{"id":324130,"date":"2025-01-27T13:32:50","date_gmt":"2025-01-27T18:32:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cms.northstargaming.ca\/admin\/nsgcms\/?p=324130"},"modified":"2025-01-28T09:38:27","modified_gmt":"2025-01-28T14:38:27","slug":"champions-league-predictions-matchday-8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cms.northstargaming.ca\/admin\/nsgcms\/champions-league-predictions-matchday-8\/","title":{"rendered":"Champions League Matchday 8 picks and predictions: Back Atletico Madrid, take the over in Barcelona"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>My picks for the final league-phase matches in the Champions League feature two La Liga sides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The pregame narrative:<\/strong> Barcelona has delivered plenty of high-scoring matches this season and I believe its clash against Atalanta will be no different. Also, back Atletico Madrid to win convincingly over inferior Austrian side Red Bull Salzburg on the road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Check out the best Champions League predictions for Matchday 8.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Champions League predictions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Go to full <a href=\"https:\/\/www.northstarbets.com\/sportsbook\/sports\/soccer\/competitions\/10403\">Champions League betting markets<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Best Bet: Barcelona\/Atalanta over 3.5 goals (-118)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This matchup has all the makings of a thrilling spectacle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Time and time again, Barcelona has consistently produced barnburners that bring viewers to the edge of their seats. And last week&#8217;s 5-4 victory at Benfica could be the &#8220;Match of the Year&#8221; when all is said and done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Catalans have arguably the best attacking squad in Europe. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Led by the dangerous trio of Robert Lewandowski, Lamine Yamal and Raphinha, Barcelona is averaging a league-best 2.8 goals in La Liga.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Manager Hansi Flick likes to play a high-pressing defensive line to quickly regain possession in forward areas. The big downside to this strategy is it leaves acres of space for opponents to create fast-break opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After being hammered by Benfica&#8217;s counterattack, Barcelona&#8217;s defenders now face a tougher challenge against Atalanta&#8217;s striking duo of Ademola Lookman and Mateo Retegui, who&#8217;ve combined for 33 goals in all competitions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Under Gian Piero Gasperini, Atalanta utilizes a similar Gegenpressing tactic, with a 3-5-2 structure. Its attacking production in the Serie A has been impressive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>2nd in expected goals (1.71 per 90)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>3rd in shots on goal (5.5 per 90)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>2nd in big scoring chances (3.5 per 90)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>2nd in final-third entry conversion rate<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>It has carried over to the bigger stage, with the Italian side posting the highest non-penalty xG figure (18.54) in the Champions League.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A loss would push Atalanta outside the Top 8, so it must rely heavily on its counter-pressing to stay level with Barcelona to secure a spot in the round of 16.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Key stat:<\/strong> This bet is 4-2 in Barcelona&#8217;s Champions League matches, which have averaged 5.28 goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Quick picks<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><strong><strong>Atletico Madrid -1.5 (-106<strong>)<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong>:<\/strong> It shouldn&#8217;t be too much to ask a title-contending squad like Atletico Madrid to defeat an inferior side by multiple goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Diego Simeone&#8217;s side is second in La Liga, sporting a 16-3-2 record, and four points back of Real Madrid.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Atletico is also fifth in the Champions League, with 15 points and a 5-0-2 record.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It is coming off an impressive 2-1 home win over reigning German champs Bayer Leverkusen last week.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Salzburg, 34th in the table with a woeful -19 goal differential, is playing solely for pride at this stage. And its six defeats in this competition have all been lopsided.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The domestic form doesn&#8217;t look inspiring, either. The Red Bulls are fifth in Austria&#8217;s Bundesliga, with a lacklustre 7-5-4 record and is 10 points behind leader Sturm Graz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Atletico only needs a win to guarantee Round of 16 qualification, but I am expecting a beatdown here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em><em>Picks made at 11:20 a.m. on 01\/27\/25.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>My picks for the final league-phase matches in the Champions League feature two La Liga sides. The pregame narrative: Barcelona has delivered plenty of high-scoring matches this season and I believe its clash against Atalanta will be no different. Also, back Atletico Madrid to win convincingly over inferior Austrian side Red Bull Salzburg on the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":324081,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sidebar_plugin_meta_block_field":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[452,73],"tags":[229],"class_list":["post-324130","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-com","category-football","tag-soccer"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Champions League predictions, picks: Matchday 8 | NorthStar Bets<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Check out our Champions League predictions and picks. 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