The premier club competition in Europe and the world is getting to the thick end, with the last eight teams left in the competition fighting for a berth in the final four. Wednesday night’s games pit four fairly evenly balanced teams as Chelsea travel to Paris and Real Madrid, looking to exact some revenge for their semifinal defeat to the same opponents of last year, host Borussia Dortmund. Both ties will be hotly contested, with all four teams possessing more than the required attributes to make it to the next round.
Champions League Odds
The history of the PSG (21/20 and 10/11 to qualify) and Chelsea (16/5 and 10/11 to qualify) have been similar in recent times, with overseas investors injecting a much needed boost to these respective clubs, helping in bringing them to the top of Europe, with Roman Abramovich finally able to claim some satisfaction two years ago with his first Champions League triumph after a decade of trying. PSG are building a similar charge, and are already much too strong for the French league, having acquired a host of talent but still requiring the time to build that mass of talent into a cohesive and world-beating unit. This tie comes at an interesting time for both teams, with Chelsea fighting for the Premier League and PSG with a comfortable enough lead to allow them to place all their energies into their Champions League challenge, and this balance is reflected in the odds for the tie, with both teams at 10/11. It will be a close tie, with the gut telling you to go for Mourinho’s side, but it is all up for grabs in this one.
Twelve months ago, Real Madrid (4/11 and 1/5 to qualify) and Borussia Dortmund (8/1 and 15/4 to qualify) met in the semifinal stage of the competition, with Jurgen Klopp’s men claiming a surprise win and proceeding to the final. This year, these two sides meet again, but several things have changed. Carlo Ancelotti has taken over the reins at the Santiago Bernabeu and has claimed that the Champions League is the objective for his team this season. Real haven’t won Europe’s biggest prize in over a decade and are desperate to get their hands of the trophy once again, for what will be an unprecedented tenth time. Dortmund has also seen their fair share of changes since the last time these two sides met, with personnel changes requiring some adjustments to Klopp’s side, and although they maintain their second position in the Bundesliga, they sit a staggering 23 points shy of leaders Bayern, who have already wrapped up the title. The odds show where these two teams are this season, with Real the clear favourites, and indeed, it will take two big performances for the Germans to get through. They have done it before, though, and Klopp will be quietly confident he can unlock the Real game plan again.
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Tagged With : Borussia Dortmund • Champions League • Chelsea • PSG • Real Madrid