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The second leg of the Champions League Quarterfinals occurs today and tomorrow, and only four teams will remain by Thursday. While Paris Saint Germain, FC Barcelona and Arsenal hold multi-goal advantages entering the second leg, Inter Milan only leads Bayern Munich by one goal. The Bundesliga leaders have to travel to Italy tomorrow, as they hope to mount a comeback, while Arsenal heads to Spain to hold onto their 3-0 advantage from the first leg in London.
Let’s dive into Wednesday’s games and provide a few UEFA Champions League picks for both matchups.
Bayern Munich has their work cut out for them tomorrow as they visit Milan after suffering a 2-1 defeat at home last week. The Germans had more possession, total shots, shots on target, big chances and corner kicks in the first leg, but Inter was clinical on the counterattack and made it count when it mattered.
The Italians jumped out to a 1-0 first-half lead and held on until the 85’ when substitute Thomas Muller tied it for the hosts. However, Davide Frattesi scored the game-winner just three minutes later, and the visitors held on to take a lead back home to Italy.
After that brutal defeat, Bayern Munich blew another lead over the weekend against Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga. At home again, Bayern led 2-1 after 69 minutes, but Dortmund equalized in the 75’, and the game finished in a 2-2 draw.
The German megaclub will be disappointed to blow two leads in as many games, and I’m not sure how resilient they’ll be against an Inter side that’s completely rolling at the moment. The Italians grabbed a 3-1 home victory against Cagliari on Saturday, extending their unbeaten streak in all competitions to 12 games.
The Gunners travel to the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium tomorrow after securing a 3-0 victory last week against Real Madrid at The Emirates. Although the game was 0-0 at the half, Arsenal’s Declan Rice scored two fantastic free kicks before Mikel Merino pulled off a fantastic finish in the 75’. It was truly a stunning match for both teams, as I haven’t seen Real Madrid play this poorly in some time. However, they’re known for their magic in the Champions League, so ruling them out would be foolish.
Arsenal followed up their big win with a frustrating 1-1 draw against Brentford at home over the weekend in EPL action. Although the hosts took the lead in the 61’, they couldn’t hold on, as Brentford equalized in the 74’ and held on for a point. In Spain, Madrid had quite the game in a 1-0 victory away against Alavez.
Kylian Mbappe was expelled from the match after picking up a straight red card for a brutal challenge in the first half. This came just four minutes after the visitors took a one-goal lead, thanks to Eduardo Camavinga, so it looked like things could unravel for Madrid. However, Alaves never truly took control of the game with an extra man and even picked up a red card in the 70’ to make the game 10v10. At the very least, Mbappe will be well-rested for tomorrow’s game against Arsenal and likely needs to find the back of the net at least once to make a comeback possible.
One player I’m eyeing in the Bayern Munich vs Inter Milan game is Inter attacker Marcus Thuram. The French international has scored or assisted in two straight games he’s started, but he’s consistently creating threats in front of goal. Thuram has 15 shots over his last six games, averaging 2.5 per game. Therefore, I’ll back him to record 2+ shots against Bayern Munich, as the Germans will likely push for an equalizer, leaving them open for counterattacks.
In Spain, Vinicius Junior will be ready to roll from the get-go. He only played 29 minutes over the weekend and was one of the few Madrid players who looked like they had a pulse last week in London. The Brazilian has 12 shots on target in Real’s last five matches at home, averaging 2.4 shots on target per game. With their backs against the wall, expect an onslaught from the hosts and back Vinicius to record 2+ shots on target.
Luke Lindholm is an avid basketball, baseball, football, hockey and soccer fan who specializes in writing promotional content for multiple sportsbooks and prediction-based articles across a variety of sports. His work has been featured on prominent websites including Sports Illustrated, Pickswise, Men’s Journal, TheStreet, Athlon Sports and more. He started as a college football handicapper for Pickswise in 2016 and is a current member of the Pickswise NFL handicapping team.