The Second Legs in the Champions League Last 16 Round will be played this week, or at least half of those, and the Last 16 of the Europa League will also begin their First Legs.
These games take centre stage in another busy week of football, while the Premier League will be back this weekend following the FA Cup break last weekend.
Porto v Basel Pick: The 1-1 draw in Switzerland last month has given Porto the edge in this game and I do think they can move into the Quarter Final of the Champions League with a stylish performance. There is enough pace in the Porto line up to really give Basel a problem if they have to over-commit to going forward and chase this game and I think Porto will prove too strong.
It is hard to have anything but respect for Basel in the last few years of European competition where they have been a regular feature in the knock out phase of the Champions League and Europa League. However, I don't think it is harsh to say that they have not been as strong away from home and the draw in Switzerland puts them under immense pressure.
Porto have been strong at home this season and I think they will get in front and perhaps hit Basel on the counter as the game wears on and Basel search for a way back into it.
The home team also know they can bide their time in this one with the away goal in the bag from the First Leg, but I expect a more proactive approach to try and take the tie away from their visitors. With that in mind, I am expecting Porto to win this by a couple of goals and cover the Asian Handicap.
Real Madrid v Schalke Pick: This has been a difficult period for Real Madrid, but I would expect them to use this game to rebuild some confidence knowing they have a comfortable lead from the First Leg. With the game against Barcelona coming up in the League in a couple of weeks, Real Madrid have to snap out of a poor run of form which has seen them win just half of their last six games in all competitions.
For the most part Real Madrid have been strong at home and I think that environment will help them against a Schalke team that have found the Champions League generally a step too high. That is especially the case when playing the best teams in the competition in recent seasons and Schalke might struggle to contain a Real Madrid team that will be looking to erase recent poor performances.
When they have played one another over the last twelve months, you have seen that the attacking power of Real Madrid has been too much to handle for Schalke. Credit to Schalke that they will likely give it a go, but that might see them ripe for the picking when it comes to the counter attack and I do think Real Madrid win this one fairly comfortably.
However, the layers believe the same so they aren't giving anything away and instead of the Asian Handicap, it might be a better option to pick the home team to score at least three goals. They reached that total against Schalke twice last season and Real Madrid had the chances to do that in Germany in the First Leg.
It also has to be noted that Schalke have conceded at least three goals in half of their last six Champions League games so that looks the best way to get on this Second Leg.
Bayern Munich v Shakhtar Donetsk Pick: I think it would be one of the bigger surprises in recent Champions League season if Bayern Munich were to be beaten by Shakhtar Donetsk in this Last 16 Second Leg tie and even making the game competitive could quickly get beyond the Ukrainian side.
The chances are that Shakhtar Donetsk will have to commit men forward to score at some point in this game and the pace of Arjen Robben could carry the Bayern Munich counter-attack and finish off their opponents.
Bayern Munich have put some heavy wins together in recent games and visiting Germany has not been the most productive games for Shakhtar Donetsk in the last couple of years. They were beaten 3-0 at Borussia Dortmund at this stage in 2013 following a home draw, while Shakhtar Donetsk were also beaten 4-0 at Bayer Leverkusen last season.
Of course that doesn't mean this Shakhtar Donetsk team will fall away the same way, but Bayern Munich are very strong at home and they can pick off their visitors if they are chasing the game and eventually come through with a win that has every chance of covering the Asian Handicap.
Chelsea v Paris Saint-Germain Pick: The expectation from the layers is that Jose Mourinho will set up Chelsea to be hard to beat as they have the advantage of the away goal from Paris, but I don't think this will be as straight forward as that.
We saw from the First Leg that Paris Saint-Germain can create chances against Chelsea when the English club sat back in the second half and they were perhaps unfortunate not to have a narrow advantage to take into this Second Leg. Paris Saint-Germain know they have to score here to give themselves any chance of getting back to to the Quarter Final in the Champions League and they have the talent in forward areas to pressure a Chelsea team that haven't been as dominant at Stamford Bridge in recent weeks.
