Sports Blog 14/03/2018: UEFA Champions League Preview – Round of 16 1st Legs, Wednesday 14th February 2018

Can Liverpool push past Porto in their Champions League round of 16 battle, at 7.45pm on BT Sport 2?

Though there is practically no way the Reds are in the running for the Premier League title, with just 3 losses all season – trailing only Man City – they may well end up finishing in 2nd if Man United make a couple more mistakes. Of course Liverpool are far from faultless themselves, especially recently, with the end of January bringing a pair of embarrassments against Swansea in the league and West Brom in the FA Cup.



In the Champions League, meanwhile, Liverpool’s unbeaten group stage performance is arguably a bit flattering. Though they did pick up 7-0 wins against Maribor and Spartak Moscow, when faced with an actual challenge, in this case Europa League experts Sevilla, they faltered, drawing both of their fixtures against the Spaniards.

Luckily Jurgen Klopp’s side had been dealt a fairly kind draw in Porto, a team that couldn’t top a group containing Besiktas, RB Leipzig and a much-depleted Monaco. To be fair to Porto, they are unbeaten in the Primeira Liga, and in Vincent Aboubakar have a forward to rival Mohammed Salah, with the Cameroonian’s Super Mega PGM of 28-33 not a world away from the Egyptian’s 36-42.

Without a game this weekend to worry about the Reds can go all out on Wednesday night, with Spreadex offering a Liverpool/Porto (h) Goal Supremacy spread of 0.2-0.4 alongside a Total Goals spread of 2.65-2.85.

Elsewhere the last 16’s biggest bout is about to begin, as Real Madrid host Paris Saint-Germain at 7.45pm on BT Sport 3. The defending champions aren’t having the best time of it this season. They were knocked out of the Copa del Rey by Leganes in the quarter-finals, finished behind Tottenham in Group H, and, most damningly, are in 4th place in La Liga, 17 points adrift of Barcelona. Even Cristiano Ronaldo has been out of form, though he did manage to be the Champions League’s top scorer in the group stages with 9 goals, explaining his hefty Super Mega PGM spread of 61-71.



PSG, meanwhile, did a good job of laying out their case for capturing their first ever Champions League title. They logged a whopping 25 goals in their 6 group games, including 3 at home to Bayern Munich, a feat that helped them finish ahead of the German champs. In Ligue 1, meanwhile, they have a 12 point lead over Monaco, with 76 scored and just 17 conceded. All this has been led by Neymar and Edison Cavani, both of whom have 28 goals in all competitions and Super Mega PGMs of 39-46 and 33-39 respectively.

Heading to the Bernabeu is an imposing task for any side, meaning despite their troubles the hosts had the advantage – just – at a Real Madrid/PSG Goal Supremacy spread of 0.1-0.3 alongside a Total Goals spread of 3.45-3.65.