Champions League: Last 16 Second Legs Betting Tips
The quarter finals are in sight but only eight will punch their ticket to the next round of the Champions League.
With everything still to play for across Europe, we’ve picked out five selections that combine to make for one all-in 11/1 Acca, featuring four of the six English teams still battling it out in the competition.
Will the stars align?
Leg 1 – Sporting CP to win
Sporting CP were the latest in a long line of giants slain in the Arctic Circle last week.
The Liga Portugal champions lost 3-0 to easily the biggest surprise package of the 2026 Champions League in Bodo/Glimt – as they look to become the first Norwegian side since Rosenborg in 1996/97 to make the quarter finals.
Will they get there? That’s the question.
The answer is yes, but it will be their toughest test to date – so tough they’ll likely lose at Estadio Jose Alvalade… just not by the amount of goals needed to overcome this well-drilled group of Scandinavians.
Rui Borges’ team may have won all four of their previous Champions League games at home but they’ve only overturned a three-goal deficit once before – over 60 years ago in the 1963/64 Cup Winners’ Cup quarter-finals against Manchester United.
Leg 2 – Arsenal to go through
Arsenal and Newcastle are the only two English sides not to lose their first-leg games, but also, the only two Premier League sides to follow both results up with a win at the weekend.
Bayer Leverkusen are next up for the Gunners as they continue their march in all four competitions – a side that held Bayern Munich to a draw in the Bundesliga a few days ago; not that it matters to Mikel Arteta and co.
They’re aiming to reach the quarter finals for the third consecutive time to end a run of seven straight round of 16 eliminations in 2023/24.
Kasper Hjulmand laid out a successful plan, withstanding the brunt of a less-than-stellar Arsenal in the first leg – even beating the North Londoners at their own game by scoring from a corner – and yet, the end of their European run still feels inevitable.
This is quite possibly down to Leverkusen losing all six of their previous round of 16 ties in the Champions League.
Leg 3 – Chelsea over 1.5 goals
Chelsea are one of three teams that are three goals down going into this all-important knockout round.
Of course, it’s not impossible that the Blues can pull it off in front of what is sure to be a lively Stamford Bridge, having defied the odds and beaten PSG 3-0 in the Club World Cup final last July.
Whether they run it back under the brightest lights of club football is yet to be seen, but losing Reece James to injury is a massive blow – one crying out for the likes of Cole Palmer and Joao Pedro to step up in big moments again.
Only we aren’t so convinced they can dethrone the Parisians at this stage.
Especially with the Parisians progressing to the next round in all four UEFA two-legged ties where they’ve held a three-goal advantage after the first leg at home.
Don’t call it a comeback.
Leg 4 – BTTS in Barcelona vs Newcastle
It landed last week and it will land again.
Barcelona just can’t keep a clean sheet in Europe it seems, conceding in every game they’ve played so far, with Harvey Barnes’ 86th-minute opener being the most recent example in a line of avoidable errors.
Errors that also played a role in the two goals conceded in the 5-2 thrashing of Sevilla this past weekend, which saw them push four points clear at the top of La Liga.
The way Barca play leaves them open to the sort of end-to-end action that results in goals for both sides – as seen in their previous two games against the Magpies that ended 2-1 and 1-1 respectively.
The physicality of Newcastle’s midfield alongside the pace of their wingers only strengthens their chances of causing some serious damage to a Camp Nou still undergoing redevelopment.
Just don’t expect the Blaugrana not to respond in kind.
Leg 5 – Victor Osimhen over 1.5 shots on target
Gala fans or no Gala fans in the stadium, Victor Osimhen is a player capable of getting most people out of their seats.
The Nigeria international is on for a career-best in the competition with seven goals – as well as being the sixth-best player for keeping the keeper honest during games with an average of 2.8 shots on target per 90.
Against the defending Premier League champions he’s already hit the target four times across both games, and will definitely be up for the challenge Anfield possesses given how difficult he made it for Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate last week.
Don’t be too surprised if this one goes down as the sleeper hit of the round with Osimhen’s name up in lights once again.
Odds correct at time of publication but subject to change.
