Champions League Corner Picks, best soccer bets, odds, predictions: Why PSG vs. Dortmund won’t be low scoring

In Greek mythology, Sisyphus was the king of Corinth, but he was punished by Zeus and forced to push a boulder up a hill, only to have it roll back down as he neared the top. Sisyphus had to do this for all eternity. Why? I don’t fully remember.

Honestly, I haven’t been reading up on Greek mythology lately, and even if I had, Zeus and the Greek gods were the original real housewives. Basically, they were a group of functional alcoholics who got mad at people for reasons they probably didn’t fully understand, except instead of throwing a glass of wine at them, they came up with sadistic punishments.

Anyway, the point is that Sisyphus had to push this boulder up the hill for all eternity, knowing that it would roll back down and he would have to do it again. I wonder if he started rooting for the rock at some point during the punishment.

I’m rooting for the stone. If you’ve followed Corner Picks this season, you’ll know what a disaster my Champions League picks were. I feel like whatever choice I got right was pure luck, and now that there’s no real hope of getting back on the positive side of the ledger, I’m taking pleasure in how terrible a record I can end the year with.

As for how you should approach my choices knowing this, don’t worry. I’m not changing anything in the approach. I told you recently that graying out my choices is the best option, and I stand by that.

Let’s all root for the stone together. If we like punishment, it won’t be punishment anymore, will it?

PSG x Borussia Dortmund

Date: Tuesday, May 7th | Time: 3pm ET | To attend: Paramount+

The first leg of this semi-final was the same as many of my Champions League plays this year. I took the Over 3.5 and saw these teams accumulate 3.4 xG (expected goals) from 27 shots, but only score one goal. The goal also came early, just to give me hope. Although it was unfortunate for me, it was much more unfortunate for Dortmund.

Dortmund is the biggest surprise in the competition. A team that struggles to win half of its games in the Bundesliga is one victory away from the Champions League final, but it will be difficult to maintain a 1-0 lead in Paris. I can’t help but believe that Dortmund needed a two-goal lead if they wanted a realistic chance of progressing, but the price for PSG is too high. My instinct is for PSG to score two goals before Dortmund pull one back, only to see PSG finish late. So yes, I’ll talk a little about PSG to win 3-1 (+950), but the much more logical bet is that both teams will score. There were too many chances in the first game to think we will see another clean sheet this week. The pick: Both teams will score (-155)

Real Madrid vs Bayern Munich

Date: Wednesday, May 8 | Time: 3pm ET | To attend: CBS/Paramount+

Bayern Munich blew it last week. As I wrote then, having the streak of 11 consecutive Bundesliga titles officially broken has taken a weight off this team’s shoulders. They were playing loose and free for the first time in months. When Leroy Sane fired an absolute laser to equalize at 1-1 in the 53rd minute last week, only to see Harry Kane coolly score a penalty four minutes later to make it 2-1 to Bayern, I thought this team could end the night in position to eliminate Real Madrid.

Then Kim Min-Jae forgot what football he was playing and tackled Vinicius Jr. in the box, giving Real Madrid the penalty they used to tie the match in the 83rd minute. I’m sorry, but I’ve seen this movie many times before. If you don’t take Real Madrid’s heads off when you can, they will take yours. The pick: Real Madrid (-115)

A slightly less desperate negotiation

Last week’s trading was a little crazy as we were trying to get out of our hole. This week we’re still going after a big score, but with a heavier dose of reality. This pay +604.

• PSG -1.5 (+120)
• Real Madrid over 2.5 (+220)