The first legs of the Semi Finals went as expected for the most part with Liverpool enjoying a commanding win over Roma despite a late comeback and Real Madrid also putting themselves in a very strong position with a 2-1 away win at Bayern. That doesn’t mean though that the 2nd legs mean nothing and you need only look at how Roma came from behind 4-1 against Barcelona to win 3-0 at home to make it through to this stage. These will be some very hotly contested football matches this week.
**Odds from Sportsbet.com.au as of 30th April
Real Madrid vs Bayern Munich
Real Madrid enjoy a 2 away goal advantage on Bayern Munich heading into their home leg and look really well placed to make it through to the final for the 3rd year running as they attempt to make it 3 Champions league titles in a row. It’s a feat you wouldn’t have expected earlier on in the competition when they were outperformed by the likes of Tottenham but it just goes to show how valuable experience is and how much they have of it. Bayern Munich will be up against it in this one and their last 3 attempts at Real Madrid in the Champions League have all failed. Their last meeting in 2016/17 ended in a 4-2 win to Real Madrid and we could expect a similar result here. Bayern have nothing to lose as they need to score to have any chance of making it through and as typically is the case when you push forward in the search of goals you are often left vulnerable at the back. Expect this to be a thriller as an individual match but the result of who makes it through to the final is firmly in Real Madrid’s hands right now.
Predicted Result: Real Madrid 3-2
Best Bet: Real Madrid Draw No Bet at $1.57
Best Value Bet: Real Madrid Win & Over 1.5 goals at $2.25
Roma vs Liverpool
Thinking these two would play off in a Semi Final at the start of the competition would have certainly been dismissed as a bit fanciful but so far it’s turned out to be one of the matchups of the competition. With 7 goals scored in the first leg, the return leg is looking like a belter and not least because of Roma’s ability shown to fight their way back from a 4-1 deficit against Barcelona in the Quarter Finals. Having gone down 5-0 to Liverpool in the first leg, you would have forgiven Roma for almost giving up but those 2 late goals have made this a really intriguing fixture. They needed just a 3 goal to nil win to make it through to this stage and knowing how vulnerable Liverpool can be at times makes it a very real possibility that they may come back from the brink in this one too. The big challenge for Roma will no doubt be keeping Liverpool’s devastating attack quiet and whilst they can cause their own damage up front, keeping a clean sheet against Liverpool right now looks a much tougher task than it was against Barcelona. That’s perhaps where this match hangs right now because not seeing Liverpool score seems pretty unlikely and that 1 away goal will be all they need to make it very difficult for Roma to turn things around.
Predicted Result: Roma 2-1
Best Bet: Roma to win either half at $1.69
Best Value Bet: Roma to win at $2.4
