The Race for the Champions League Heats up on Saturday
Published February 15, 2020 by Florin P
Liverpool and Leipzig prepare to pick up easy points at home, while Barcelona and Atalanta welcome ambitious opponents in the afternoon.
This Saturday’s going to be a busy day for European football fans, as most of the matches scheduled for the weekend take place on this day. The most exciting games will involve Italian and Spanish teams, while English and German top squads have an easier task. The points up for grabs are equally important for all the protagonists, so the stakes are as high as they get.
Atalanta and AS Roma Fight for the 4th Place
Atalanta has the advantage of playing at home against AS Roma, but this didn’t help them too much in recent games. They are hard-pressed to pick up all three points against the main counter candidate for the Champions League this season. The hosts lack the discipline and frequently start games poorly, which sees them concede the first goal. AS Roma are far more pragmatic and overall better at defending leaves, so the team who scores first is likely to emerge victorious.
Getafe Braces for Barcelona Test in the Afternoon
Barcelona lost the first place to Real Madrid and even if they defeat the other team from the nation’s capital, they will still be behind. Home pitch advantage against Getafe should do the trick, but the visitors are in excellent form and have recently defeated Valencia. 888 Sport offers excellent odds of 9/20 on the home side to prevail, which is tempting even the head to head record. The visitors are better at defending than scoring goals and in this particular game, they will gladly settle for a draw if they get the chance.
Leipzig Prepares for Victory Lap over Werder
Leipzig were able to hold the reigning champions to a scoreless draw last weekend and remain within striking distance of the leaders. A home game against Bremen should see them pick up all three points and anything short of victory would be a huge failure. We only get odds of 3/10 if we back the home side to prevail with bet365 Sports and even odds on Leipzig to win by two goals or more. Bremen are a horrible traveling team, so the odds of 10/1 are not unjustified against an opponent of this magnitude.
Liverpool Faces Norwich in Lopsided Fixture
Liverpool are the unofficial new Premier League champions and this is likely the last match they will focus on 100%. With the Champions League starting next week, they will have different objectives and the commanding lead in the domestic league will give them peace of mind. Norwich are sitting in the last place and are virtually relegated, so they have nothing to lose ahead of this fixture. They play at home, but still get odds of 8/1 at 10bet Sportsbook, while the visitors are priced at 3/10 to prevail.
The odds presented in this article are correct as of Thursday, 13/2, 11:00 AM GMT.
