UEFA Champions League Predictions: Matchday 2

Four teams will confirm their spots in the Champions League round of 16 on Tuesday night, as the first batch of playoff fixtures are settled in western Europe.

Last week’s first legs certainly weren’t shy of goals to keep the whiff of fairytales alive. The second legs are bound to deliver on drama and chaos.

Who will hold their nerve and advance, and who will succumb to the pressure of the occasion? We’ll soon find out.

Here’s how Sports Illustrated predicts the second legs on Tuesday’s playoff ties to play out.

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Atlético Madrid vs. Club Brugge

Bayer Leverkusen vs. Olympiacos

Inter Milan vs. Bodø/Glimt

Newcastle United vs. Qarabağ

Matchday 2/24 Predictions

Atlético Madrid vs. Club Brugge

Kick-off time: 5:45 p.m. GMT / 12:45 p.m. ET / 9:45 a.m. PT

Ivan Leko’s free-scoring Club Brugge were at it again last week, as they played out a barnstorming first leg with Atlético Madrid.

Diego Simeone let his side off the leash in Bruges, and they looked set to take a 3–2 lead with them into the return leg on Tuesday evening. However, Christos Tzolis’s late equaliser means it’s all to play for at the Metropolitano, with Brugge aiming to repeat their playoff upset of Atalanta last season against the La Liga side.

Atléti have scored four in their previous two outings on home soil, while Brugge notched their third successive domestic victory at the weekend.

The hosts are favourites to advance, but don’t completely write off Leko’s dynamic outfit.

Prediction: Atlético Madrid 3–1 (6–4 agg.) Club Brugge

Bayer Leverkusen vs. Olympiacos

Kick-off time: 8 p.m. GMT / 3 p.m. ET / 12 p.m. PT

Bayer Leverkusen atoned for their league phase defeat in Greece by claiming a 2–0 victory in last week’s first leg against José Luis Mendilibar’s side.

Olympiacos were well in the contest, and arguably should’ve done more with the chances they fashioned, but the hosts were undone by a Patrik Schick brace in the second half.

Thus, Tuesday’s hosts are in total control, and they’re primed to reach the Champions League round of 16 for the second consecutive season. Olympiacos, meanwhile, haven’t won a two-legged affair in this competition since they beat Ajax in the first round of the 1983–84 European Cup.

They have their work cut out if they’re to prolong their continental campaign this time around.

Prediction: Bayer Leverkusen 1–1 (3–1 agg.) Olympiacos

Inter Milan vs. Bodø/Glimt

Kick-off time: 8 p.m. GMT / 3 p.m. ET / 12 p.m. PT

Inter Milan were the latest to succumb to the idiosyncrasy of Bodø, as Kjetil Knutsen’s side delivered another slick masterclass on their artificial surface.

The Nerazzurri cancelled out Bodø/Glimt’s fast start through a typically opportunistic Pio Esposito finish, but the hosts rallied after being pegged back. The star of their fairytale campaign, Jens Petter Hauge, dazzled again, scoring Bodø’s second before Kasper Høgh added a third.

Now, Inter must overturn a two-goal first leg deficit for the first time in their Champions League history.

While Bodø are a different beast on home soil, their recent results in Dortmund and Madrid depict a side that have quickly become more comfortable on their travels.

Prediction: Inter 2–1 (3–4 agg.) Bodø/Glimt

Newcastle United vs. Qarabağ

Kick-off time: 8 p.m. GMT / 3 p.m. ET / 12 p.m. PT

Football is a silly, unpredictable game that can throw up the most ludicrous of results. Still, we can say with the utmost certainty that Newcastle United will not relinquish a five-goal advantage at home to Qarabağ on Tuesday night.

The Anthony Gordon-inspired Magpies ran amok in Baku last week, with Gordon scoring four in the first half alone to swiftly kill the tie. Goals at both ends after the restart mean Newcastle have a handsome 6–1 lead at the halfway point.

Qarabağ were one of the stories of the league phase and can be proud of what they’ve achieved up to this point, but the Azerbaijani team were nothing short of dire in the first leg. Visits to St. James’ Park under the lights can be daunting even for Europe’s finest, so you do fear for Gurban Gurbanov’s side here.

Prediction: Newcastle 4–0 (10–1 agg.) Qarabağ

Matchday 2/24 Predictions

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