Only 2 of Chelsea's last 5 home games in all competitions have produced a clean sheet, while they have 1 clean sheet in their last 4 home games in the Champions League.
Paris Saint-Germain won't be intimidated about coming to Stamford Bridge having been close to knocking out Chelsea last season and they have scored in all but one of their last 12 away games in the Champions League. That run includes scoring goals at Barcelona (twice), Valencia, Benfica and Bayer Leverkusen, although it is noted their one failure came at Stamford Bridge.
Still, I think there will be chances created in this game as space perhaps opens up if one of the teams is chasing things and both teams have the attacking talent to pose problems for the other. The absence of Nemanja Matic would be a huge blow to Mourinho's plans too and the chance for goals looks under-estimated in this one.
Zenit St Petersburg v Torino Pick: Zenit St Petersburg have to be considered amongst the favourites to win the Europa League having dropped out of the Champions League and they have been in decent form in recent weeks to suggest they can go deep into the tournament.
The Russian side have 5 straight wins at home in all competitions which includes a 3-0 hammering of PSV in the Last 32, but I think the layers are perhaps expecting an easier time for Zenit St Petersburg than I perhaps think they will have.
They have been drawn to play Torino who have been in fine form themselves and will be confident they can return to Turin with at least an away goal or two to give them a real chance of moving into the Quarter Finals next week. Torino beat Athletic Bilbao 2-3 in Spain in the last Round and they have scored in their last 3 away games in the Europa League so they will expect to have some joy in this game.
There have been plenty of goals scored in recent Torino away games, while Zenit have kept a number of clean sheets but scored plenty themselves. I wouldn't be surprised to see both teams score and the over 2.5 goals option looks a touch too big.
Wolfsburg v Inter Milan Pick: This looks to be a really good tie between two teams that have been in decent form of late, but have to raise their levels if they are to make it through to the Quarter Finals.
It will be a big question mark over Wolfsburg to see how they react to their first defeat in 16 games in all competitions this weekend, but they have won 5 in a row at home and will look to use that form to at least have a lead to take to the San Siro next week.
There is a chance Inter Milan will be feeling better than Wolfsburg after earning a 2-2 draw at Napoli despite being 2-0 down with 20 minutes left of that game. They also know that this is their best chance of playing in Europe again next season if they can go on and win the Europa League, although Inter's defensive frailties are likely to be an issue as the competition goes into the latter stages.
The last 4 Inter Milan away games have featured at least three goals shared by the teams and I think this game has every chance of heading that way too.
Everton v Dynamo Kiev Pick: The pressure is certainly building on Roberto Martinez as his Everton team remain firmly entrenched in the relegation scrap in the Premier League, but they have saved their best performances for the Europa League.
The last thing any Everton fan would want is to win silverware and be relegated as Martinez' Wigan Athletic did in 2012, but they have had a week to prepare for this game and the manager has to continue to hope success in the Europa League can spark the League form. They were convincing winners over Young Boys in the last Round and Everton have won 3 of their 4 home games in the Europa League while scoring at least three goals in each of those wins.
Everton will be going up against a Dynamo Kiev team that was synonymous with Champions League football a few years ago, but one that is looks to be on the up. They have won their last 4 games in all competitions and Dynamo Kiev have won 2 of their last 4 away games in the Europa League.
However, there is little doubt that Dynamo Kiev don't travel as well as they play at home and I think Everton can find themselves holding at least a small advantage to take to Kiev next week. That's a decent price, but I prefer backing there being at least three goals considering how both sides have scored and defended in this competition.
Everton's defensive problems have been notable through this season and I think the odds against quote looks to be missing the chances of both teams producing chances and goals in this game.
Fiorentina v Roma Pick: Both Vincenzo Montella and Rudi Garcia admitted they wanted to avoid all the other Italian teams in the draw for the Last 16, but with five teams from that nation left in the Europa League, it was going to be tough to avoid.
These two teams are very familiar with one another having also played in the Coppa Italia this season too in a game won by Fiorentina, but splitting them over these two legs won't be easy.
