Will Leicester’s European fairy-tale continue when they travel to Atletico Madrid, at 7.45pm on BT Sport 2?

The Craig Shakespeare-effect came to a halt on Sunday, the Foxes suffering their first defeat under their temporary manager. In less than 10 minutes Leicester were 2-1 up against Everton, only for the Toffees to bounce back and romp to a confident 4-2 win. Not, then, the best preparation for what is quite possibly the biggest match in Leicester’s history.



Though they may now be a fixture of La Liga’s top 3, it was only recently that Atletico Madrid were effectively the Spanish equivalent of Southampton, outperforming expectations despite bigger clubs raiding their squad every season. Yet in the last 3 years they have won the league and finished as runners-up in the Champions League (twice), creating a template of unlikely success that one imagines the Foxes won’t quite be able to emulate.

The perceived gulf between the two sides is captured in the Super Mega PGMs of their respective star strikers. Jamie Vardy, who, though a shadow of his 2015/16 self, has scored 5 times in the last 6 games, is at a spread of 8-11. Antoine Griezmann, on the other hand, is at a whopping 57-67 after scoring 23 goals in all competitions.

As ever the odds are stacked against the current Premier League champions, with Spreadex offering an Atletico Madrid/Leicester Goal Supremacy spread of 1.5-1.7 alongside a Total Goals spread of 2.4-2.6. Though just remember, the Foxes have been counted out before, including against a Spanish side with an impressive European pedigree in the last 16.

Wednesday’s other Champions League tie is HUUUUUGE, with Bayern Munich hosting Real Madrid at 7.45pm on BT Sport 3. Not only is it a clash between two of Europe’s biggest sides – both historically and in that they will likely win their respective leagues this season – but the first meeting of Zinedine Zidane and Carlo Ancelotti since the former was the latter’s assistant at the Bernabeu.



Bayern have lost just 4 times this season, though 2 of those defeats did come in the group stages of the Champions League. They have a massive, if typical, 10 point lead in the Bundesliga. And they memorably smashed Arsenal 10-2 on aggregate in the last 16. They might also, however, be without top scorer Robert Lewandowski who, at a Super mega PGM of 62-72, is touch and go thanks to a shoulder injury.

One upping their German opponents, Real have only lost 3 times in all competitions, twice in La Liga and once in the Copa del Rey (where they went out in the quarter-finals). They also have their attack intact, with Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale at Super Mega PGMs of 27-32, 19-23 and 14-18 respectively.

It looks like Ancelotti has his old club’s number, with Spreadex offering a Bayern Munich/Real Madrid Goal Supremacy spread of 0.8-1 alongside a Total Goals spread of 3.2-3.4.

(And don’t forget, after yesterday’s shocking events Monaco’s trip to Borussia Dortmund has been rescheduled for tonight, with Spreadex offering a Dortmund/Monaco Goal Supremacy spread of 1.1-1.3.)

Turning to Thursday and Manchester United will want to keep winning the Europa League as a potential avenue to the competition’s big brother next season when they face Anderlecht, at 20.05pm on BT Sport 2.



Though a top 4 finish is far from out of the question – United are in 5th place, 4 points behind City with a game in hand – neither is it a guarantee. That puts pressure on a competition that, at the start of the season, Mourinho seemed he would rather not be in at all. Nevertheless United have made solid progress after a pair of Dutch and Turkish wobbles in the group stages, beating Saint-Etienne 4-0 on aggregate before nudging past Rostov with a less impressive 2-1 finish.

Anderlecht, meanwhile, finished top of the 1st in the Belgian First Division A regular season, and currently remain top of the table in the Championship play-offs. In Europe they ended up 2nd to Saint-Etienne in the group stages, before following a surprise last 32 away goals win over Zenit Saint Petersburg with a 2-0 on aggregate victory against APOEL.

The visitors should have this in the bag, with Spreadex offering a Manchester United/Anderlecht (h) Goal Supremacy spread of 0.5-0.7 alongside a Total Goals spread of 2.45-2.65.