Champions League picks, predictions, odds: Experts like Real Madrid, Manchester City, Inter, split on Napoli

by — April 18, 2023 in TOP NEWS


There are only eight teams remain in the UEFA Champions League, and just four will retain hopes of conquering Europe come Wednesday night as the quarterfinals wrap up. Tuesday’s slate features Real Madrid at Chelsea while Napoli host AC Milan. On Wednesday Bayern Munich look to come back against Manchester City, while Benfica are going to need a stunning road performance at Inter. As always, Paramount+ is your home for all-things UCL. We’ve got all the pregame and postgame coverage you need plus make sure to check out CBS Sports Golazo Network for tactical cams of Chelsea vs. Real Madrid on Tuesday and Bayern Munich vs. Manchester City on Wednesday.

Here’s everything you need to know about the games, our expert picks and more:

Tuesday’s broadcast schedule

Wednesday’s broadcast schedule

Match picks

Napoli vs. AC Milan

Latest Odds:

Napoli
-0.5

One matchup to watch: Fikayo Tomori vs. Victor Osimhen – This is probably the most interesting matchup to watch on Tuesday as Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen will be back against AC Milan after he missed the first leg due to injury. The comeback of Osimhen is what Napoli needed and it might be the key factor for the second leg. 

Most likely to score a goal: Victor Osimhen – His comeback on the pitch will be incredibly important for the home team and Napoli need to score two goals in order to overturn the 1-0 loss of the first leg. Osimhen already scored four goals in five Champions League games he played so far this season. 

Man of the Match pick: Mike Maignan – He was already crucial in the first leg with his saves, in particular the one of the second half on Napoli’s defender Giovanni Di Lorenzo. His saves are like goals scored for his club and he’s probably one of the best goalkeepers around Europe this season. 

Match prediction: Regardless of the fact Napoli need to score two goals, it won’t be easy to do it against AC Milan, as the first leg also showed. I see Napoli scoring first, but then AC Milan will also have their chances considering also they will likely have more space to attack in the second half. Pick: Napoli 1, AC Milan 1.  – Francesco CBS Sports has the soccer podcast for you, covering everything you need to know about the beautiful game. Make sure to give House of Champions a follow for coverage of the biggest games, stories, transfer news with Fabrizio Romano, and everything else going on in the world’s most popular sport.

Real Madrid vs. Chelsea

Featured Game | Chelsea vs. Real Madrid

One matchup to watch: Joao Felix vs. Eder Militao – In the extremely unlikely event that Chelsea are to even have an outside shot in this game, there will need to turn their scurries upfield into far more than they did last week in the Santiago Bernabeu. To do that Felix really needs to assert himself more thoroughly on the impressive Militao, who he seemed reticent to really take on in the first leg. More than anyone the Portuguese forward, on loan from Atletico Madrid, should feel he has a point to prove against the European champions, not least because he still needs to convince skeptics at Chelsea that he is worth big money.

Most likely to score a goal: Karim Benzema – Frankly you could give me the choice between the entire Chelsea team scoring first and Benzema, I’m still taking the Frenchman. I might be inclined to take Thibaut Courtois over Chelsea, that’s how underwhelming they look in front of goal.

Man of the Match pick: Vinicius Junior – Even Chelsea’s implausibly deep bench does not have an answer for Vinicius. On Wednesday night he took on Reece James, N’Golo Kante and Wesley Fofana and made them look like contest winners. This was bully ball of the highest level, why would he not want to pick on the Champions League weaklings once again?

Match prediction: Chelsea 0, Real Madrid 1 – I was rather bullish that Chelsea’s midfield could match Madrid’s in the first leg; had Mateo Kovacic not had a hellish game I might have been right. I’m still not sure it matters much because the difference between these two sides is in the penalty areas. Expect Madrid to deal with this game as they did the second leg against Liverpool, quelling the pace and waiting for their moment to strike. When it comes they will surely exploit it. – James Benge

Inter vs. Benfica

Latest Odds:

Inter
-0.5

One matchup to watch: Goncalo Ramos vs. the Inter defense. Inter enters the second leg of this tie with a clear goal, to keep Benfica from finding the back of the net. And as long as Inter doesn’t concede a penalty, the most likely way that Benfica will score will be if Ramos can break through Inter’s defense. It’s something that he wasn’t able to do in the opening leg and scoring in general is something that Benfica has struggled with as of late only scoring two goals in their last four matches. To get back into things, Ramos will have to score, preferably early.

Most likely to score a goal: Romelu Lukaku. Despite how much of a roller coaster Lukaku’s season has been, he has gotten the job done in Champions League play. With three goals in only four matches, Lukaku has delivered just as many goals as he has in Serie A play this season and he’ll look to continue that to ice this tie. If Inter are able to advance, Lukaku’s return to italy will have been worth it.

Man of the Match pick: Joao Mario. Benfica won’t go down easily as they’re going to put pressure on Inter early and often. Mario’s creativity will be a reason why due to him being able to find space between Inter’s wing backs and create chances. Grabbing a few assists, Mario will do enough to garner man of the match honors as Benfica fights back.

Match prediction: While Benfica will win the match, with this being a two legged affair, that won’t be enough as Inter already has a two goal lead. All it will take is one goal for Inter to create an advantage that is hard to overturn and they’ll get it when befica pushes forward for an equalizer. Inter 1, Benfica 2 – Chuck Booth

Bayern Munich vs. Manchester City

Featured Game | Bayern Munchen vs. Manchester City

One matchup to watch: Jamal Musiala vs. Rodri. Realistically, Bayern’s chances of advancing are not great. On top of the 3-0 thumping they received in the opening leg, there was also the in-fighting between Leroy Sane and Sadio Mane which probably poisoned the atmosphere a bit. For the Germans to stand any chance of getting out of this mess, they will need a strong showing from Musiala. Unfortunately for the 20-year-old, Rodri was in strong form last week and could be an obstacle again here.

Most likely to score a goal: Erling Haaland. Are we really kidding ourselves that the Norwegian superstar will not add to his goal and assist from the opening leg? Haaland is in ominous form right now and if City are to score in Bavaria, then the Scandinavian is the most likely source.

Man of the Match pick: Ruben Dias. Bayern are not exactly bursting with attacking potency at present, but they still possess enough of a threat to at least attempt a comeback. The Portugal international’s form will dictate whether or not Thomas Tuchel’s side can even hope to beat Ederson between the sticks once let alone three times to just force the tie beyond 180 minutes.

Match prediction: Bayern 0-1 City (0-4). Do not expect a blowout like the opening leg, but this one should be much tighter. Tuchel probably has more work on his hands than first thought, so the hosts should be prepared for a struggle with City doing enough to grind out a narrow win here to complete a convincing overall aggregate success.  – Jonathan Johnson





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