The Champions League draw has been made which sees Man Utd v Real Madrid, Arsenal v Bayern Munich & Celtic v Juventus as Paddy Power release the latest odds and a free bet on the knockout stages.
The draw for the round of 16 in the Champions League was made this afternoon and there look to be some enthralling encounters taking place.
The one that really jumps out is Manchester United v Real Madrid. It is Sir Alex Ferguson v Jose Mourinho once more and of course Cristiano Ronaldo will be going up against his former employers, and its Jose Mourinho’s side which are the favourites to qualify at 8/13, with a price of 6/4 quoted on the Red Devils.
Champions League Knockout : Paddy Power Free Bet Offer
To celebrate the Champions League draw, Paddy Power have announced the introduction of a new free bets offer worth £250/€250 to customers to spend on any game or any sport, including the Champions League ties! Claim here!
Both of these sides have an ambition to win the tournament and know what a tough two legs this is going to be. Nothing other than two entertaining matches will be expected.
Arsenal have been drawn against last season’s runners-up, Bayern Munich, in what is another tough test for the Gunners as Josef Heynckes are fancied to overcome Arsene Wenger’s side with relative ease at 2/5.
Bayern are one of the strongest teams in the Champions League this campaign and will be difficult to beat over two legs.
Celtic take on the champions of Italy, Juventus. As ever, the game at Celtic Park is sure to be key and the Scottish side must be at their absolute best to come out on top. Juventus are unbeaten in the competition so far though and are full of confidence, as the Bhoys are a best priced 4/1 with Paddy Power to make it through to the next round.
Two of this season’s most impressive outfits lock horns as Shakhtar Donetsk take on Borussia Dortmund. These two love to attack, so goals are expected over these two matches as Jurgen Klopp’s current Bundesliga champions are the favourites to progress.
Galatasaray take on Schalke 04, whilst Malaga face Porto. All four of these sides will be confident of making the quarter-finals and know they do all look to be fairly evenly matched.
Paris Saint Germain will play Valencia in what has the makings of a very interesting battle. PSG do have the personal capable of coming out on top here, but Valencia have a lot of Champions League experience, so it seems to hang right in the balance.
There will be plenty of pressure on Carlo Ancelotti to perform after spending big in the summer and they are fancied to do so at around 4/7.
The final encounter to look out is between two European giants – AC Milan and Barcelona. There is no doubt that Barca are the stronger team, but you can be sure that AC will raise their game.
All eight matches look like being superb games and the first legs will take place on February 12/13 or 19/20, with the return matches on March 5/6 or 12/13.