Champions League 2016: Odds, Live Stream for Tuesday's Quarter-Final Fixtures
The first two quarter-finals of the 2015-16 UEFA Champions League will take place on Tuesday, as La Liga giants Barcelona and Atletico Madrid go head-to-head, and Bayern Munich play host to Benfica.
The Bavarians are expected to cruise past Benfica, who have been in excellent form on the domestic level but barely scraped past Zenit St Petersburg in the previous round.
Barcelona and Atletico have developed quite a rivalry in the last few years, and their clash is undoubtedly the tie of the round. The defending champions are coming off a tough 2-1 loss on Saturday against rivals Real Madrid in the Clasico, and if there ever was a chance to shock them, now would be the time.
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Here's a look at at the full schedule for Tuesday's clashes, complete with live-stream info and match odds courtesy of Odds Shark and Oddschecker:
| Tuesday, April 5 | 7:45 p.m./2:45 p.m. | Barcelona v Atletico | BT Sport App (U.K.), Fox Soccer 2Go (U.S.) | Barcelona 10-21, Draw 13-4, Atletico 6-1 |
| Tuesday, April 5 | 7:45 p.m./2:45 p.m. | Bayern v Benfica | BT Sport App (U.K.), Fox Soccer 2Go (U.S.) | Bayern 2-11, Draw 6-1, Benfica 14-1 |
Here are a couple of bets you might consider playing:
Barcelona vs. Atletico Madrid Final Result: Draw (10-3)
According to Footballzz.com, Barcelona and Atletico have met each other six times since the start of 2015, and not a single one of those meetings has ended in a draw. In fact, Barcelona have won all six of those matches, including five by a single goal.
That streak is significant, because in the last six matches these two teams played before the sequence started, the Catalans didn't win once. That includes the last time these teams met in the Champions League back in 2014.
Atletico knocked Barcelona out of the tournament by beating them 1-0 at the Estadio Vicente Calderon and playing out a 1-1 draw at the Camp Nou, thanks to this superb goal from Diego Costa:
Barcelona have looked close to unstoppable this season, but Saturday's loss hurt. The team looked rusty and sluggish, which can be attributed to the international break. The Blaugrana field a host of South American stars who had to travel a long distance to get back to Spain and couldn't match Real's energy.
The mental aspect of a Clasico loss cannot be underestimated, and a space of three days is a short time to get past such a defeat and regain the fitness some of the players lacked in that match.
On top of that, manager Luis Enrique expects a tough challenge from the Rojiblancos, as he told the club's official website: "Our opponents will put on a lot of pressure and will make it tough for us."
Atletico are built to compete with teams like Barcelona. Defensively, there are few teams better in football, and their attackers have been on point in the last few weeks.
On Saturday, they cruised to a 5-1 win over Real Betis, and it's obvious star striker Antoine Griezmann will be the main danger man against the Blaugrana, as the Champions League's official Twitter account suggested:
These two teams know each other well, and in all likelihood, they'll be cautious during the first leg of this clash.
Defending is what the Rojiblancos do best, and Barcelona won't be too eager to throw too many players forward after Real burned them twice on the counter-attack just three days ago.
Bayern Munich vs. Benfica, Half-Time/Full Time: Draw/Bayern Win (13-5)
It's tricky to find a bet that will net a significant return and is still likely to come to pass for this match, as the oddsmakers are giving Benfica virtually no chance of beating Bayern. The Bundesliga giants have been in strong form all season long, and their European pedigree is splendid.
But a quick look at their recent results shows they haven't been at their best since the marathon match against Juventus. Per WhoScored.com, they've since beaten FC Cologne and Eintracht Frankfurt 1-0, and neither side has done particularly well in the Bundesliga this season.
Per the same source, Benfica have won all but one of their matches since the start of the new year, and while some may question the level of the Portuguese league in 2015-16, that's still an impressive run.
Star forwards Jonas and Kostas Mitroglou have been nothing short of amazing, per Sport Witness' Jan Hagen:
Bayern should beat the Portuguese side and progress to the semi-finals, but they haven't been able to impose their will on teams as they normally do since the 4-2 win over Juventus and will face a tough, disciplined Benfica squad that has a lot of power in midfield and does a great job of winning the ball back.
It may take the Bavarians some time to kick into gear, and if that happens, brave punters could make a quick buck by backing Benfica to survive the first half at the Allianz Arena.
