Tuesday Champions League Preview Dortmund/Man City and Liverpool/Real Madrid

The Quarterfinals are finally here! Its hard not to love the entire Champions League group play but when the teams get weeded down to the final 8, you can generally bank on some good matchups and less blowouts. Its not easy to make it to this point, so each team here certainly earned it. This will just be a preview of the Tuesday matchups between Dortmund/City and Real Madrid/Liverpool as well as expected winning bets for each matchup.

Borussia Dortmund Vs Manchester City (-335) (O/U 3.0)*

In my opinion, this is the best matchup of the day and even rivals Bayern vs PSG as the best matchup in the entire quarterfinals. Everyone who is not living under a rock is aware of the City attack led by Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling, but the defense this year has stepped up to a level that is not usually seen. Kyle Walker a constant mainstay in the starting XI, this defense is also led by John Stones and Ruben Dias in the back. While John Stones has had an incredible year individually, Erling Haaland is a force I am not sure can be comparable to anyone in the Premier League. His combination of speed, physicality and clinical finishing is unmatched. This Manchester City defense has only given up one goal in 8 UCL matches, the one goal given up against fellow quarterfinal team FC Porto. Dortmund has scored at least one goal in every match except one – back in September to FC Augsburg – with it now being 37 straight matches. Manchester City is chasing greatness, a quadruple, winning a sweep of all four major trophies in 2021. They nearly have the premier league wrapped up and a potential matchup with PSG/Bayern next round appears to be the biggest obstacle in their way. I do think Dortmund has the firepower to make this one interesting (especially for the over), however that MC defense has been on another level this year. Guardiola has made it a point to rotate lately so the hope is John Stones and Ilkay Gundogan are fresh after sitting against Leicester City.

Prediction: I believe Dortmund makes this one interesting with an early goal or two, but MC takes over possession in the second half to win by multiple goals. Manchester City are favorites to win the entire tournament for a reason and I believe they are just too much on both sides. Hit the 3.0 over and enjoy the fireworks!

Real Madrid (+190) vs Liverpool (+145) (O/U 2.5)*

A matchup of power clubs, both teams here have seemingly disappointed this year with Liverpool middle of the premier league table and Real Madrid behind both Atletico Madrid and Barcelona in the La Liga table. Real Madrid could be missing Sergio Ramos, Eden Hazard and Varane here which is not ideal, considering Liverpool appears to be hitting form after a troubled Premier League season. Diego Jota has seemed to hit form lately and the combination of Salah/Sane is always deadly. Liverpool has been ravaged by injuries this year, especially defensively, but have managed to turn out three straight clean sheets, including last UCL round against Leipzig. Its no secret the Premier League is the top of the food chain in terms of competition among domestic leagues. Its possible the premier league results cause some to shy away from Liverpool, but I believe they are hitting form at the right time.

Predictions: Liverpool appears to be hitting form at the right time and the change away from the 4-3-3 formation may bring some much-needed excitement to this squad. I think we see Jota prove his worth on the pitch again with a goal and Liverpool win. Take the Liverpool ML (+145) without thinking twice.

*All lines/bets from Bovada.com