The second raft of Champions League last 16 first leg fixtures take place this Tuesday and Wednesday. Teams from the same domestic league cannot meet at this stage and a team cannot be drawn against a side from their qualifying group. The next round is determined by an open draw.
Manchester City and Liverpool are in strong positions after away wins without conceding a goal in their first leg matches. Chelsea and Manchester United play this week so potentially there could be four clubs from the English Premier League in the quarter-finals….pending no balls in the wrong pot.
We are looking at three matches and providing UEFA Champions League picks for each fixture.
Champions League Picks For Tuesday
Chelsea vs Lille
Chelsea to win to nil against Lille at (+102) with Pointsbet
Chelsea are the defending Champions League winners, after beating Manchester City in the final of the 2020/21 competition. Real Madrid won the UCL in three successive seasons (2015/15 to 2017/18) but no other club has successfully won back-to-back titles this century. Chelsea should get a stage further in that quest by eliminating Lille in their last 16 tie.
Chelsea have the home advantage in the first match. We anticipate they can take a significant lead to France without conceding a goal at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday. They probably came through a slightly tougher group than their opponents. So, we make Chelsea to win to nil our pick for this fixture in West London which means no crucial away goal for Lille.
Villarreal vs Juventus
Villarreal vs Juventus draw at (+215) with Pointsbet
Villarreal finished second in their qualifying group with the joint highest number of points for a runner-up from the eight sections. Group F looked like one of the weakest groups and Manchester United qualified as the winners. The EPL club are currently the lowest-ranked of the four qualifiers for the knockout stage of the Champions League from that division.
Juventus won their group with 15 points and only the three qualifiers with six wins from six matches accumulated more points at that stage of the competition. Chelsea were two points adrift in second place while Zenit and Malmo were well off the pace. The Turin giants are currently fourth in Serie A in Italy. However, we can see them drawing overseas at Villarreal this Tuesday.
