Champions League: Quarter Final First Leg Betting Tips
The Champions League quarter-final first legs take place this week and there are some heavyweight showdowns in the last eight of Europe's top club competition.
Holders Manchester City meet Real Madrid in the knockout stages for the fourth time in five seasons and Pep Guardiola's men will be hoping for a repeat of last term's 5-1 aggregate win over the Spanish giants.
City travel to Madrid for the first leg of their tie on Tuesday, when Premier League leaders arsenal also host Bayern Munich at the Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners are in superb form, but they will be wary of Bayern striker Harry Kane, who scored 14 goals against them in north London derbies for former club Tottenham.
Big guns City, Real, Arsenal and Bayern are in the same half of the draw, so the other four clubs left in the competition may have slightly easier paths to the final.
PSG welcome Barcelona to the Parc des Princes on Wednesday, while Atletico Madrid take on Borussia Dortmund and we have selected bets from each of this week's four quarter-final first legs.
Tip 1 - Manchester City to win 2-1 @ 15/2
Real Madrid produced an extraordinary comeback to beat Manchester City 6-5 on aggregate in the 2021-22 Champions League semi-finals, but City avenged that defeat in fine style last term.
The English champions routed Real 4-0 at the Etihad Stadium on their way to lifting the trophy for the first time after the first leg in Spain had ended 1-1.
Another tight contest between these classy rivals is expected in Madrid on Tuesday and the 2-1 Citizens win looks a tempting bet in the correct-score market.
City's forwards were kept quiet by title rivals Arsenal in a goalless stalemate at the end of March but they responded impressively, thumping Aston Villa 4-1 and winning 4-2 at Crystal Palace.
Phil Foden and Kevin De Bruyne dazzled in those two victories, while Jack Grealish's return from injury is another boost for Guardiola. Although clean sheets have been a rarity for City this season.
They conceded at least once in Champions League away wins at RB Leipzig, Young Boys, Crvena Zvezda and Copenhagen so Real, who have scored 10 times in their last three league games, should get on the scoresheet.
Tip 2 - Arsenal/Arsenal Half Time/Full Time @ 8/5
Being drawn against Bayern Munich brought back some unpleasant memories for Arsenal, who were thumped 10-2 on aggregate when these clubs last met in the 2016-17 round of 16.
However, the Gunners look solid favourites to establish a first-leg lead at the Emirates Stadium, having won 10 of their 11 Premier League matches in 2024.
The exception was a creditable 0-0 draw away to Manchester City and Arsenal have also excelled in Europe, winning their three Champions League group games at home by an aggregate score of 12-0 before a tense penalty-shootout success against FC Porto.
They have been leading at half-time and full-time in all four of their Champions League at the Emirates this term and should make another strong start against struggling Bayern.
The Bavarian powerhouses are 16 points behind Bundesliga champions-elect Bayer Leverkusen and suffered a fourth defeat in eight league games on Saturday, letting slip a 2-0 lead to lose 3-2 at Heidenheim.
Tip 3 - Draw in PSG v Barcelona @ 14/5
The draw has opened up nicely for PSG and Barcelona, although their quarter-final clash promises to be a tight contest.
Barca drew 1-1 away to Napoli in the round of 16 before completing a 4-2 aggregate win at home and a draw in Paris looks the best bet on Wednesday evening.
Xavi's visitors have been defending well, keeping five clean sheets in their last six matches, including in an excellent 3-0 win away to Atletico Madrid.
PSG scraped through a tough group featuring Borussia Dortmund, AC Milan and Newcastle United and they have drawn four of their last five home games in Ligue 1.
Tip 4 - Borussia Dortmund or draw double chance @ 11/10
Atletico Madrid have done most of their best work at home this season, claiming 13 of their 18 league wins on their own patch and overturning a 1-0 first-leg deficit to beat Inter Milan on penalties in the Champions League last 16.
However, Atleti have lost two of their last three matches in La Liga, going down 2-0 at lowly Cadiz before a 3-0 home defeat to Barcelona.
They look vulnerable favourites to beat Borussia Dortmund, who have proved hard to beat on their travels this season.
BVB have lost only three of their 20 away games in all competitions and their most recent Bundesliga trip ended in a 2-0 victory at Bayern Munich.
Dortmund gained 11 points to top the toughest section in the Champions League group stage, recording away wins at Milan and Newcastle, and they can avoid defeat at the Metropolitano.
