settled with Gent’s 5-2 away win over Genk in the first leg. Below are all eight fixtures with betting tips to use on wwww.nairabet.com

ANDERLECHT vs. APOEL (Anderlecht win and over 1.5 goals)
MANCHESTER UNITED vs. ROSTOV (Man Utd win and over 1.5 goals)
AJAX vs. COPPENHAGEN (Ajax win aand over 1.5 goals)
KRASNODAR vs. CELTA VIGO (Double chance for Celta and over 1.5 goals)
BESIKTAS vs. OLYMPIAKOS (Double chance for Besiktas and over 1.5 goals)
GENK vs. GENT (Genk win and over 2.5 goals)
BORUSSIA M’GLADBACH vs. SCHALKE 04 (Double chance for Gladbach and over 1.5 goals)
ROMA vs. LYON (Double chance for Roma and over 1.5 goals)

 

 

Double Chance

Livesport

 

 

0 Comments