While the intense fixture schedules of the major European leagues have given punters little time for respite, the build-up has already began ahead of the return of the Champions League and Europa League throughout August. Although the second legs will be played with the remaining last-16 ties, UEFA have put a plan in place to stage one-off matches at neutral venues from the quarter-finals onwards. With away goals and teams potentially playing one of two matches more defensively or attacking than the reverse fixture now out of the equation, it inevitably creates a different dynamic with regards to betting odds.
While sportsbook free bets cannot be cashed out, there is an opportunity for punters to react to the change of odds to benefit them ahead of the new campaign. The action kicks off with Juventus playing host to Lyon and despite the prospect of the visitors being able to prevail through to the last eight on away goals after a goalless first leg, we feel that betting odds of around 4/5 for Juventus to qualify are far too generous to ignore. Regardless of how Lyon fare in the Coupe de la Ligue final against Paris Saint-Germain on Friday evening, they will be well short of their hosts when it comes to match fitness. Juventus will also benefit from having wrapped up the Serie A title with two matches to spare, allowing Maurizio Sarri to hand rests to many of his first-team stars.
Switching attention to the following evening, August 8, and the majority of punters will be looking to take advantage of the favourable odds being offered for Napoli to get the better of Barcelona at Camp Nou. Although the Catalan giants hold a slender advantage through having claimed a 1-1 draw in Italy, there is every expectancy that the recently-crowned Coppa Italia winners will find the back of the net in Spain. As well as selecting both teams to score at 8/13, going for Napoli to qualify at 2/1 feels like a no-brainer. Not only are Barcelona lacking in confidence at the back, they will now be well short of match sharpness in comparison to Gennaro Gattuso's improving side. Napoli may have lost their last two matches on their travels in Serie A, but expect them to come out all guns blazing on unfamiliar territory.
Looking ahead to the quarter-finals and many punters are going to be tempted into backing Atalanta BC to overcome Paris Saint-Germain. Ahead of welcoming Inter Milan in their concluding Serie A fixture, Atalanta have put together a 19-match unbeaten streak in all competitions, moving to within two goals of reaching triple figures in Italy's top flight. Although Gian Piero Gasperini's side have scored just five times in their last four outings, they undoubtedly have the quality to edge out opponents in PSG who will be playing just their third competitive game since the resumption and are likely to be without Kylian Mbappe. Depending on how ambitious you wish to be, taking the 15/8 on offer for Atalanta to win over 90 minutes or Evens for them to prevail via any method should be given plenty of consideration. Both teams to score at less than 1/2 is far too short, so taking an interest in the 13/10 for over 3.5 goals may make more sense.
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