CHELSEA take on Atletico Madrid in Wednesday night's Champions League Last 16 second leg showdown. Tom Love (@TomLove_18) shares his betting thoughts.
Chelsea vs Atletico Madrid | Wednesday 17th March 2021, 20:00 | BT Sport
It wasn’t one for the ages in the first leg of this tie but the Olivier Giroud overhead kick that separates the sides was a sparkle of real quality.
Chelsea seem a much more complete eleven when the Frenchman spearheads the attack, he’s shown many times that he can be the man for the big occasion too. It will be interesting if Thomas Tuchel re-instates the former Arsenal man here.
Diego Simeone fielded an attacking looking line-up in that first leg but the style of play was typically Atleti with two banks of four and the two frontmen cutting off passing lines. He won’t be distraught with a 1-0 defeat from the other week, their approach is unlikely to change, especially in the opening exchanges which should be very cagey.
With that in mind, the even-money (Betfair) on it being all square at the break makes plenty of appeal.
One thing tight second legs usually deliver is cards with so much being in the balance. I rarely put up players to be carded at shorter than 3/1 but I’ll make an exception here.
Stefan Savic has picked up a hefty 14 cards in 31 games this season, that should make him much closer to evens than the 13/5 available with SkyBet. With the game having to open up at some point he could get dragged out of position and might struggle with the likes of Timo Werner who will be keen to stretch the Atleti backline later in the game.
Best Bets
Chelsea vs Atletico Madrid – Half-Time draw (1/1 Betfair)
Chelsea vs Atletico Madrid – Stefan Savic to be carded (13/5 SkyBet)
