Unless Atalanta overturns an 0-2 deficit vs. Borussia Dortmund earlier today, Serie A will be down to the remote hopes of Juve overturning a three-goal deficit in the second leg vs. Gala or else be out of the Champs League before the Round of 16. Daunting indeed, especially as Luciano Spalletti is working with a stalled engine in Turin, winless in five, adrift in Serie A, and missing cutting edge Dusan Vlahovic, out since December and the Old Lady's clutch-goal element with him. The thought of Juve pushing forward and leaving gaps in the back for Victor Osimhen and his Gala teammates to exploit suggests this is going to be a steep climb up the nearby Alps for Juve. Play Gala on Asian Line

Throwing everyone forward whenever possible, with the thought that at least three goals are needed to have any chance of advancing to the Champs League Round of 16, indicates the challenge ahead for Luciano Spalletti's Juve tonight. Especially as main cutting edge Dusan Vlahovic has been out since late November. No matter, Spalletti will have Weston McKennie and the rest pushing forward while likely leaving big gaps at the back, just the sort that Gala's prolific Victor Osimhen and some accomplished scorers on the Istanbul side can exploit. Play Juve-Gala Over

Are we really going to lay 2.5 goals in a Champions League match? If you watched Newcastle toy with Qarabag last week in Baku, that hardly seems unreasoanble.The 6-1 scoreline could easily have been 10-1, or 11-1, so many times Anthony Gordon (who had four goals, by the way), Harvey Barnes and others seem to be in alone vs. Qarabag keeper Mateusz Kochalski That makes it 12 goals conceded in two Champs League matches in a row by Kochalski (Liverpool got six of its own on January 28), though it's not all his fault. Eddie Howe might be tempted to field a Carabao Cup-like side, but with him feeling a bit of heat, not sure the Toon pulls back. Play Newcastle on Spread

Newcastle's road form has been bad enough in the Prem, so expecting Eddie Howe's bunch to get a result in Paris seems a rather big ask. Especially as PSG have some motivation (like Newcastle) to win and get straight to the round of 16 (on goal difference, it would be hard to see any of the six others also on 13 points managing to leapfrog the winner here). Newcastle's often haphazard finishing cost it again last weekend vs. Aston Villa, as Howe continues to miss the calm presence of Alexander Isak along this season's frontline. Meanwhile, Luis Enrique has PSG back on top of Ligue Un but steely-eyed here at Parc des Princes after blowing last Tuesday's match at Sporting Lisbon. Play PSG on Spread

"Dr. Tottenham" only seems to make house calls and cure the ills of others in the Prem; in Europe, Spurs have astonishingly performed more like superheroes, and clinch very unlikely straight passage to the Champs League round of 16 with another win tonight in Frankfurt. Beleaguered manager Thomas Frank also might need the win to stay on the job, but his troops kicked-on last week vs. Borussia Dortmund in London. It helps to face a dispirited Eintracht Frankfurt already out of this competition and veering wildly off course. The recent dismissal of manager Dino Toppmöller hasn't stopped the skid, as departures within the last 11 months of Omar Marmoush and Hugo Ekitike have proven very hard to overcome. Play Spurs on Asian Line

Among several Matchday 8 clashes loaded with consequences, this one at Bilbao might intrigue the most. At the moment, Ernesto Valverde's Athletic sits in 23rd, barely into the KO phase, but no margin for error; only a win would make it very difficult for the Basque flagbearers not to advance. Though as has been the case much of this season, Athletic will be working thru various injuries, and tonight forced to dig deep at the San Mames as Espana internationals Nico Williams and Dani Vivian are out with injury, but there is still quality in the lineup and a sturdy GK in Spain international Unai Simon, whose spectacular effort to keep PSG off the board last month is still drawing raves. Play Athletic-Sporting Under

Given up for dead in this competition not long ago, Athletic has at least given itself a chance to reach the KO phase after getting results in three straight Champs League efforts, including a heroic draw at the San Mames vs. PSG and a stirring 3-2 win at Bergamo vs. Atlanta last week to stay alive. Wednesday at home will require digging deep as key cogs Nico Williams and Dani Vivian are both out with injury, but there is still quality in the lineup and a sturdy GK in Spain international Unai Simon, whose spectacular effort to keep PSG off the board last month is still drawing raves. Meanwhile, Sporting's motivation is less urgent, with passage to the KO phase assured. Play Athletic on ML

We suppose Vincent Kompany could sit some of his Bayern Munich stars like Harry Kane or Michael Olise for this Champs League match at Allianz Arena, but no indication yet that the Bundesliga leaders plan such things, even as Belgian entry Union St.-Gilloise enters as a huge underdog. Perhaps Union's compact style will somewhat negate Bayern Munich's scoring thrusts, but we doubt as much and will simply go with our default "over" recommendation with Bayern Munich, which has been scoring goals for fun in the Bundesliga (71! Well ahead of any European side) and for good measure, 18 in six Champs League matches, which includes battles with heavyweights PSG & Arsenal. As usual, Kompany's side likely clears the over by itself. Play Bayern Munich-USG Over

