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Champions League Playoff Round 2nd Leg Betting Tips
With teams just one game away from a Champions League campaign, the stakes couldn’t be higher as we head into the playoff round second leg matches.
Following hard-fought, intense matches in the first legs, we at Freebets have found value in the second leg matches from Tuesday 22nd August onwards.
Eduardo Berizzo’s Sevilla left it late to score the second of their two vital away goals in their 2-1 victory over Istanbul Basaksehir in the first leg. Wissam Ben Yedder was responsible for the joy, combining with returnee Jesus Navas with just six minutes left on the clock. In the home tie, Basaksehir know they must score at least two goals to have a chance of progression, but Sevilla haven’t lost at home since November 2016, when Juventus triumphed in Spain.
The Turkish outfit have strong attacking prowess in Edin Visca, Eljero Elia and Emmanuel Adebayor, but their weaknesses in the back line were on show when they travelled to Brugge in the last round of the tournament. Their 3-3 draw with the Belgians may not have been representative as they hadn’t conceded that many since April previously, but the distinct difference in quality is likely to be seen at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium.
With talents like Ever Banega, Wissam Ben Yedder, Nolito, Franco Vazquez and Pablo Sarabia in the ranks, the Spaniards should be able to see off the Turkish newcomers with a home win.
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Our second tip is for another team who won their opening leg – CSKA Moscow. Viktor Goncharenko’s side went into their away fixture at Young Boys in Switzerland with a clear intention – keep things tight, don’t concede and definitely don’t get beaten. That plan had already worked to perfection when Nuhu Kasim embarrassingly nodded into his own net in stoppage time for the home side.
Heading into the second leg, CSKA carry a terrific reputation when playing in Moscow. Goncharenko’s side have started their domestic season in good form, sitting pretty in fourth place after six games.
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Young Boys progressed to this stage by defeating Dynamo Kiev over two legs, but that success was filled with good fortune. After losing 3-1 away from home, the Swiss side were 1-0 up with just injury time remaining when Jordan Mvula Lotomba’s tame effort was fumbled in by Kiev’s goalkeeper to decide the tie. We don’t accept such luck falling their way this time around, with CSKA well equipped to eliminate Young Boys for good.
Our final selection is for both teams to score in Nice and Napoli, which bookmakers are already beginning to shorten in the market. The first leg was a walkover in Italy as Maurizio Sarri’s side won 2-0 with Lucien Favre’s team suffering two red cards. In Nice, the prospect is a little more daunting.
The French side must score two to stand a chance of progressing, and with the creativity of Jean Seri and Allan Saint-Maximin in their ranks they are more than capable of doing so. Napoli have unbelievable strength going forward and will score against a side who conceded at home to Ajax in the last round.
