Bayer Leverkusen will fancy their chances of causing an upset against a Barcelona side that has struggled on its travels recently.
The Champions League returns on Tuesday evening and viewers are in for a treat as reigning European champions Barcelona will be in action against German giants Bayer Leverkusen. The Spaniards are the obvious favourites to progress from the tie and are a best price of 1/9 at
Boylesports to reach the quarter finals but they might not have it all their own way, particularly in the opening leg.
It is 2/5 at
bet365 that Barcelona win in the BayArena but their hosts will fancy their chances of taking something from the game, having watched their opponents draw three and lose one of their last six La Liga matches on the road. Teams are working out how to contain the Catalans when they visit and if anyone knows how to stifle an attacking side it is the Germans.
Bayer Leverkusen were beaten 1-0 by Borussia Dortmund on Saturday but that won't have had much of an effect on manager Robin Dutt's preparations for Tuesday night. The tactics will be to try to close down as much space as possible and get under the skin of Pep Guardiola's superstars. This worked in the group stage against Barcelona's compatriots Valencia and also against Chelsea, both of whom were beaten in the BayArena and it wouldn't be the biggest shock in the world if the home side claimed a result against the holders.
It is 15/2 at
bet365 that Bayer Leverkusen beat Barcelona or 7/2 that the German side draw with their Spanish opponents. Our tip, however, is to cover both and also a narrow Barcelona win by betting on the home side +1 goal on the Asian Handicap at odds of 27/20 with the same firm. This bet will be a winner if Bayer win or draw and stakes are returned if they go down to a narrow one goal defeat. It is unlikely that the visitors will win by more than that.