This hardly seems an ideal scenario for Eintracht Frankfurt, on the big bird to Azerbaijan just a few days after dismissing manager Dino Toppmöller, who committed the atrocity of drawing 3-3 vs. Werder Bremen which prompted his sack after Friday's match. For the time being, under-21 coach Dennis Schmitt and under-19 coach Alexander Meier will be in interim charge until a new coach is named, perhaps as early as the weekend. For what it's worth, Qarabag is still in with a shout at qualifying for the KO phase, three points up on SGE into Wednesday, and earning results vs. the likes of Benfica (a Qarabag win) and Chelsea (a draw) in this competition among its seven points...three more than SGE. Play Qarabag on Asian Line

A trip to Azerbaijan for a match just a few days after dismissing your coach hardly seems an ideal situation for Eintracht Frankfurt, which left on the plane for Baku without manager Dino Toppmöller, sacked after Friday's 3-3 draw vs. Werder Bremen. For the time being, under-21 coach Dennis Schmitt and under-19 coach Alexander Meier will be in interim charge until a new coach is named, perhaps as early as the weekend. On just 4 points thru six Champs League matchdays, SGE has been betrayed by its defense much as throughout the season in the Bundesliga; with 77 combined goals in 18 matches, plus 24 more in six UCL fixtures, SGE scorelines have been the highest in Europe save for Bayern Munich. Play Qarabag-SGE Over

Perhaps an overload of festive fixtures is to blame, but despite pulling seven points clear atop the EPL, Arsenal has nonetheless often looked sluggish lately, such as last weekend's nil-nil at the City Ground vs. Forest. Most of the scoring threats are on extended goal droughts, though defense and goalkeeper David Raya (eleven clean sheets) remain bankable assets. With passage to the UCL's second knockout stage assured, we wonder a bit about Gunners intensity at San Siro despite winning all six previous in these midweek fixtures. Also, host Inter has finally started to click and has pulled clear atop Serie A, and Jann Sommer has three clean sheets in four tries the past two weeks. We'd recommend the draw if we could! Play Inter-Arsenal Under

Is the Champions League all that is saving Thomas Frank at Tottenham? Spurs have shown well in Europe and are in position to even skip the next knockout round and advance straight to the final 16 in this competition, but domestic form, especially at home, has Frank in hot water. The "Dr. Tottenham" moniker looks especially troubling on Wednesday vs. a rollicking BVB side also in sight of advancing straight to the round of 16, and continues to bang home goals for fun (though not as many as Bayern Munich) in the Bundesliga while seeing at least four goals in scorelines of all six previous Champs League matches. All with usually-prolific striker Serhou Guirassy to yet to shift gears. Play Spurs-BVB Over

So, how much has really changed since last February when Real Madrid dominated City over two legs? Plenty, some might say, as the Bernabeu crew seems to be headed into crisis with rumors swirling that Zinedine Zidane might be brought back to replace beleaguered Xabi Alonso behind the bench. Still, not sure how much fundamentally has changed in ten months, as City looked slow as it tried to cope with Real Madrid's speed and Kylian Mbappe in particular; Mbappe (tops in the UCL with nine goals) is iffy on Wednesday, which opens the door for Vinicius, whose pace could prove more of an issue. Even with the distractions at the Bernabeu, matchups still look dicey for City. Play Real Madrid on ML

The first thing Borussia Dortmund did when getting the fixture list for the Champions League was sigh relief at this game vs. Bodo/Glimt taking place at Signal Iduna instead of inside the arctic circle. This might be one of the more entertaining matches on the Wednesday slate as Bodo has been throwing some haymakers since last season in Europe, with four of its five UCL matches featuring at least four goals. With only two draws to show for their efforts, the Norwegians are swimming upstream, but that makes for electricity vs. BVB, which has scored goals for sport in this competition, four times netting four goals in five outings, with Serhou Guirassy on the board twice vs. Villarreal two weeks ago. Play BVB-Bodo/Glimt Over

This might be the time to catch Monaco, as the principality side has won just one of five matches across the past month. The win was a doozy over PSG two weekends ago, but Sebastien Pocognoli’s men slumped back to a 1-0 loss against Brest last Friday. Recent inconsistency is best reflected in top scorer Ansu Fati, who hasn't scored a goal in over two months as ASM has dropped to mid-table in Ligue Un. Meanwhile, Gala is cruising on top of the Turkish League, and finally won on the road in the UCL November 5 at Ajax. Familiar names dot Okan Buruk's side, among them ex-Napoli Victor Osimhen, behind only Kylian Mbappe for goals in the Champs League with six. Play Gala on Spread