Champions League betting tips: Round of 16 first leg previews

Club Brugge vs Aston Villa betting tips

It’s been 42 years since Aston Villa last took part in a Champions League knockout match, but they won’t be short of confidence for this one. 

Unai Emery’s men have been toiling in the Premier League of late. But Friday’s solid 2-0 win over Cardiff to secure a place in the FA Cup quarter-finals sets them up nicely for a fixture against arguably the least-fancied team left in the competition. 

While Villa made it directly into this round by making the top eight, Club Brugge crept into the play-offs in 24th place before springing a surprise by beating Atalanta 5-2 on aggregate. 

The Belgian outfit did beat Villa 1-0 in the league phase, thanks to a penalty given away in daft circumstances by Tyrone Mings. This time round, Emery’s European knockout-tie know-how should see Villa through across the two legs. 

Since dispensing of Atalanta, Brugge have failed to win either of their domestic games, so momentum has been lost. 

With new signings Marco Asensio and Marcus Rashford already impressing and Ollie Watkins and Morgan Rogers continuing to provide constant goal threats, we’re backing the Villans to come away with a positive result.

Scoreline prediction

Club Brugge 1-2 Aston Villa (17/2 with Spreadex)

FIRST’s top tip:

Double chance: Aston Villa-draw (4/9 with Betway)

Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid betting tips

This fiery derby has plenty of history in the Champions League, with the Madrid clubs facing off in the finals of 2014 and 2016, as well as a quarter-final in 2015 and a semi-final in 2017. Unfortunately for Atleti, Real came out on top every single time. 

That’s not to say Diego Simeone’s men have no hope. The last three La Liga meetings have finished in 1-1 draws, including one at the Bernabeu just last month. 

Star strikers Julian Alvarez and Kylian Mbappe scored that day, and Atleti’s Argentinian ace is in red-hot form with four goals in his last three matches. 

This first leg could be evenly matched, with Real missing key man Jude Bellingham through suspension and the hosts still suffering from injuries in defence. 

The Champions League holders even lost to Real Betis at the weekend and are now below their local rivals in the league.

Scoreline prediction

Real Madrid 2-2 Atletico Madrid (12/1 with Spreadex)

FIRST’s top tip:

Julian Alvarez to score first (7/1 with Betway)

PSV vs Arsenal betting tips

Arsenal’s well-documented injury crisis in attack has resulted in the Gunners drawing blanks in their last two games to derail their Premier League title challenge, but could this help a Champions League push? In PSV, they could be facing ideal opposition.

Just one clean sheet in the Dutch giants’ last 14 games speaks volumes, and Peter Bosz’s men have conceded a whopping 29 goals in that time. 

A pair of defeats to seventh-placed Go Ahead Eagles (in league and cup) since PSV knocked Juventus out in the play-offs has also damaged their morale ahead of the visit of Mikel Arteta’s side. 

The Gunners’ mean defence conceded the least xG in the league phase of the Champions League (just 0.73 per match), and frankly, we expect their class to tell in Eindhoven.

Scoreline prediction

PSV 0-2 Arsenal (9/1 with Spreadex)

FIRST’s top tip:

Arsenal -1.5 handicap (3/1 with Matchbook)

Borussia Dortmund vs Lille betting tips

One of the most evenly-matched ties in the round, Lille only finished one point ahead of Borussia Dortmund in the league phase. Both teams won five of the eight games, and Dortmund scored five more goals. 

In the play-offs, last season’s finalists made short work of Sporting CP, winning 3-0 in Lisbon before coasting through with a goalless draw at home. 

Domestically, neither club is performing as expected, with Les Dogues sat fifth in Ligue 1 and BVB as low as 10th in the Bundesliga. 

But a pair of confidence-boosting wins over relegation battlers Union Berlin (6-0) and St Pauli (2-0) have set new Dortmund boss Niko Kovac up nicely for this game. 

Serhou Guirassy scored five of those eight goals. He’ll be licking his lips at the prospect of facing a Lille side who conceded four to Paris Saint-Germain at the weekend and have now lost three of their last four. 

