Manchester City vs Roma
Manchester City go into this game on the back of an entertaining 4-2 win over Hull. A brace from Dzeko and other goals from Aguero and the ever-green Lampard were enough to secure the 3 points for Pellegrini’s men, however they will need to shore up their leaky defence if they are to overcome Roma. The Romans are flying at the moment, winning all five of their league fixtures and fired five past CSKA Moscow in their opening match.
Although victory is not a necessity for City on Tuesday, anything other than maximum points at the Etihad would leave the Blues with a massive mountain to climb.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Atletico Madrid vs Juventus
Juventus have started the season in imperious fashion scoring 12 goals in 6 games and are yet to concede a goal. These results, as well as their newly established controlled style of play have silenced many of new manager Massimo Allegri’s critics.
Despite losing star striker Diego Costa to Chelsea in the summer, Atletico have enjoyed a decent start to the campaign and ran riot against Sevilla at the weekend. However, the Spanish champions suffered a shock defeat at Olympiakos in their opening fixture and anything other than a victory against the Bianconeri will be a huge disappointment for the Spaniards.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Arsenal vs Galatasaray
Arsenal were unable to overcome fierce North London rivals Tottenham last weekend despite dominating for the majority of the game. Arsene Wenger’s troops opened their Champions League campaign with a miserable 2-0 defeat in Dortmund and will be looking to bounce back with a victory against the Turks. Wenger however is sweating on the fitness of Jack Wilshere, Aaron Ramsey and skipper Mikel Arteta, who are major doubts for this fixture.
Galatasary have failed to find any sort of consistency this season under new manager Cesare Prandelli and will be looking to become the first Turkish side to win in England.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Sporting CP vs Chelsea
Jose Mourinho will be frustrated by only securing a point in their opening Champions League fixture. Chelsea will only use that disappointment to spur them on and Sporting must be on top form if they wish to match Jose Mourinho’s men. The fitness of Diego Costa remains a concern, with Loic Remy or Didier Drogba likely to be given the opportunity to shine in Portugal. Drogba looked behind the pace against Schalke and I expect Remy to be given the start and cause Sporting problems with his pace. Chelsea have the luxury of strength in depth, allowing Mourinho to put out a fresh side capable of comfortably winning this tie.
Marco Silva will be frustrated by his sides inability to turn draws into wins as they go into this game with a 5 match unbeaten run, only one of them being wins. He must set his side up to stifle Chelsea’s attacking threat, however the the class of Fabregas and co. will see them through.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Basel vs Liverpool
Liverpool enjoyed a champions league free season last campaign, which allowed them to flourish in the Premier League. Rodgers has struggled to get his Liverpool side to tick, as departure of Luis Suarez and the recent absence of Daniel Sturridge taking its toll. The new signings will need time to adjust to life in England and he will be hoping that the best is yet to come. Liverpool were fortunate to win their opening match, courtesy of a late penalty from Steven Gerrard. As expected, Basel are topping the Swiss table and must make their home advantage count if they wish to progress to the next round. Real Madrid demolished Basel in the opening tie and I have no doubts that they will learn from their mistakes and produce a respectable performance at St. Jakob-Park.
Overall, I expect Liverpool to step up and narrowly edge this match.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paris Saint Germain vs Barcelona
PSG manager Laurent Blanc has a big decision to make regarding the fitness of Zlatan Ibrahimovic. He is due for a late fitness test which can strongly impact the result of this tie. PSG’s squad is not shy of attacking talent and Edison Cavani will relish his opportunity to shine in the Swede’s absence. Barcelona’s style got found out on the European stage a couple of seasons ago, however they are enjoying a new lease of life under Luis Enrique and will be hugely confident of getting a result in Paris.
Form often becomes irrelevant in a match of this scale and I do not expect their inability to secure three points in Toulouse to effect the mindset of PSG. I expect Barcelona to dominate possession in Paris, but home advantage will be difficult to overcome against a side desperate for European Glory. Score-draw expected.
Prediction 1-1 -> Back the Draw at Bet365, Claim your Double Deposit bonus HERE!!!
