The UEFA Champions League resumes with two mouthwatering ties coming your way this week.
Here are our betting tips for this week’s semi-final first leg action.
Champions League Betting Tips - Tuesday 30 April & Wednesday 1 May
UEFA Champions League Acca of the Day
Both teams to score and over 3.5 goals
Bayern Munich vs Real Madrid
Both teams to score and over 2.5 goals
Borussia Dortmund vs Paris Saint-Germain
At 4/1, a £10 bet would return £50!
UEFA Champions League acca of the week- 30 April & 1 May
Bayern Munich vs Real Madrid betting tips
One of these two sides has featured in eight of the last 12 UEFA Champions League Finals, a ratio that’ll further improve come 1 June at Wembley, although the pair have never actually met in a final, despite the fact 28 of the 68 European Cup Finals (41%) have contained one or the other.
In the first leg of this semi-final, who will move one step closer to adding yet another European Cup to their respective collections?
Real Madrid are now favourites to win this competition for the 15th time, having dumped out holders Manchester City in the quarter-finals, doing so in dramatic fashion.
Both legs ended all square, 3-3 at the Bernabéu and then 1-1 at the Etihad, following a backs against the wall performance from los Blancos in Manchester, meaning the tie was to be settled by a penalty shootout.
Luka Modrić actually missed their first spot-kick, but was bailed out by Andriy Lunin, who made successive saves, while Jude Bellingham, Lucas Vázquez, Nacho and then Antonio Rüdiger all held their nerve from 12 yards, the latter securing progression.
So, this is the 12th time in 14 seasons los Merengues have got through to, at least, the semi-finals of this tournament, seeking a sixth title in only 11 seasons.
On Friday night, Carlo Ancelotti’s team beat Real Sociedad 1-0, Arda Güler the only scorer in San Sebastián, meaning they require only four points from their remaining five matches to be crowned La Liga winners.
Thus, emphasised by the fact Ancelotti deployed a heavily-rotated XI at Anoeta, making nine changes, their full focus is on the Champions League, so will Real Madrid leave Bavaria with a positive result?
Similarly, Bayern Munich also are all about the Champions League but for contrasting reasons, seeing their 11-year stranglehold over the Bundesliga title come to an end, unable to keep pace with Bayer Leverkusen.
Thomas Tuchel’s team did beat Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1 on Saturday, Harry Kane the scorer of both, but that is inconsequential, needing to go all the way in this tournament to salvage an otherwise catastrophic campaign.
So far in the knockout phase, die Roten have fought back to beat Lazio in the round of 16, following defeat in the first leg in Rome, before ousting Arsenal 3-2 on aggregate in the quarter-finals.
The pair played out a 2-2 draw in North London, before Joshua Kimmich’s bullet header was the difference in Germany, connecting perfectly with Raphaël Guerreiro’s cross.
So, this is Bayern’s first appearance in the semi-finals since most-recently winning this competition in 2020, dumped out in each of their last four semis played over two legs, all of which have come against Spanish opposition, including at the hands of Real Madrid in 2014 and 2018.
With the second leg at the Bernabéu to come, most will feel Bayern Munich need to establish a first leg advantage at Allianz Arena to have any realistic chance of getting through.
Both teams to score
1st selection
Over 3.5 goals
2nd selection
Harry Kane to score anytime
3rd selection
Vinícius Júnior to score anytime
4th selection
At 9/1, a £10 bet would return £100!
Bayern Munich vs Real Madrid
Borussia Dortmund vs Paris Saint-Germain betting tips
The Champions League remains the holy grail for Paris Saint-Germain so, given that they come into this tie as firm favourites, the French champions simply must stand up and be counted.
PSG have become infamous for their calamitous premature Champions League exits in recent seasons, seemingly set for another in the quarter-finals, when Barcelona left Parc des Princes 3-2 winners.
Six night later, les Rouges-et-Bleus then had a mountain to climb, finding themselves a further goal behind after just 12 minutes at Montjuïc, although everything changed when Ronald Araújo was sent off soon after.
Up against ten-men, PSG eventually made their numerical advantage count, with Ousmane Dembélé halving the deficit against his former side, before Vitinha lashed home an aggregate equaliser from long-range.
Kylian Mbappé then converted a penalty that put les Parisiens ahead in the tie, before his second of the night secured a remontada, sending them through to the semi-finals.
This is only the third time in the Qatari era that PSG have reached the last four of this competition, but both of the previous two came during Covid times, beaten finalists in 2020 before falling at this hurdle against Manchester City 12 months later.
Thus, this’ll be the first time Paris Saint-Germain supporters have witnessed their team in a Champions League semi-final since Luis Fernández’s team were ousted by AC Milan all the way back in 1995.
Fast forward almost three decades, Luis Enrique’s side have rubber stamped the Ligue 1 title, a tenth in 12 seasons, despite only managing a 3-3 draw with Le Havre on Saturday, but continental success remains the priority, so will PSG be in a commanding position following this first leg in North Rhine-Westphalia?
Borussia Dortmund meantime, unlike their visitors, have won the Champions League, doing so 27 years ago by defeating Juventus 3-1 at Olympiapark München.
Despite that triumph, this’ll be only die Schwarzgelben’s fifth appearance in the semis, previously getting this far in ‘64, ‘97, ‘98 and 2013, beaten by Bayern Munich in the final at Wembley 11 years ago, a repeat of which could be on the cards.
To get here, Edin Terzić's team took care of PSV Eindhoven in the round of 16, before producing a comeback of their own in the quarters, going 2-0 at the Metropolitano inside half an hour, at which point they appeared dead and buried, only for Sébastien Haller to half the deficit late on.
Dortmund then raced into a 2-0 lead when Atlético Madrid visited six nights later, only for Atleti to hit back twice, meaning it was los Colchoneros who were ahead with just 20 minutes remaining.
Nevertheless, quick-fire goals from Niclas Füllkrug and then Marcel Sabitzer saw them turn the tie around yet again, with the over 81,000 in attendance able to celebrate an historic victory.
On Saturday, Terzić's side were smashed 4-1 by RB Leipzig, leaving them fifth in the Bundesliga, very much relieved that this will be enough to see them return to this competition next season.
However, Dortmund have saved their best performances for this tournament, unbeaten in ten Champions League home games, and they’ll feel victory at Westfalenstadion is vitally important.
Paris Saint-Germain to win or draw
1st selection
Both teams to score
2nd selection
Over 2.5 goals
3rd selection
Kylian Mbappé to score anytime
4th selection
At 13/5 a £10 bet would return £36!
Borussia Dortmund vs Paris Saint-Germain
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