Tag: Champions League

Costa to strike again for Chelsea

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho has been stressing the importance of Chelsea securing their place in the knockout phase of the Champions League this week.

The Blues currently sit top of their group and have two matches to play but a win over Schalke would be good enough. That would give them the luxury of playing a dead rubber against Sporting Lisbon in their final match, something that Mourinho would greatly appreciate with the Christmas fixture list looming.

Chelsea have dominated the early part of the season in the Premier League, so much so that bookmakers Paddy Power have already paid out on them winning the title! That may be a little premature but you certainly cannot take anything for granted in the Champions League.

Schalke grabbed an unlikely point in the reverse fixture on a night when Chelsea failed to take a string of opportunities to move into a two-goal lead. Schalke’s class players on the night were the scorer Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and the provider Julian Draxler. The loss of Draxler for this match will be a severe blow to Schalke as he looked dangerous throughout at Stamford Bridge.

Schalke are now managed by former Chelsea player and coach Roberto Di Matteo who took in October. No Chelsea fan will ever forget Di Matteo’s relatively short spell in charge, winning the FA Cup and a first ever Champions League for the Blues. He has only been at Schalke for six weeks so it is ironic that he comes face to face with Chelsea so quickly. The German side are currently second in the group but vulnerable with Sporting Lisbon just one point behind them.

Chelsea remain unbeaten in all competitions despite a scare at Maribor in their last group match. In the end, they could and should have won the game but Eden Hazard uncharacteristically fluffed his penalty kick. I don’t expect Chelsea to treat this game with anything less than full commitment and that has so far proved more than enough for most teams. If anything, the Blues have looked sharper away than they have at home.

The speed with which Hazard and Willian launch their counter-attacks is breath-taking but the decisive factor has to be Diego Costa. There has been much debate about his fitness in recent weeks but he looked sharp against West Brom on Saturday and looks tempting at around the 4-1 mark to open the scoring. Backing Costa and Chelsea to win has been a winning formula this season and could easily be the answer again on Tuesday.

Diego Costa to score first @4-1 Paddy Power

Diego Costa to score and Chelsea to win @19-10 Ladbrokes

Chelsea to win by one goal @11-4 Skybet

Man City face Champions League exit

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

With two games remaining, Manchester City are bottom of group E and preparing for the visit of Bayern Munich on Tuesday night.

That is certainly not the scenario that Manuel Pellegrini would have had in mind when the draw was made. While most pundits would have made Bayern strong favourites to win the group, City were expected to beat Roma and CSKA Moscow in the battle for second place.

City were held to a draw by Roma in their opening group game before suffering a 1-0 defeat in Munich thanks to a late goal by Boateng. The real damage was done when they forfeited a two-goal lead in Moscow. They have struggled to achieve any consistency since that night in October, slumping to a home defeat against CSKA in the return fixture.

A hard-fought 2-1 win over Swansea at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday at least kept them within a respectable distance of Chelsea in the Premier League. Whether they showed enough to seriously worry Bayern Munich on Tuesday is open to question. The gulf between Premiership football and Champions League football is something that City are yet to cross. Two-time EPL winners but only once have they managed to go beyond the group stages in Europe and it is looking ominous again this season.

A full-strength City at their best would certainly have high expectations against a Bayern side that may be tempted to take their foot off the pedal with the group already won. However, City go into this match in patchy form and without Yaya Toure, David Silva and Fernandinho. There has been speculation that all is not well with Sergio Aguero and Stevan Jovetic but Pellegrini insists that both are fit to start on Tuesday night.

Bayern have won their first four matches, scoring eleven goals and conceding just one. They will the group irrespective of what happens in their final group games. Their recent record is not unlike Chelsea’s. They are unbeaten in 18 matches and scored seven against Roma earlier in the tournament. They have strikers of the calibre of Lewandowski, Robben and Muller available against a City defence that is far from secure.

Man City have no choice but to attack and that could play into the hands of the visitors. It should be an entertaining night but I can’t see Bayern coming away with less than a draw.

Correct score 1-1 @7-1 BetVictor

Correct score 2-2 @14-1 William Hill

Champions League 2014/15 Preview

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

The Group stages of the Champions League get under way this week with Real Madrid favourites to become the first team to successfully defend the trophy.

They have made a patchy start to the new domestic season and suffered a defeat by local rivals Atletico at the weekend. With their wealth of talent, that can surely only be a temporary blip and they are bound to be serious contenders again.

Atletico Madrid were our each-way tip last season and they went all the way to the final. Bookmakers are not convinced that they have enough quality to repeat the achievement this season and have priced them up at a generous 25-1.

The departure of Costa to Chelsea may have dented Atletico’s prospects but Mario Mandzukic is an exciting replacement. Diego Simeone is clearly a first class coach and they look overpriced to me.

My other tip is Paris St Germain who have been among the biggest spenders in Europe this summer. The £50million paid for David Luiz may have raised a few eyebrows but the former Chelsea man will be determined to erase the memory of that World Cup nightmare against Germany. It is worth remembering that he was being treated as a national hero after his wonder strike earlier in the competition.

PSG were close to eliminating Chelsea last season and should qualify from their group despite the presence of Barcelona. Ibrahimovic, Cavani and Levezzi is a world-class front-line by any standards.

The English challenge this season looks likely to be spearheaded by Chelsea who have made a tremendous start in the Premier League. Diego Costa surely cannot keep up his incredible strike rate and it remains to be seen whether Drogba and Remy offer sufficient cover. They are a very talented side but do not represent great value at around 6-1.

Liverpool have undertaken a summer rebuilding project in the wake of Luis Suarez’s departure. They look to have a relatively easy passage through to the knockout phase but the same cannot be said of champions Manchester City. They got through the group phase for the first time last season but won’t have it easy against Bayern Munich, CSKA Moscow and Roma.

