Category: Football

Champions League – Bayern Munich v Barcelona

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

We correctly forecast a win for Barcelona with Neymar on target in the first leg of their semi-final against Bayern Munich. He was outshone on the night by Lionel Messi and Barcelona’s all-star line-up have one foot in the final as they prepare for the return leg on Tuesday.

It is probably dangerous to dismiss Bayern out of hand but the fact that they are 20-1 to qualify for the final says it all. Pep Guardiola undoubtedly had a game plan at the Nou Camp to stifle the Spaniards and hope to escape with a draw. That plan looked likely to succeed until the 77th minute when Messi opened the floodgates. A second goal followed from the Argentinian within three minutes before Neymar’s injury-time goal virtually sealed the tie.

Bayern Munich beat Barcelona 7-0 on aggregate two years ago but there seems more chance of that score being reversed than of Guardiola’s side reaching the final. A spate of injuries, notably to Ribery and Robben, has left Bayern looking a pale shadow of the side that were favourites for the Champions League only a few weeks ago. They have lost their last four matches without scoring a goal and there is no encouraging news on the injury front. It will still be a makeshift side that starts on Tuesday needing to score three times without reply to take the tie into extra-time.

By contrast, Barcelona have gone from strength to strength. They brushed aside Manchester City and PSG without ever looking in danger of defeat. They have found a way for Messi, Suarez and Neymar all to play in the same side and that is a fearsome front-line by any standards. In recent weeks they have beaten Getafe 6-0 and Cordoba 8-0.

Coach Pep Guardiola has dismissed rumours of a move to Manchester City in the Premier League and is contracted to stay at Bayern until the summer of 2016. Bayern had already wrapped up the Bundesliga prior to their recent run of defeats. Ribery, Robben, Alaba, Rode and Badstuber are all out and it is difficult to see anything other than a comfortable night for Barcelona.

Barcelona to win @13-8 William Hill

Bayern Munich 0 Barcelona 2 @17-1 BetVictor

Messi to score and Barcelona win @11-4 Paddy Power

Arsenal v Swansea – Premiership Preview

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Betcirca soccer fans were in profit on Sunday to the tune of 9 ½ points after we correctly forecast the Chelsea result and goals for Aguero in Manchester City’s mauling of QPR. Monday’s action comes from the Emirates Stadium where Arsene Wenger’s Gunners bid to draw level on points with City in the battle for second spot.

Arsenal play host to Swansea who are in excellent form following victories against Stoke and Newcastle. The Gunners start the evening three points behind City in the Premiership but with two games in hand.

Garry Monk has done a remarkable job at Swansea who are pressing the fading Tottenham and Southampton in a sideshow for sixth and seventh places. There is no doubt that they should put up a good show but they have lost four of their five away games against sides in the top six this season. However, their record against Arsenal is good with three wins and a draw in seven meetings. The Swans won here in 2012 and held the Gunners to a draw last season so there is some cause for optimism for the travelling fans.

They have compensated for the loss of Bony with goals from Ki Sung-yueng, Gylfi Sigurdsson and Jonjo Shelvey but Arsenal are on the crest of a wave. Only their dour stalemate with Chelsea has prevented them from a winning run of nine consecutive matches, leading at half-time and full-time in the other eight. Wenger’s men are also keen to impress the boss and secure a place in the starting XI at Wembley for the FA Cup final against Aston Villa.

Arsenal have only lost once in 34 home games and injuries to Danny Welbeck and Aaron Ramsey are unlikely to halt their progress. Alexis Sanchez has now scored 16 league goals from 30 starts including four in his last three appearances and he looks the man to follow in the goal markets on Monday.

With only two goals conceded in their last seven home games, I’m going for a 2-0 win for the Gunners with Sanchez sending them on their way.

