Lee Dixon: Barca and PSG to serve up goals at the Nou Camp

10Apr 2013

Bajnokok Ligája

Paris St Germain must score to stand a chance of advancing from this tie and with Zlatan in attack they should be able to do that, says Lee Dixon...

Barcelona v Paris St-Germain (Aggregate score 2-2)

Wednesday April 10, Live on Sky, KO 19:45

I was impressed by PSG in the first leg and I think they could keep this tie bubbling along for a while at the Nou Camp. Ultimately, I imagine that Barcelona will come through the tie but injuries have definitely weakened the Champions League favourites and the visitors have the weapons to hurt them.

Barca were hugely impressive at home in the last-16 tie versus AC Milan but they were forced to chase that game. This will be different. PSG will have to make the running here as they must score and that will influence the match. AC tried to play it defensive and it ended up costing them, but defensive is not an option for the Ligue 1 leaders.

Lionel Messi looks unlikely to play, as do Javier Mascherano and Carles Puyol, but the latter two could be the most significant absentees as far as betting goes. Zlatan Ibrahimovic had a funny game last time out but he was a threat and I fancy PSG will score at the Nou Camp. Obviously, Barca seem certain to do that too, and at 1.8 I like both teams to score.

Recommended Bets

Back both teams to score @ 1.8

Juventus v Bayern Munich

Wednesday April 10, Live on Sky, KO 19:45

It looks as though Bayern Munich put this one to bed in the first leg and I don't think they'll put themselves in any danger at the Juventus Arena. However, odds of 10.0 on Juve qualifying are perhaps too dismissive of the Italian side's chances. It's unlikely to happen of course, but should they really be that long to overcome a 2-0 first leg deficit? It's not an insurmountable deficit, and an early goal for the home side would make this very interesting indeed.

That said, I watched Bayern at The Emirates and they looked so drilled in everything they did that it's very hard to see them messing this one up. They wrapped up the Bundesliga on the weekend and must be ultra-confident right now. And a confident German side is a very dangerous thing indeed.

Ultimately, I think Bayern will have enough to stay safe in Turin and this will probably end in a draw. Juve won't want to go down without a fight but the 4.3 tournament third favourites will keep out of harm's way.

But, for those happy to back big prices, a couple of quid on Juve in the to qualify market could be interesting!

Recommended Bet

Back the draw @ 3.45