The UEFA Champions League semifinals are here, and the four best teams in Europe will fight it out for a spot in the Budapest final over a two-legged series.
We have two games to target on this week's Champions League schedule, and our staff has come up with picks for both. Continue reading for our Champions League best bets.
Champions League Best Bets
The club logos in the table below represent each match that our soccer betting staff is targeting from today's games. Click on the team logos for any of the matchups below to navigate to a specific bet discussed in this article.
| Match | Time (ET) | Pick |
|---|---|---|
  | Tuesday, 3 p.m. | |
  | Wednesday, 3 p.m. | |
Specific betting recommendations come from the sportsbook offering preferred odds as of writing. Always shop for the best price using our soccer Odds page, which automatically surfaces the best lines for every game. | ||
Bayern Munich vs. Paris Saint-Germain
Bayern Munich have already visited Paris and left with all three points this season, so Vincent Kompany’s side will be hugely confident they can leave the French capital with a positive result.
The November head-to-head saw Bayern go 0-2 up before half-time, with Luis Diaz being sent off just before the break. Bayern played the entire second half with ten men, registered only two shots themselves whilst protecting a lead, and still earned all three points in the league phase of the competition.
However, PSG’s most recent two home outings in this competition might provide enough evidence of the level of performance they’re able to muster after the Champions League anthem rings out. A 5-2 win against Chelsea and a 2-0 scoreline against Liverpool tell the story of two fairly straightforward first-leg home wins, before heading to England and beating both at their own stadium.
Considering Bayern will likely be content with keeping this tight and will also have the added luxury of resting and rotating in the Bundesliga at the weekend, having already won the domestic league. Therefore, we predict the draw is the best option in the 1x2 market.
Pick: Draw
| |
Arsenal vs. Atletico Madrid
Atletico Madrid have been prolific in the Champions League this term, netting a club-record 34 goals — the third-highest total in the competition — with a remarkable 12 different players contributing to their clinical form.
Moving away from the defensive pragmatism of Diego Simeone’s early tenure, the Spanish side is now a potent attacking force, particularly in transition; consequently, 12 of their 14 European fixtures this season have produced at least three goals.
Arsenal remain the only unbeaten outfit in the tournament with 10 wins and two draws, and while they boast the competition's meanest defense with an xGA (expected goals) of just 8.54, Atleti's spirited performance in their previous London meeting, despite the 4-0 defeat, suggests they are capable of finding the net.
Given both sides' recent scoring records, a scoreless stalemate appears unlikely in Madrid. Projections from our in-house model, BETSie, predict an average of 2.4 goals for the game, with a 51.3% probability that both teams will score, making that specific market a compelling option at near-even odds.
Pick: Both Teams To Score – Yes
