Frank LorenzoThere are eight games in the UEFA Champions League this Tuesday, but two of them caught my attention as Barcelona and PSG clash in group F and Manchester City and AS Roma meet for E. All four of these teams have a real shot at winning the tournament despite what the UCL Future odds say.
There are eight games in the UEFA Champions League this Tuesday, but two of them caught my attention as Barcelona and PSG clash in group F and Manchester City and AS Roma meet for E. All four of these teams have a real shot at winning the tournament despite what the UCL Future odds say.
Barcelona +290 at PSG -105 | Draw +255 | Game Total: 2.5
Barcelona will have a difficult trip to Paris as they clash against PSG, but the participation of defender Thiago Silva is in doubt as he’s injured and striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic was ruled out with a with a heel injury, which should make things easier for the Spanish.
“The absence of Zlatan Ibrahimović is significant for Paris, but not so much for us as it won’t change the way we play. I probably did watch the quarter-final between the clubs two seasons ago, but I don’t remember it. I can’t remember every match I watch”, said Luis Enrique, coach of FC Barcelona.
These two teams met in the 2012/13 UEFA Champions League quarter-finals with the Spanish winning the series because of away goals, drawing 2-2 in Paris and 1-1 in Cataluña.
“Barcelona have always been one of my favorite teams, especially given their football philosophy. Some like it, some don’t; personally I love it. They’ve of course been very successful; winning numerous trophies in the last ten years, but what’s most important is that they played an entertaining brand of football, scoring lots of goals. I did play for Barcelona, but that was a long time ago and I only spent a season there. Tomorrow my aim will be to beat them and I think we have the quality to do it”, said PSG coach Lauren Blanc.
My Pick: Draw +255.
AS Roma +480 vs Manchester City -175 | Draw +255 | Game Total: 2.5.
Roma and Man City will clash in one of the best games in the entire week; both teams are joined by Bayern Munich in perhaps the most complicated group in the competition this season.
AS Roma has won only once in 14 previous visits to England (1-0 at Liverpool FC in the 2000/01 UEFA Cup fourth round), but they lost the series 2-1 on aggregate.
“City are a team that bases things on ball possession. They can speed the game up when they find space thanks to the quality players they have. We’ll see what kind of attitude they have, but we’ll have to be ready to respond to their every move. We’ll have to be organized. We need to seize the moment, because I’m sure we’ll have our chance during the game”, said Rudi Garcia, Roma coach.
The last time Manchester City beat an Italian team at home was in the UEFA Cup 1978/79 where they won 3-0 AC Milan.
“Roma are a very good team because they have won all five of their league games. Last year they were also a very good team”, said City’s coach Manuel Pellegrini.
My Pick: Man City -175.
