2/1 Champions League acca. Artur Petrosyan’s prediction

Real Madrid – AS Roma

Right, Madrid have scored ten in their last two, but they have also conceded in 6 of their last 7 games. It’s fair to say that there are several things that Zinedine Zidane is not satisfied with and is trying to make changes, which is never easy right in the middle of the season. Replacing Benzema, James Rodriguez and Isco with Mayoral, Lucas Vasquez and Jese in the Madrid derby was a clear indication of this. It’s not the names who are playing for the team, it’s the players. That’s the message he’s trying to get across.

They’re far from great defensively, and Madrid are now faced with a minor midfield crisis as both Modric and Kroos are sidelined through injury.

AS Roma are still improving under Luciano Spalletti. They were decent against Madrid in the first game, had their chances and were unlucky to lose. They’ve scored two goals or more in 7 of their last 8 games – the only time they didn’t was against Real Madrid. I think they’ll have chances and will score at least once on Tuesday night.

Zenit – Benfica

Zenit have been disappointing in all three of their games in 2016. It feels as though they’re still in the middle of the winter break training process. Heavy legs, slow thinking. Hulk is still gutted his multi-million pound move to China didn’t materialize and he doesn’t seem to be interested in what’s going on at Zenit. He was dispossessed 37 times during the Cup game against Kuban, 24 times in the League against Krasnodar. Yet, he’s still seen as the main attacking force in the team and is passed to more often than any other player on the team. The Russian side will be without best defensive midfielder Javi Garcia and left back Domenico Criscito who are both suspended.

Benfica on the other hand, are on a high. They’ve won 18 of their last 19 and were all over Zenit in the first game. They’re clearly superior to the Russians and should make light work of qualifying for the quarters.

Another thing to be noted is refereeing. It was slightly in favour of Zenit, even in Lisbon and I don’t want to link it to them and UEFA having the same sponsor. Just hoping it will be fair in St.Petersburg.

Chelsea – Paris Saint-Germain

PSG are not too interested in Ligue 1 anymore. They know they will win it by April, so they’re able to take their foot off the gas in order to stay fresh for the Champions League. This is one of the reasons why they didn’t win two league games in a row, something that is usually a formality for the French champions. I think they’re one of the four sides capable of lifting the Champions League trophy in May. Barcelona aside, it’s Bayern, Atletico Madrid and them.

Everyone’s calling Guus Hiddink a magician now. But I wouldn’t say he’s done anything other than improve the atmosphere inside the dressing room. Chelsea still need to make a lot of changes, and I’m sure that no manager in the world would succeed with the present squad. It’s not bad, but overall it’s far from what it used to be.

Chelsea have conceded in all of their last 7 games; and I think they will on Wednesday too. Anyway, PSG to qualify looks a safe pick and nicely rounds off the accumulator.