Setting the Table: Champions League Cheat Sheet

Setting the Table: Champions League Cheat Sheet

This article is part of our Setting the Table series.

The home squads are dominating the win, clean sheet and over 1.5 goals chances this week, as three clubs head into their matches with solid aggregate goal leads or non-scoreless draws (i.e. an away goals advantage), while the other is the second-heaviest favorite of the bunch.

HomeWin
Chances
Clean Sheet
Chances
AwayWin
Chances
Clean Sheet
Chances
Draw
Chances
Atletico Madrid 0.73 0.61 PSV Eindhoven 0.09 0.14 0.19
Manchester City 0.61 0.39 Dynamo Kiyv 0.16 0.15 0.22
Barcelona 0.77 0.46 Arsenal 0.09 0.08 0.14
Bayern Munich 0.67 0.46 Juventus 0.12 0.14 0.21

HomeOver 1.5 GoalsUnder 1.5 GoalsAwayOver 1.5 GoalsUnder 1.5 Goals
Atletico Madrid 0.61 0.39 PSV Eindhoven 0.10 0.90
Manchester City 0.59 0.41 Dynamo Kiyv 0.27 0.73
Barcelona 0.75 0.25 Arsenal 0.19 0.81
Bayern Munich 0.63 0.38 Juventus 0.21 0.79

While some of the ties are a bit one-sided, none of them are over, which means we should see all the regular starters. Barcelona and Manchester City may be able to jump out to early leads and all but book their trips to the group of eight, but they'll need to score to do so, which means fantasy players shouldn't worry too much about withdrawals.

Here's how each tie sets up for this week:

Atletico Madrid v. PSV Eindhoven

First Leg: PSV Eindhoven 0 - Atletico Madrid 0 in Eindhoven

The surprise of the first leg, PSV held Atletico without a goal, though they unsurprisingly failed to break through one of the best defensive units in the world. Going back to Spain will not be easy for the Dutch side, though not allowing an away goal is big if they can keep their own defensive pressure up. A win or any non-scoreless draw will see them complete the upset.

That task is easier said than done, however, at Atletico are 4-0-0 since the first leg, outscoring their opponents 10-1, including a 1-0 win over Real Madrid. Antoine Griezmann has been the most consistent source of goals, bagging one in four straight games, but in classic Atletico Madrid style, they've gotten scores from plenty of other players as well, with Saul (two), Fernando Torres and Angel Correa each finding the back of the net in that span.

PSV are in decent form themselves, winning two of three (and drawing the third) since the first leg, scoring six goals in that time. Luuk De Jong, who was suspended for the first leg, has two of the six goals, with four other players chipping in.

Manchester City v. Dynamo Kyiv

First Leg: Manchester City 3 - Dynamo Kyiv 1 in Kyiv

Manchester City dominated the first match, going out to a 2-0 lead by the 40th minute thanks to scores by Sergio Aguero and David Silva. The Ukranian side did pull one back in the 58th minute thanks to Vitaliy Buyalskiy, but Yaya Toure's goal in the 90th minute was a killer. Making up the two-goal deficit is tough enough, but Dynamo Kyiv need to score at least three goals just to get themselves into contention thanks to the away goals rule.

Dynamo Kyiv are 2-1-0 (W-D-L) since the first leg, with Andriy Yarmolenko scoring in each fixture. If they have any chance of storming back against Manchester City, Yarmolenko will be heavily involved.

Barcelona v. Arsenal

First Leg: Barcelona 2 - Arsenal 0 in London

A brace from Lionel Messi, including one from the penalty spot, all but doomed the Gunners, who have just one win in their five matches in all competitions since the first leg, including losses to Swansea City in the Premier League and Watford in the FA Cup. Meanwhile, Barcelona are 4-0-0 since the Arsenal tie, outscoring their opponents 17-2 over that span. Messi has seven goals and three assists over that time, while Luis Suarez has one goal and two assists (in three matches) and Neymar has two goals and two assists. Other players to score: Munir El Haddadi (two), Arda Turan (two), Ivan Rakitic and Gerard Pique.

Making matters worse for Arsenal: they'll be starting backup keeper David Ospina in place of the injured Petr Cech, while defenders Per Mertesacker and Gabriel just returned from injuries and Laurent Koscielny is questionable with a calf issue.

Bayern Munich v. Juventus

First Leg: Juventus 2 - Bayern Munich 2 in Torino

The German side took a commanding 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Thomas Muller and Arjen Robben before the Italians came back on goals from Paulo Dybala and Stefano Sturaro. The scores from Bayern were fairly remarkable, mostly because two away goals is huge in this competition, but also because Juventus keeper Gianluigi Buffon has been absolutely incredible in Serie A play, as he's now gone 926 minutes without conceding a goal, posting 10 consecutive clean sheets.

That being said, he's highly unlikely to shutout Bayern Munich, who actually have the second-best odds to score multiple goals. Bayern thrashed Werder Bremen in domestic play this weekend thanks to braces from Muller and Thiago Alcantara, plus another from Robert Lewandowski, who now has 24 goals in 25 league appearances.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Andrew M. Laird
Andrew M. Laird, the 2017 and 2018 FSWA Soccer Writer of the Year, is RotoWire's Head of DFS Content and Senior Soccer Editor. He is a nine-time FSWA award finalist, including twice for Football Writer of the Year.
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