One aspect that I believe this game has been stereotyped by the layers is the fact that they are not expecting many goals in the First Leg. Of course, it was said that Italian teams would be very defensive in these tense, important games, but that has changed in recent years and I believe both teams will look for the goals to set themselves up for a win in the Second Leg next week.
They met in the League here recently in a game that ended 1-1 and I do think both teams can get on the scoreboard in this one with that result looking like it could very much be in the end result on Thursday.
Napoli v Dinamo Moscow Pick: Napol missed a trick on Sunday as they blew a 2-0 home lead against Inter Milan and failed to capitalise on another slip from Roma in the chase for Champions League places in Serie A.
They will look to bounce back and at least earn an advantage to take to the Russian capital next week as they host Dinamo Moscow who have been one of the toughest teams to beat in the Europa League this season. Dinamo Moscow are very much in a position to get into the Champions League through their League form and showed their capabilities of performing at that level by beating Anderlecht in the last Round of the Europa League.
Of course Napoli is a step up in class of opponent and I think Dinamo Moscow will look to try and keep this First Leg tight and sneak an away goal. I can't imagine the Napoli team blowing them away unless they are a lot more focused than they were when 2-0 up against Inter Milan, but I do think they will find a way to grab a lead in this one.
Villarreal v Sevilla Pick: There really isn't a lot to say about this game for except it is between two Spanish teams who will feel they can go all the way and win the Europa League if they can get through this Last 16 tie.
Both Villarreal and Sevilla are not going to be overthinking things- both are much more comfortable getting forward and trying to score goals to win games and I can't imagine either will take a different approach to this game.
Sevilla have clearly made it a mission to outscore teams and that can be shown by their last two wins coming by a 2-3 and a 3-4 scoreline, while the last 7 away games they have played have produced at least three goals. As impressive as Villarreal's 4-1 home win over Celta Vigo looks, anyone who saw that game will have noticed the amount of chances created at both ends of the field.
The last 3 games between these teams in Villarreal have seen at least three goals shared and I expect more of the same despite the importance of this competition to both teams.
MY PICKS: Porto - 1.25 Asian Handicap @ 2.09 Bet Victor (2 Units)
Real Madrid Over 2.5 Goals @ 1.75 Boyle Sports (2 Units)
Bayern Munich - 2 Asian Handicap @ 1.95 Bet365 (2 Units)
Chelsea-PSG Over 2.5 Goals @ 2.25 Coral (2 Units)
Zenit St Petersburg-Torino Over 2.5 Goals @ 2.10 Paddy Power (2 Units)
Wolfsburg-Inter Milan Over 2.5 Goals @ 1.83 Ladbrokes (2 Units)
Everton-Dynamo Kiev Over 2.5 Goals @ 2.10 Bet Fred (2 Units)
Fiorentina-Roma Both Teams to Score @ 1.92 Bet Fred (2 Units)
Napoli @ 1.73 Bet Fred (2 Units)
Villarreal-Sevilla Over 2.5 Goals @ 1.93 Bet Victor (2 Units)
March Update: 5-7, - 0.24 Units (19 Units Staked, - 1.26% Yield)
February Final: 20-24-2, + 3.19 Units (75 Units Staked, + 4.25% Yield)
January Final: 10-22-1, - 10.54 Units (57 Units Staked, - 18.49% Yield)
December Final: 25-19-1, + 18.70 Units (81 Units Staked, + 23.09% Yield)
November Final: 17-21, - 0.59 Units (69 Units Staked, - 1% Yield)
October Final: 8-18, - 14.79 Units (47 Units Staked, - 31.47% Yield)
September Final: 12-18, - 2.28 Units (41 Units Staked, - 5.56% Yield)
August Final: 8-22, - 19.92 Units (51 Units Staked, - 39.06% Yield)
Season 2014/15: 100-144-4, - 26.23 Units (421 Units Staked, - 6.23% Yield)
Season 2013/14: 164-185-3, + 15.84 Units (577 Units Staked, + 2.75% Yield)
Season 2012/13: + 4.42 Units (415 Units Staked, + 1.07% Yield)
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