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The journey towards European supremacy rages on as the UEFA Champions League round of 16 second legs start this week. Tuesday will see Chelsea look to turn things around against Borussia Dortmund while Benfica aim to slam the door shut against struggling Club Brugge. On Wednesday, PSG and Bayern Munich face off on as Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and company have their backs against the wall, looking to overcome a 1-0 deficit in Bavaria, while Tottenham welcome AC Milan to London.
As always, CBS Sports and Paramount+ will be your home for all things UCL.
Here’s our predictions for each match and more:
Wednesday’s broadcast schedule
(All times U.S./Eastern)
UEFA Champions League Today, 2 p.m., CBS and Paramount+Bayern Munich vs. Paris Saint-Germain, 3 p.m., CBS and Paramount+Tottenham Hotspur vs. AC Milan, 3 p.m., Paramount+UEFA Champions League Post-Match Show, 5 p.m., CBS Sports Network and Paramount+
Coverage starts each day at 2 pm. with Champions League Today on CBS and Paramount+. Paramount+ will offer a multicast feature allowing subscribers to watch two matches simultaneously in a split-screen view. You can try one month free by using the code: ADVANCE.
Match picks
Paris Saint-Germain vs. Bayern Munich
One matchup to watch: The midfield battle. With Benfica already ahead 2-0 heading into the deciding leg of the game at home, Florentino Luis and Fredrik Aursnes will have a lot of the ball during the tie. If they can pick apart Brugge with a patient attack, it’ll be an easy win for Benfica but if Kamal Sowah and the Brugge midfield can unsettle things, Benficia’s slower central pairing can be exploited. It’s certinaly a tall task for a Brugge team that is overmatched and away from home but winning the midfield battle is the only way to victory for Brugge even if they end up with a man advantage.
Most likely to score a goal: Goncalo Ramos. Benfica has a balanced attack but everything leads to Ramos at point of it. With 21 goals in all competiions, including five in Champions League play, Ramos has been someone that Benfica can count on. Even when he isn’t scoring, Ramos is able to influence a match by keeping pressure on the defense, but he’ll have a good chance to beat Simon Mignolet in the tie.
Man of the Match pick: Simon Mignolet. With Brugge under pressure during the match, Mignolet will do what he does best in keeping a match close that shouldn’t be. Only facing four shots on target during the opening leg in Belgium, he’ll have more to do during an away trip in Libson.
Match prediction: Already having the lead coming into the second leg, Benfica will be able to take things at their pace passing their way to another 2-0 victory to echo the opening leg. While Brugge will crash out of Champions League in their inagural apparance in the knockout stage, it will be agianst a worthy opponent as Benfica are quickly rising to the tier of being one of the top clubs in the world.
-Chuck Booth