In what has been a dramatic and often surprising season in European football’s two biggest
competitions, we are now down to the final four teams in the Champions League and Europa League. All four semi finals across both competitions will take place this week from Tuesday through to Wednesday night and we are going to give you our preview and tips for each of the games.
In the Champions League, we have two Premier League representatives, Chelsea and Manchester City, who face tough tests against 11-time winners Real Madrid and last season’s beaten finalists Paris St Germain.
In the Europa League, we also have two Premier League teams, Manchester United and Arsenal, who will take on AS Roma and Villarreal, two teams with outstanding form in this year’s Europa League competition, respectively.
Could we see a repeat of 2018-19, when both big European finals were contested only by English Premier League teams? Or will one or more of the French, Spanish or Italian opposition prevail?
If you fancy a bet on any of the first leg ties this week and you are based in the UK, then bet365 Sports is the best place to start when looking at odds on the games.
However, if you are based elsewhere, such as the United States, then the new site bestbetusa.com is a great place to start as it offers a wide range of news, promotions and other offers and reviews designed to meet the needs of punters based in the U.S.
Let’s now get on with previewing and giving you our tips for each of the four games taking place this week.
Champions League Semi Finals 1st Leg
Tuesday 27th April
Real Madrid v Chelsea
Both these teams topped their respective groups, Real Madrid winning three of their last four
games to top Group B ahead of Borussia Moenchengladbach with 10 points, while Chelsea were unbeaten in winning four and drawing two of their six games to win Group E ahead of Sevilla.
Real’s form took a turn for the better when they reached the knockout stage. A 1-0 win away to Atalanta was followed by a comfortable 3-1 win at home to enable them to progress into a quarterfinal with the 2019 winners of the trophy, Liverpool.
Real were superb in the first leg, winning 3-1 in Madrid and followed that up with a measured display at Anfield to draw 0-0 and move into the semifinal with Chelsea.
The Londoners came through their Round of 16 tie with Atletico Madrid in expert fashion, winning 1-0 in Madrid and then 2-0 in London for a 3-0 aggregate success. A 2-0 win in Portugal against FC Porto put them on the brink of the semifinals and rendered a surprise 1-0 defeat at home as meaningless, ensuring they progressed 2-1 on aggregate.
Ex-Chelsea star Eden Hazard is on his way back from a thigh injury and could be fit to face his former team, but is likely to start on the bench. Thibault Courtois though should face his former club. Chelsea have a relatively full-strength squad to pick from for this game with Thomas Tuchel mulling over a number of decisions on who to play in attack and midfield in particular.
Match Tip – Draw – 11/5 with bet365
Wednesday 28th April
Paris St Germain v Manchester City
Two defeats in the Group Stage left PSG sweating a little on qualification, however they did top Group H ahead of Red Bull Leipzig and in doing so, eliminated Manchester United from the tournament. City had far less taxing issues in Group C where they won five of their six games and drew the other to win the group comfortably.
In the Round of 16, PSG were superb in defeating Barcelona 5-2 on aggregate, the highlight being a 4-1 first leg win in Barcelona where Kylian Mbappe scored a superb hat trick. City were solid against Borussia Monchengladbach, winning both legs 2-0 to progress into the quarters.
City then beat more German opponents in Borussia Dortmund, once again winning both legs by the same scoreline, this time 2-1, to progress 4-2 on aggregate. PSG faced the team that beat them in last year’s final, Bayern Munich, winning 3-2 in Munich in the first leg before losing the second leg 1-0 in Paris to knock the holders out on away goals.
This is a tie I can see going down to the wire in the second leg and it is very difficult to pick a winner. With PSG at home in this first leg, I feel they need a lead to take into the second leg and I can see them achieving that, though only just.
Match Tip – Home Win – 21/10
Europa League Semi Finals 1st Leg
Thursday 29th April
Manchester United v AS Roma
Manchester United dropped into the Europa League after finishing 3rd in Group H in the
Champions League. Since then the Red Devils have made light work of their opponents in the knockout stage, defeating Real Sociedad (4-0), AC Milan (2-1) and Granada (4-0) on aggregate to claim a semi final spot.
AS Roma topped group A with 13 points ahead of Young Boys and then despatched Braga (5-1), Shakhtar Donetsk (5-1) and then Ajax (3-2) on aggregate to reach the semifinals where they will renew their rivalry with United.
The teams met six times over a two-year period in 2007 and 2008 with United winning four of those games, Roma just the one with one draw. That included a 7-1 Champions League quarterfinal victory for United in 2008.
Roma’s away form has been excellent in the knockout stages of this competition, but with United in such good form of late, it is hard to back against the home side here.
Match Tip – Home Win – 4/7
Villarreal v Arsenal
It may well surprise you to know that Villarreal are the team with the best record in the Europa League this season. In their six group games and six knockout phase fixtures, the Spanish side have won 11 of those games, drawing the other.
After comfortably qualifying from their group with five wins and a draw, they have won home and away against Braga, Dynamo Kyiv and Dinamo Zagreb to comfortably move into the semifinal of the competition.
They face an Arsenal side who are unbeaten away from home in this tournament so far and who won all six of their group stage games. Following that, wins over Benfica (4-3), Olympiakos (3-2) and Slavia Prague (5-1) moved the Gunners into the semifinals.
Two sides with good records against each other usually results in a very close game and that is precisely what I can see here. Arsenal have drawn on both their last two visits to Villarreal and I think a similar outcome is on the cards here.
Match Tip – Draw – 12/5
Tags: bet365 Sport
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