The Guinea striker has 10 goals in 10 Champions League games this season.

Scoreline prediction

Borussia Dortmund 3-1 Lille (11/1 with Spreadex)

FIRST’s top tip:

Serhou Guirassy to score 2 or more (23/4 with BetMGM)

Feyenoord vs Inter Milan betting tips

Having pulled off a shock by beating AC Milan in the play-offs, Feyenoord now take on the Rossoneri’s city rivals. 

Unfortunately for the Dutch side, Inter Milan are in much better nick than the club they share a stadium with. 

While AC Milan are ninth in Serie A, Simone Inzaghi’s team are chasing a potential treble - top of the league and into the Coppa Italia semi-finals after beating Lazio 2-0 last week. Feyenoord are goal-shy, scoring just four in their last five matches. 

Fourth in the Eredivisie, most bookies have them at the longest outright odds of the 16 clubs left in the Champions League. 

While Inter have stumbled a bit lately, with two defeats and two draws in their last seven, they are clear favourites here.

Scoreline prediction

Feyenoord 0-1 Inter Milan (13/2 with Betway)

FIRST’s top tip:

Both teams to score: No (Evens with Spreadex) 

Bayern Munich vs Bayer Leverkusen betting tips

This all-German clash promises plenty of action and could be one of the ties of the round. 

Last season’s surprise unbeaten Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen are eight points adrift of the team they dethroned in this season’s title race. But finished six places ahead of Bayern Munich in the Champions League league phase. 

Vincent Kompany’s team then struggled to edge out Celtic in the play-offs and are flattering to deceive in a competition they are desperate to reach the final of, given it will be hosted in their home stadium. 

Impressively, Leverkusen are unbeaten in six games against Bayern, winning three of those, and Xabi Alonso’s men will back themselves to perform here. 

A 0-0 draw last month shows these two are very evenly matched, and both have won their two Bundesliga fixtures since then to maintain form.

Scoreline prediction

Bayern Munich 2-2 Bayer Leverkusen (11/1 with Betway)

FIRST’s top tip:

Both teams to score: Yes (4/6 with Betway)

Paris Saint-Germain vs Liverpool betting tips

These two clubs both appear to be cruising towards domestic titles, meaning they can really focus on success in this competition. 

While Liverpool were phenomenal in the league phase, winning their first seven matches to top the table, defeats to Arsenal, Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich left PSG scrambling towards the bottom end of the play-off positions. 

A ridiculously easy play-off tie against domestic opposition in Brest finished 10-0 on aggregate, but there remains a feeling that the Parisians aren’t quite ready to compete at the business end of the Champions League season. 

Ousmane Dembele has been in great form for PSG, but even he can’t compare to the scintillating brilliance of Mo Salah. 

The Egyptian winger has been scoring and assisting for fun, setting records along the way. Expect a statement performance from Arne Slot’s side in the French capital.

Scoreline prediction

PSG 1-3 Liverpool (16/1 with Spreadex)

FIRST’s top tip:

Mo Salah over 4.5 shots (9/2 with Betway)

Benfica vs Barcelona betting tips

This is a rematch of arguably the stand-out fixture from the league phase. January’s showdown at the Estadio da Luz was a wild ride, finishing 5-4 to Barcelona when Raphinha struck in the 98th minute. 

Vangelis Pavlidis had earlier scored a hat-trick for the hosts, and he remains in top form with a goal in each of Benfica’s last three fixtures. Goals seem inevitable here. 

The Portuguese side drew 3-3 at home to Monaco in the play-offs, and Barca have scored four or more in four of their last six fixtures. 

With Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha enjoying brilliant seasons, it’s almost impossible to envisage a clean sheet happening in this game.

Scoreline prediction

Benfica 2-3 Barcelona (14/1 with BetMGM)

FIRST’s top tip:

Over 4.5 goals (49/20 with BetMGM)

Odds correct at the time of writing.