With the first week of Champions League matches done, they were the most predictable results except for one. Lazio upset Bayern in the first leg 1-0 to have the advantage going into their next game. Bayern could not even register a shot on target, an amazing task for any team.
Now the next games of Champions will be played, and since the teams are more evenly balanced this week, there will be plenty of close games to watch. That said, here are my Champions League predictions for this Tuesday.
PSV vs. Dortmund
PSV has been on fire this season, not losing a single game in the Eredivisie (Dutch League), and being in 1st place by 13 points. In the Champions League, they haven't been bad either, losing only one game and finishing their group in 2nd place. PSV are a decent team and are not to be overlooked. Their attack, in particular, is a powerful striking force comprised of striker Luuk de Jong and forward Johan Bakayoko. de Jong is having a career season scoring 22 goals this season, and he does not look like he will be stopping soon.
Dortmund, on the other hand, have been kind of inconsistent. They sit in 4th place in the Bundesliga, but they topped their group, which many considered to be the hardest group this season. They haven't had a promising attack all season, with striker Sébastien Haller scoring 0 goals in 11 appearances. Niclas Füllkrug has had to pick up most of the slack on offense this season. Their defense though is better, having one of the best defenses in the Bundesliga. and only conceding four goals in a group of PSG, AC Milian, and Newcastle United.
PSV seem to dominate against the teams in their league, but in the Champions League, they struggle to beat the better teams. This is the opposite with Dortmund, as they don't do as well against bad teams, but they are able to win against the better teams in the Champions League. Also, Sébastien Haller was away for the past month at AFCON, where he was able to play back at a top level. If he is able to keep that up for Dortmund, then PSV will have a hard time dealing with Dortmund. This series though, is pretty even so it is tough to call.
My prediction: Dortmund to slightly beat PSV
Inter Milan vs. Atlético Madrid
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Inter looks like they are going to run away with the Serie A title. They sit in first place in Italy with a nine-point lead at the top. They have only conceded 12 goals in the league, which just shows how amazing their defense has been. Their attack has been incredible too, with Lautaro Martínez leading the way with 24 goals in all competitions, and he is on pace to have his highest-scoring season ever. Even though they finished 2nd place in their Champions League group, they are still a strong team and can potentially make the final like last year.
Atlético went undefeated in their Champions Group Stage, scoring 17 goals, the 2nd most in the Champions League. They have always been defensively strong but lacked that offensive presence to compete with the top teams. These past couple of years, however, Antoine Griezmann has been able to fill that void and has been up there with the best players in the world. This season, Griezmann hasn't been the only top attacker for Atlético as Álvaro Morata has been the leading scorer, even having the most goals in the Champions League.
This matchup is probably the highest quality out of all the other games. These two teams are filled with elite players, as well as coached by great coaches. Both of these teams will go toe to toe with each other and it will be a super close game from start to finish.
My prediction: Inter Milian will win over Atlético Madrid