Arsenal 2 Swansea 0 @6-1 Paddy Power

Alexis Sanchez to score first @17-4 Spreadex

Sanchez to score and Arsenal win @7-5 Paddy Power

Premiership Preview 10th May

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Sunday’s Premiership fixtures were expected to have a say in the outcome of the title race but Chelsea secured the title last weekend against Crystal Palace. That has left City battling to secure second spot and they ought to collect a fourth consecutive victory at home to QPR.

Rangers are set to pay the price for their terrible away record which just one victory in seventeen including fourteen defeats. The gap between QPR and safety is already a yawning nine points and this is probably the last place they would want to be going. Sergio Aguero scored his memorable title-winning goal in this fixture in 2011-12 and has hit the target in his last four games.

The Argentinian striker will have one eye on the Premiership Golden Boot prize and this fixture looks set up for him to add to his tally. QPR know that the game is virtually up and anything less than a shock victory will not be good enough. Charlie Austin poses a threat and it may be worth looking at 4-1 and 5-1 to City in the score markets.

Chelsea’s 1-0 win over Crystal Palace means that they are champions so you could forgive them if they suffered a slight dip in form. They welcome Liverpool to Stamford Bridge in the late kick-off and the Reds will be forming a guard of honour for the home side. I remember Manchester United having to do the same thing some years ago and we can only hope that Liverpool are more gracious than one or two of the United players that day.

Jose Mourinho has paved the way for a friendly occasion with his kind words about Liverpool Captain Steven Gerrard. The absence of Diego Costa takes out another potential flash-point after his clashes with Liverpool in the League Cup. The way to go here may be a draw and it could be worth supporting Branislav Ivanovic to get on the score-sheet. He has scored against the Reds in the past and will always be a threat from set-pieces.

Sergio Aguero to score and Man City to win @3-4 Ladbrokes

Sergio Aguero to score 2 or more goals @3-1 Skybet

Man City 4 QPR 1 @15-1 BetVictor

Man City 5 QPR 1 @25-1 BetVictor

Chelsea v Liverpool DRAW @5-2 Bet365

Chelsea 1 Liverpool 1 @13-2 BetVictor

Branislav Ivanovic to score first @20-1 Paddy Power

Branislav Ivanovic to score at any time @17-2 Unibet

Champions League – Barcelona v Bayern Munich Preview

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

The second Champions League semi-final gets under way at the Nou Camp on Wednesday night when Barcelona face Bayern Munich in the first leg.

Barcelona were knocked out by Atletico Madrid at the semi-final stage last year but arrive here in peak form with all three strikers performing well. They were priced at 6-1 at the start of this year’s tournament but have been steadily cut to clear favourite at 7-4 ahead of both Bayern and reigning champions Real Madrid.

The reason is their dominant displays against Manchester City and PSG where they looked relatively untroubled. Luis Suarez took a long time to settle into the side but he is now playing well alongside Lionel Messi and Neymar.  With an attack that sounds like someone’s “dream team”, it is no wonder that they are favourites to win the Champions League for a fourth time in ten years.

This particular tie has the added interest of Pep Guardiola returning to his former club, this time in charge of Bayern. Having led Barcelona to 14 trophies, he is better placed than most to discover a way of beating them. The big problem for Guardiola is his massive injury list which includes several key players. The absence of Arjen Robben has been particularly keenly felt in recent matches while Franck Ribery, Holger Badstuber, David Alaba and Sebastian Rode are all absent.

Robert Lewandowski scored twice in the remarkable 6-1 second leg win over Porto but he may be forced to play in a mask on Wednesday after picking up a facial injury.  Veteran striker Claudio Pizarro was called upon in the weekend defeat at Leverkusen and Bayern will be desperate to escape with a good result here.

Neymar scored in both legs against PSG and has now scored in six of his last seven matches. The Brazilian is clearly in no mood to be overshadowed by Messi or Suarez and could be worth a bet to open the scoring here. Bayern Munich conceded three times at Porto and there must be a real danger that they could be out of this tie before the return leg. Barcelona have won their last eight Champions League appearances and have averaged over two goals per game during that spell.

