Barcelona is looking to avoid the Quarterfinals curse that has plagued its Champions League ambitions recently. Barca has been knocked out in the Quarterfinals in three of the last four seasons, but this time the Catalan club has a very favorable matchup.
AS Roma is the biggest underdog in the Quarterfinals by a considerable margin. Whereas every other side in the competition either won or drew both of their Round of 16 matches, AS Roma lost their first leg on the road to Shakhtar Donetsk and only made it through because of an away goal.
Don't miss the Champions League Quarterfinals action from Camp Nou in Barcelona, Spain at 2:45 p.m. ET on Wednesday, April 4, 2018. Catch every moment of the match live on FS1.
Champions League Quarterfinals Betting Odds at BookMaker.eu
AS Roma +997
Barcelona -400
Draw +495
Over/Under 3 and 3.5
Odds Analysis
It’s been another fantastic year for Barcelona. The club looks set to win at least a double this season and has a chance to go down as immortals in La Liga. Barcelona is 11 points up on its competition in La Liga and has yet to lose a match through 29 games. Additionally, they are big favorites over Sevilla in the Copa del Rey final slated for next month.
Barcelona has made it look easy in the Champions League too. Barca is 23-2-0 in their last 25 matches at home in the Champions League and didn’t drop a match this campaign either. The only two blemishes were road draws against Juventus and Chelsea, but Barca cleaned up both sides in Camp Nou.
Give credit to AS Roma for ensuring themselves a better draw in the Round of 16. The club was able to get the better of Chelsea in its group, leading to them facing a second-place team rather than a first-place side. However, Roma has been easily the least impressive of the final eight teams left in the Champions League.
Matchup to Watch
It’s likely to be a busy evening for Alisson. Brazil’s top goalkeeper wrestled the starting job at Roma away from Wojciech Szczesny before the start of this campaign and he has proved himself worthy of wearing the No. 1.
However, he is going to be very much isolated in this one. AS Roma is likely to hang in the back and hope to hold as best as possible on the road against Barcelona. Alisson is going to have to step up and make some big saves to keep his team in good shape heading into the return leg.
Injuries to Watch
Roma has been without right back Rick Karsdorp for virtually the entire season, and he will not be in the lineup for the club on Wednesday night. However, center forward Gregoire Defrel might be set to return to action.
The story surrounding Barcelona at the moment is the health of Lionel Messi. Messi sat out of both of Argentina’s friendlies over the international break, stating that he was banged up and he didn’t want to aggravate a nagging hamstring injury. He is almost certainly going to play in this one, but his health is something to keep an eye on, especially if he ends up playing against Sevilla this weekend.
Additionally, Barca has two other concerns. Goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen has been banged up as well as midfielder Sergio Busquets.
Free Soccer Betting Pick
It’s tough to go against Barcelona in Camp Nou. Of course, this dynamic changes if Messi is unable to play, but look for Barcelona to get a comfortable win here. Barca has much more firepower than Roma and will be able to throw themselves forward without much fear of being punished. This one won’t be a thrashing, but the home side will be sure to win by multiple goals.
Champions League Odds: Barcelona 3, AS Roma 1
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