Barcelona and Bayern Munich Return into the Champions League Spotlight
Published August 8, 2020 by Florin P
Barcelona and Bayern Munich are favorites at home in the Champions League round of last 16 against Napoli and Chelsea.
The most important European championships have added, but football fans from the old continent have plenty to look forward to this Saturday. Champions League action continues unabated, with Barcelona playing at home against Napoli, while Bayern Munich welcome Chelsea. The winning teams will advance to the quarterfinals of the most important competition for football clubs after a lengthy break.
Barcelona Hope to Salvage Poor Season with Champions League Win
Barcelona failed miserably in the last rounds of the Spanish first division and saw their archrivals win the trophy. They have a good chance to make amends on Saturday at 8 PM UK time when they welcome Napoli in a match they must win. A scoreless draw would still see them advance because of the 1-1 record in the first leg, but the Catalans can’t risk playing for the draw. Instead, they will push for outright victory and if the odds of 3/5 offered by bet365 Sports are any indication, they should prevail.
The Italians have also struggled throughout the season and they missed out on all the important objectives in the final rounds. Making a deep run in the Champions League is their best bet, but in order to qualify for the next stage they need to defeat Barcelona. They were able to snatch a point in Italy, but they will have a much harder task achieving a similar result in Spain. As for the odds of prevailing at Nou Camp, punters can expect values as high as 4/1 if they are willing to take a leap of faith with the visitors.
Chelsea need a Miracle against Bayern Munich
Chelsea will play for another season in the Champions League, but this is so far their only achievement this season. They were defeated in the FA Cup final and are on the verge of being eliminated from the international football club tournament. They were crushed in the first leg and now need to reverse that result by scoring at least three unanswered goals. Punters get odds of 13/2 on Chelsea to win regardless of score, as opposed to 7/20 on what looks like a predictable victory for Bayern Munich.
Bayern won the German first division emphatically after struggling early in the season and are looking to add another trophy to their showcase. They crushed Chelsea in London by three goals to none and even though they could settle for a draw, they will aim for victory. The long break has helped players fully recover and the home side can field the best starting formation ahead of this Champions League fixture.
Disclaimer:
The odds mentioned here were accurate at the featured bookmakers at the hour the article was written, respectively on Thursday, August 5 at 3 pm UK time.
