Sports Blog 05/04/2016: UEFA Champions League Preview – Quarter-Final 1st Legs, Tuesday 5th April 2016

The Champions League kicks up a gear this week, 2 of the potential final-favourites facing ostensibly lesser competition in the quarter-final 1st legs!

Fresh off their first defeat, in all competitions, since the 6th October Barcelona take on La Liga-rivals Atletico Madrid at 7.45pm on BT Sport Europe. That defeat was in the weekend’s Classico, a 10-man Real Madrid winning 2-1 thanks to a late strike from, you guessed it, Cristiano Ronaldo. Yet that doesn’t take anything away from the fact that Barca have been in heavenly form this season and, with a 6 point gap at the top, should be on track to win their 24th La Liga title. Beyond that, they could still do the unthinkable and repeat last season’s treble, with a Copa Del Rey final against Sevilla next month already locked into the calendar. Of course the likelihood of that feat largely falls on the shoulders of Barca’s terrible trio; between them Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar have 107 goals this season, and go into the 1st leg at Super Mega PGMs of 45-52, 40-47 and 30-36 respectively.



Not that they will face the easiest time of it on Tuesday evening; 2 more La Liga losses and Atletico Madrid would be on top of them, Diego Simone’s side just about keeping up with Barca as the season has progressed. Yet Atletico have seen a few lapses of late. A defeat against the relegation-bound Sporting Gijon before the international break now carries the sting of having denied the club the chance to move within 3 points of the Catalan colossus, whilst it took penalties to break the deadlock against PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League last 16. The club admittedly bounced back in style at the weekend, demolishing Real Betis 5-1, with Antoine Griezmann (at a Super Mega PGM of 20-24) nabbing a brace, and his 25th and 26th goals of the season in the process.

Yet pretty good form just doesn’t cut it against Barca, and Spreadex are offering a fairly conclusive Barcelona/Atletico Madrid Goal Supremacy spread of 1-1.2 with a Total Goals spread of 2.4-2.6.

If Barcelona’s European title defence has become decidedly domestic, Pep Guardiola’s final attempt to win the Champions League with Bayern Munich remains a firmly international affair, as the German champions host Benfica at 7.45pm on BT Sport 2. Bayern are in a near identical situation to Barca at home; 5 points clear at the top of the Bundesliga, with the treble still a distinct possibility. They even have their own formidable front line, Thomas Muller (at a Super Mega PGM of 40-47) and Robert Lewandowski (at 64-74) on 28 and 36 goals respectively. Yet the clubs’ paths slightly diverge in Europe; whilst Barca breezed past Arsenal 5-1 on aggregate Bayern were severely tested by Juventus, a 6-4 victory over 2 legs that was reliant on both extra time and a complete collapse by the Italian champions.



However, to do no disrespect to Benfica, Bayern have been handed a bit of a gift with their quarter-final draw. For whilst the Portuguese club are the defending Primeira Liga champions, and have their own 5 point gap at the top this season, they arguably aren’t in the same league as their German rivals. They are, however, on an 8 game winning streak, a streak that contains a 3-1 on aggregate victory over Zenit Saint Petersburg in the Champions League last 16. They also have an incredibly inform Jonas, who goes into Tuesday at a Super Mega PGM of 16-20 after scoring 30 goals in the league (if only 2 in Europe).

Yet like Atletico, the Portuguese club may well wilt in the face of one of the true European powerhouses currently tearing up the continent, Spreadex offering a Bayern Munich/Benfica Goal Supremacy spread of 1.75-1.95 with a Total Goals spread of 2.95-3.15.

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