Al Ittihad sit top of the Saudi Pro League after winning six of their first seven games.
Al Ittihad sit top of the Saudi Pro League after winning six of their first seven games.
Over 2.5 Goals have been scored in all of the last five games for Al Nassr.
BTTS has occurred in all of the last five games for MVV & in four of the last five games for ADO Den Haag. All of the last four meetings between these two sides have also seen BTTS, with those games finishing: 2-1, 3-1, 2-3 & 2-6.
Over 2.5 Goals have been scored in four of the last five games for both Cambuur & PSV II.
BTTS has occurred in four of the last five games for Hoffenheim & in three of the last five games for Borussia Dortmund. Three of the last five meetings between these two sides have also seen BTTS.
Sunderland sit fourth in the Championship and have won three of their last four games. Their opponents Sheffield Wednesday have had a torrid start to life with six defeats so far & sit bottom of the league on just two points.
England has four candidates to win the Champions League in the 2021/22 season, with the likes of current holders, Chelsea, who look to have improved significantly under Thomas Tuchel, as they are currently fighting with Manchester City and Liverpool for the Premier League title, whilst putting in some impressive displays in the group stages, such as their 4-0 victory over Juventus.
Meanwhile, City were beaten finalists under Pep Guardiola last year and will be desperate to go that step further and win the trophy altogether, replicating what the likes of Liverpool did in 2019, by reaching back to back finals and winning the latter. The Citizens are arguably the best team in England, having won the Premier League title in three of the last four seasons and it seems like a matter of time before they have some European glory.
As mentioned above, Liverpool won the trophy in 2019 against Tottenham in the final at the Wanda Metropolitano and will be looking to try and win what would be their seventh European Cup/Champions League. Jurgen Klopp’s side have certainly put in some impressive displays in the competition, having finished top of Group B with 18 points from six games, ahead of the likes of AC Milan, FC Porto and Atletico Madrid.
The fourth and final English team in the competition is Manchester United, who will be seen as outsiders, but, having seen their current Interim Manager Ralf Rangnick to the semi-finals in 2011, whilst also having an impressive crop of players with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes, Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford and Raphael Varane in the squad, there is every chance that they could shock the tournament and come away as winners despite their troubles, as Chelsea did last season.
Germany have just Bayern Munich left in the Champions League, following Group Stage exits from Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig and Wolfsburg.
Julian Nagelsmann’s side comfortably finished top of Group E, taking maximum points having defeated Barcelona, Benfica and Dynamo Kyiv twice. Having won the competition as recently as 2020 against PSG, Bayern are arguably the most likely candidates to win the competition ahead of any club outside of England and will be expected to advance from the Round of 16 having been drawn out to play Red Bull Salzburg.
France have two candidates that are still in the running for the Champions League, one are major outsiders in Lille, who won Group G ahead of the likes of Salzburg, Sevilla and Wolfsburg, but have an incredibly tricky task in the Round of 16, as they have to play Chelsea, whilst the other candidate is PSG.
Mauricio Pochettino’s men have what is on paper, the best front three in the world, in Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi. They could only finish runners-up to City in Group A, having failed to win a single away game in the Champions League, something which will have to change if they are to stand a chance of progressing deep into the competition.
PSG were drawn out to play Real Madrid in the Round of 16 and will be hoping the additions of Gianluigi Donnarumma, Achraf Hakimi, Sergio Ramos, Gini Wijnaldum and Messi can give them that extra boost to push them towards what would be their first Champions League triumph, having been beaten in the 2020 final, as well as in the semi-finals last campaign.
Spain, like France, only have two competitors left to battle it out coming into the Round of 16, as Barcelona suffered a shock exit in Group E, whilst Sevilla finished third in Group G, consequently dropping both sides into the Europa League.
Real Madrid will be Spain’s main hope to win the Champions League, Carlo Ancelotti has a good record in the competition, having won it three times as coach of AC Milan and Los Blancos, doing so with the latter in the 2013/14 season. The Santiago Bernabeu club have won the European Cup/Champions League 13 times, more than any other club in history, but will face a stern test against PSG in the Round of 16.
2021 Europa League winners Villarreal also managed to advance from Group F, ahead of the likes of Atalanta and Young Boys, but finished as runners-up to United, seeing them being drawn against Juventus.
With the quality that Unai Emery’s side have shown in Europe, there is a chance that they could pull off a shock against the Italian giants to progress through to the quarter-finals, however, they aren’t expected to win the competition itself.
Last but not least on this list is the Netherlands, who have just one candidate competing to try and win the Champions League in the shape of four-time winners, Ajax.
Erik ten Hag’s side have impressed in Europe once again this season, topping Group C in comfortable fashion ahead of the likes of Sporting Lisbon, Borussia Dortmund and Besiktas, taking a maximum of 18 points from six matches, which is the first time that Ajax have done this in the Group Stages.
Former West Ham and Eintracht Frankfurt striker Sebastien Haller has been one of the competition’s standout players, having fired in 10 goals in six matches, seeing the 27-year-old Ivory Coast international be the top scorer in this season’s Champions League at present.
Ajax, who would be tantalisingly close to reaching the final in 2019, but for a Lucas Moura hattrick for Spurs, face Benfica in the Round of 16 and will fancy their chances of reaching the Quarter-Finals.