Barcelona to win @8-11 Ladbrokes

Neymar to score first @5-1 Paddy Power

Neymar to score and Barcelona to win @5-2 Paddy Power

Champions League – Juventus v Real Madrid Preview

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

The Champions League semi-final line-up is almost as expected with Juventus the only real surprise. The Italian giants have not reached the closing stages of this tournament since 2003 and the bookmakers rank them as 9-1 outsiders to go all the way.

They host reigning champions Real Madrid in the first leg of their semi-final on Tuesday night. The closing stages of this competition can be notoriously cagey affairs, particularly in the first leg. If the quarter-finals can be taken as any guide, this game is unlikely to buck the trend.

Juventus held on by a single goal to beat Monaco while Real Madrid looked destined for extra-time in their clash with local rivals Atletico. A red card for Arda Turan with fifteen minutes to go put Atletico firmly on the back foot and Javier Hernandez struck with just two minutes remaining. The win did little to convince the bookmakers that Real are good enough to defend their title, easing them to third favourites behind Bayern Munich and Barcelona.

The value of an away goal was illustrated when Arsenal and Chelsea were both eliminated and Juventus will be intent on preventing Real from scoring. With Benzema still absent, that means that the focus will be on Cristiano Ronaldo to carry the main threat. The Serie A champions have a fine defensive record with thirteen clean sheets this season.

They are also missing a key player on Paul Pogba and they were definitely more restrained in the quarter-finals without him. Carlos Tevez will be the main threat to the Spanish defence and he has enjoyed a great tournament with six goals already to his credit. Juventus would obviously love to have a lead to take to the Bernabeau but all of the omens suggest that this is going to be very tight.

Carlo Ancelotti has great faith in his squad and will make no excuses if they are beaten here. They were the more offensive side against Atletico in both matches and they will probably enjoy more of the ball than their opponents here. Go low on goals and it may be worth taking a little of the 7-1 on offer about a goalless draw.

Juventus 0 Real Madrid 0 @7-1 Bet365

Goals under 2.5 @8-13 Bet Victor

Chelsea set to seal Premiership title

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

There are two Premiership fixtures on Sunday and Chelsea have the chance to seal the title in the early kick-off at Stamford Bridge.

The Blues had to come back from a goal down to beat Leicester in midweek but they did so in some style. Goals from Drogba, Terry and Ramires put them on the verge of winning the title for the first time since 2010. A win over London rivals Crystal Palace will be enough to wrestle the prize away from Manchester City who have been left trailing since drawing level on points on New Year’s Day.

Chelsea have led the Premier League since the start of the season and have only been beaten twice. Defeats at Newcastle and Tottenham have been the only blips on an otherwise dominant campaign. They have come in for criticism in recent weeks for being boring but the league table does not lie and a thirteen point lead illustrates their superiority.

Jose Mourinho has been keen to keep his players focussed on the job in hand and he will not take the visitors lightly. A one-goal victory would be perfectly satisfactory, even if it does leave their supporters biting their nails for the closing minutes. The superb Hazard is likely to have Loic Remy ahead of him in attack but I am taking a punt on Nemanja Matic to score the winner. His capture was a masterstroke by Mourinho and he would be a very appropriate player to strike the championship winning goal.

If Chelsea have secured the title, there could be something of a cloud over Manchester City for the late kick-off at Tottenham. It will be a surprise if Manuel Pellegrini is still at the helm next season after a moderate campaign with no silverware. A top four spot looks virtually assured after Liverpool dropped further points at Hull so there isn’t any real pressure on City here.

Tottenham have a miserable record against City, most particularly Sergio Aguero who scored four goals in the reverse fixture. That game included four penalty awards but the result flattered City. This game should be entertaining and the sides can share the points at 2-2.

Tips

Chelsea 1 Crystal Palace 0 @6-1 Paddy Power

Nemanja Matic to score first @25-1 Paddy Power

Tottenham v Man City DRAW @11-4 Bet365

Tottenham 2 Man City 2 @13-1 BetVictor