The Champions League is down to eight teams, and there are some exciting matchups.
The pregame narrative: On Tuesday, back the over in the Arsenal and Real Madrid match at plus money. Later in the week, take PSG to win dominantly at home over Aston Villa.
Check out the best Champions League predictions for the quarterfinal first leg.
Champions League predictions
Go to full Champions League betting markets.
Best Bet: PSG halftime/full time (-106)
For anyone who doesn’t know how this works, PSG needs to be leading at halftime and the final whistle for this bet to cash.
It’s a good way to find some value on the -250 favourites.
Aston Villa has had a great run at this competition, but unfortunately its luck is running out with this draw to face PSG.
- PSG most recently beat EPL leader Liverpool on penalties in the second leg of their UCL match. After dropping the first matchup, 1-0, PSG scored early in the second leg to level the match on aggregate before winning in penalties.
- PSG has the highest average FotMob rating (7.26) of any team that participated in the Champions League.
- Aston Villa ranks 10th with an average rating of 7.01, the lowest of the eight remaining teams.
The English side is on track to miss qualifying for the Champions League next season, sitting sixth in the Premier League.
I expect the Ligue 1 champs to take advantage of playing the first leg at home.
Key stat: PSG has cashed this wager in five of its past seven Champions League games.
Quick pick
Arsenal/Read Madrid over 2.5 goals (+110): I really like the value here at plus money.
Real Madrid is a force on offence but can be vulnerable on the defensive side of the ball.
Across all competitions, seven of its past eight matches have gone over 2.5 goals. Los Blancos conceded in seven of those matches as well.
That includes a recent 4-4 draw in the Copa del Rey against Real Sociedad, which exemplifies the scoring potential any time Real Madrid takes the pitch.
Arsenal has conceded at least a goal in five of its last six games, and three of those matches went over this total.
In my opinion, this has the most scoring potential of any quarterfinal first leg and I want to take advantage.
Champions League predictions made at 12:56 p.m. on 04/07/25.
Spencer is a true sports junkie. A graduate of the Sports Journalism program at Centennial College, he first joined NorthStar Gaming as an intern in 2023. He is now a contributing writer. He loves finding the edge to bet on in all sports but has a deep passion for the NBA and UFC. Previous stops include Sportsnet.