The playoff round of the 2025-26 Champions League knockout stages concludes today with 4 more matches taking place on Wednesday, as teams look to come through the 2nd legs and advance to the Last 16. The 4 games we can get excited for are Atalanta vs Borussia Dortmund, Juventus vs Galatasaray, PSG vs Monaco and Real Madrid vs Benfica. While you can find out our expert soccer picks for all of those games along with EVERY Champions League knockout game throughout the rest of the season, we’re diving into our Champions League best bets of the day on Wednesday, February 25.
Champions League best bet: Atalanta ML over Borussia Dortmund (+105)
Odds available at FanDuel Sportsbook at time of publishing.
Atalanta struggled to make an impact in last week’s 2-0 loss to Dortmund, but their fine home form can help them turn the tables on the Bundesliga side. La Dea have really kicked on under Raffaele Palladino, and they’re in the mix for a return to Europe next season. They’ve won 10 of their 12 home matches since Palladino took charge in November, including a Champions League victory over Chelsea. Sunday’s 2-1 win over Napoli was Atalanta’s 4th-straight home win, while they started the month with a 3-0 victory against Juventus.
Dortmund were fortunate to avoid defeat on Saturday, as they scored a 95th-minute equalizer in a 2-2 draw at RB Leipzig. They have the prospect of a clash with Bayern Munich to come this weekend, and the visitors would still progress even with a narrow defeat. The visitors should struggle to contain an Atalanta team that has scored twice or more in their last 6 home games, so back Palladino’s side to claim a 2nd-leg victory.
Read our full Atalanta vs Borussia Dortmund prediction
Champions League best bet: Real Madrid -1.5 over Benfica (+112)
Odds available at FanDuel Sportsbook at time of publishing.
Real Madrid bring a 1-0 first-leg back to the Bernabeu for an eagerly anticipated return clash with Benfica in the Champions League playoff round on Wednesday. The first match in Lisbon was marred by an incident of alleged racism toward Vinicius Junior and UEFA has provisionally suspended Gianluca Prestianni “without prejudice” for 1 game pending a thorough investigation. Los Blancos have not been convincing in the Champions League this season, but it is usually around this time that they start to hit their stride. They sputtered through the league stage last year with 3 losses in eight 8 before turning it on in the knockouts against Manchester City and Atletico Madrid.
Benfica were 1 of the 3 teams to inflict defeat on them in this season’s competition as Alvaro Arbeloa’s team lost their cool in Lisbon amid late red cards for Raul Asencio and Rodrygo. But we should probably expect a laser-focused and altogether better performance from them this time around. For starters, there is much more at stake, but the main reason why Kylian Mbappe and company are likely to be at it from the first whistle is the sense of unfinished business with Benfica. Some of the reactions to what happened last week have not gone down well at all and it could all blow up in the Portuguese club’s faces at the Bernabeu. Real Madrid won their last home European game 6-1 against Monaco, and while this unlikely to be as savage, a win by at least 2 goals looks worth backing.
Read our full Real Madrid vs Benfica prediction
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