14th Feb 2012 | Football
Champions League Comes Out of Hibernation
Holders Barcelona are in action on Tuesday, with Arsenal facing an Italian job on Wednesday.
It’s time for the knockout phase of Europe’s elite club competition with eight of the final 16 teams in action across Tuesday and Wednesday night.
The Champions League holders Barcelona are 2/5 (PaddyPower) to win their first leg away to Borussia Dortmund and just 6/4 (Coral) to retain their trophy. This despite a disappointing run domestically which has seen them drop 10 points off the pace in La Liga. Real Madrid don’t play till next week, but the pacesetters in the Spanish league are still much longer than their rivals at 11/4 (Bet365) for glory.
The other Tuesday night match sees Lyon hot favourites (1/2 Bluesquare) to win their home leg against little known APOEL Nicosia; the first ever Cypriot team to reach this stage are 15/2 (Totesport) to triumph in France.
English interest comes on Wednesday with one of the ties of the round seeing Arsenal head to AC Milan. The Italian league leaders are 11/10 (Ladbrokes) to take a lead to London while the Gunners are 3/1 (BetVictor) to win in the San Siro for a third time out of three in this competition.
The final encounter of the week sees Zenit St Petersburg (13/8 Coral) host Benifca (2/1 Skybet). The Russians will be another team making a first foray into the latter stages of the Champions League.
Odds correct at time of publishing: 15:19 14th Feb, 2012 but subject to change
