Betting news, trends, odds and predictions for from various handicappers and websites for Wednesday 3/6/19
By Toby Maxtone-Smith
UEFA Champions League Round of 16 - First Legs
Wednesday, Mar. 6
Games scheduled for 3:00 p.m. ET
FC Porto vs. AS Roma
This tie between the Portuguese champions and last year’s Champions League semi-finalists is nicely poised after Roma beat Porto 2-1 in the first leg at the Stadio Olimpico.
Both teams are coming off demoralising defeats to their bitter rivals. Roma lost 3-0 to Lazio while Porto lost 2-1 to Benfica, knocking them off the top of the table.
This looks a really tough match to call. In 24 ties where the home team in the first leg has won 2-1, they have qualified, so the statistics are against Roma, but they deserve 8/15 favouritism to qualify. However they consistently melt away in big European away ties. They have lost their last seven away Champions League knockout games.
However there are several teams in Serie A of greater quality than Porto, who seem to have a mental block about progressing beyond the last 16 of this competition. Roma proved their maturity last year by getting to the semi-finals, and they can secure a draw to qualify here.
Tip: Draw at 27/10
Prediction: FC Porto 1-1 AS Roma
Paris Saint-Germain vs. Manchester United
Paris Saint-Germain ended Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s unbeaten start as Manchester United manager with a superbly professional 2-0 win at Old Trafford three weeks ago. The result means that United face a monumental task to qualify, which is reflected in their odds of 18/1 to qualify. They went into the first leg at 5/4 to win, but bookmakers have done a u-turn and rated PSG 1/2 favourites for the return fixture at the Parc des Princes.
PSG, so used to playing with complete freedom in Ligue 1, set up solidly and waited for their chances. They clearly respected United’s ability, and so it would be a surprise to see them let loose here and win the match by two or more goals.
United have shown defensive solidity under Solskjaer in big games, keeping clean sheets against Chelsea in the FA Cup and Liverpool in the league.
Their injury problems mean that they surely do not have enough to get past PSG here. But a draw at 19/4 looks good value and is certainly not too great a task for a side of Manchester United’s ability.
Tip: Draw at 19/4
Prediction: Paris Saint-Germain 1-1 Manchester United