3/13 Recap- The second verse, and third in this case, is the same as the first. I can not pick the Champions League to save my life. Shakhtar squandered every chance they had before going down to ten men. Roma’s away goal proved the difference in the end as the Giallorossi advanced on a 2-2 aggregate scoreline. Hopefully, Mohamed Salah gives them a nice welcoming to the quarterfinals. But it wasn’t all saltiness yesterday because my second song was sung angelically once again by the English Championship. Cardiff City did their job in dispatching of Brentford and while I missed the correct score by a goal, I hit all my props. So to avoid this half and half crap again today, I’ll be avoiding the Champions League altogether. But that doesn’t mean I won’t be dealing with some champions.
3/13 Results:
My Picks: Shakhtar Donetsk 2 Roma 1 (Shakhtar +1 goals [-130], Shakhtar Advances [-115])
Cardiff City 2 Brentford 1 (Cardiff PICK [+115], Over 2.5 total goals [-125])
Actual Results: Roma 1 Shakhtar Donetsk 0
Cardiff City 3 Brentford 1
While Chelsea, Barcelona, Besiktas, and Bayern are away (in the UCL), some other champions will play (domestically).
FRENCH LIGUE 1
Angers SCO @ Paris Saint-Germain (12:00 PM ET/beIN Sports USA, beIN Sports en Español, fuboTV, iGol)
PSG’s first time on Picks From Across The Pond didn’t go so well. They crapped their proverbial pants and meekly went out of the Champions League to Real Madrid. No Neymar, no problem proved to be quite the incorrect statement. However, the Parisians have maintained their stranglehold on French football. They are poised for a domestic treble for the third time in four seasons. That probably won’t save Unai Emery’s job though.
But all that political hubbub aside, today’s game against Angers SCO should be fairly straightforward. PSG haven’t lost to their opponents since 1975. In their last four league games, the aggregate score has been 14-1, including a 5-0 thrashing in the reverse fixture this season. PSG is going to beat Angers SCO. But by how much?
Angers has been in decent form recently, beating Lille and Guingamp. Cameroonian Karl Toko Ekambi has scored in each of those two victories and gone the full 90 minutes in each of the past seven matches. So with that in mind, my picks for this game will surround the goal scorers.
I am going to take both teams to score and the over of 4 goals (per Bovada) even though the solid number gives me a bit of fear. I think with Ekambi likely to net and PSG ready to put in four by themselves at home, even without Neymar, I like my odds.
PREDICTION: Paris Saint-Germain 4 Angers SCO 1 (Over 4 total goals [EVEN], Both Teams Score [+115])
ITALIAN SERIE A
Atalanta @ Juventus (1:00 PM ET/beIN Sports Connect, beIN Sports en Español, fuboTV, iGol)
The last time Juventus was on this series, it went spectacularly for them and horribly for me. The Old Lady bounced Spurs from the Champions League at Wembley crushing Englishmen’s hopes of five teams in the quarterfinals. But isn’t that just what Juventus does? I don’t want to call them professional party poopers, but they are truly masters of throwing curveballs while everybody else is sitting on the heat.
Today they take on Atalanta in the makeup game after getting snowed out on the 25th of February. I’m hoping the Allianz isn’t looking like my front yard for this one. Even if it was, Paulo Dybala’s hot streak would surely melt it all. (Ugh, that was cringe-y. My apologies.) The Argentine has six goals in his last six games, all Juventus victories.
But let’s not forget about Atalanta, although I poo-pooed Napoli’s title hopes after their nil-nil draw with Inter, La Dea could give the Neapolitans a lifeline. Wiping out Juve’s game in hand would be huge in making the Serie A Scudetto chase enamoring again, but I just don’t see it happening.
This will be a low scoring, hard-nosed affair between two teams that match up with each other well. The two teams have put up some goals in the past, including a 2-2 draw in the reverse fixture, but Juventus is in lockdown mode at the moment with Champions League on the brain. They can score early and kill a game better than any other team in Europe. I’ll go “out on a limb” with a Juventus victory but with a -1 goal line (per Bovada) I’ll just pair that pick with the under 2.5 total goals prop.
PREDICTION: Juventus 1 Atalanta 0 (Under 2.5 total goals [-150])
If you have any games you’d like me to pick over the coming week you can contact me on Twitter @TREVORutley. In addition to the available media listed for each game, be sure to try out our Gameview service while watching as well. Also, here is a link for my results throughout and the points system. Cheers!