Arsenal sneaked past Besiktas in the playoffs to reach the Group stage of the competition for a remarkable eighteenth consecutive season. They should also emerge safely from Group D but there remains a suspicion that they are a player or two short compared to Chelsea and City.

PSG @16-1 Ladbrokes

Atletico Madrid @25-1 William Hill

½ odds 1,2

Football Rivalries Champions League 2013

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Unibet have been very kind to put together a true picture of the rivalries in the modern Champions League. This is what is called an info graph and shows stats in the form of pictures and graphs.

There are some very interesting facts in this champion league info graph so please take a look and quote some to your mates down the pub. Don’t forget you can join Unibet and get a a free £20 free bet.

champions-league-2013-football-rivalries

Champions League Final Preview – Betting

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

It’s hard to write this sort of post when I’m already on Bayern Munich at fancy prices to win the Champions League, but i’ll try.

Bayern Munich ran away with the league in spectacular fashion, 25 points clear of Dortmund. We all know they demolished Barcelona over two legs, which is a mightly impressive feat its self. Their last 4 CL fixtures they’ve conceded no goals, not only that, i don’t actually remember Barcelona having a clear chance at goal in the 2nd leg, did they?

Their final game of the season was essentially worthless, as the title was sown up. However, Bayern impressively won 4-3, having conceded 3 goals in the first 10 minutes! They dug deep to record a 29th win in the league.

Dortmund on the other hand lost 2-1 at home to Hoffenheim, again, it can be argued the game meant nothing. Importantly however, they haven’t won in 4 games (including the Real Madrid defeat). Bayern however, you have to go back to October last year for their last defeat.

This will appear as a strongly biased article towards Bayern, but from a betting perspective i just cannot see any reason why Bayern won’t lift the trophy at Wembley. They are the form side who have a good record against Dortmond. While riding the crest of a Bayern look perfectly poised to take home the Champions League trophy.

From a betting angle, if you didn’t get the big prices on Bayern to win prior to their Barcelona first leg, then you’ll find it difficult to back Bayern at 5/6 knowing they were 4-1 pre Barca. But if a shade of odds on doesn’t put you off, go fill your boots.

Bayern win 5/6 Stanjames
Bayern -1 Handicap 12/5 Stanjames
Bayern -3 Handicap 12-1 William Hill (you never know, worth a small investment!)
Muller to score any time and Bayern win 11/4 William Hill

Nearer the event it self i will update the betting opportunities, i’m sure some bookies will have some juicy offers or money back specials. Keep your eyes peeled.

Premiership Preview 19th May

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

The final day of the Premiership does not have the title or relegation drama of 12 months ago but that was always going to be a tough act to follow. In truth, Manchester United were given an easy ride to the title as their main rivals dropped tamely away. Manchester City failed to build on last season’s title success and were strangely inactive in the summer transfer market. The signing of Van Persie was sufficient to make the difference between the two teams whilst the London clubs battled it out for minor honours.

It is the battle for Champions League places that remains the only significant issue to be decided on Sunday. Tottenham will miss out again if Arsenal take all three points at Newcastle, regardless of Chelsea’s result at home to Everton. Spurs must defeat Sunderland to keep their hopes alive and rely on results elsewhere allowing them to sneak into the top four.

Chelsea v Everton

This game will have a distinct end-of-season feel about it after Chelsea virtually guaranteed their Champions League spot last weekend at Aston Villa. The question has been raised this week of a possible third-place playoff between Chelsea and Arsenal should they finish level on points, goal difference and goals scored. This scenario can only come about if Chelsea draw 0-0 and Arsenal win 2-1. Whether this will be enough to spur the Blues on to one last effort this season is another matter. Several of their players looked dead on their feet on Wednesday night as they won the Europa League with a last-gasp header from Ivanovic.

Everton meanwhile are saying farewell to David Moyes after eleven years at the helm. He was given an emotional send off by the Goodison fans last week in their 2-0 victory over West Ham and the teams look evenly matched. Rafael Benitez will also be packing his bags shortly but will surely send out a re-shuffled side for this finale. I can see Everton upsetting Chelsea’s victory parade by grabbing at least a point and a 1-1 draw might be the way to go. Kevin Mirallas looks overpriced at 11-1 to open the scoring after his two against the Hammers last week.

1-1 draw 8-1 Bet Victor

Kevin Mirallas first goalscorer 11-1 Bet365

Newcastle v Arsenal

Arsenal wavered slightly against Wigan in midweek before producing a second-half blitz to send the Latics down to the Championship after eight seasons in the top flight. Arsene Wenger will be calling on them to produce a similar effort against a Newcastle side that must be breathing a collective sigh of relief now that their Premiership status is secure. The Magpies have put in some desperate displays this season, none more so than their 6-0 drubbing at the hands of a moderate Liverpool side. Anything like that on Sunday will result in another embarrassing defeat but Alan Pardew faces an uphill task rallying his troops for this match. I can only see one winner here and it might be worth taking a risk on the 100-30 about the Gunners winning by three or more goals with Skybet. Theo Walcott is in flying form and 11-2 represents fair value in the first goalscorer market.

Arsenal to win by 3 or more goals 100-30 Skybet

Theo Walcott to score first 11-2 Coral

Tottenham v Sunderland

Tottenham were denied a place in the Champions League by Chelsea’s win in the competition last May and now look poised to miss out, possibly only on goal difference to their London rivals. They are only in contention thanks to Gareth Bale who has dug them out of many a hole this season. There is speculation that he may leave White Hart Lane if he does not get Champions League football next season but it is difficult to see them achieving that. Even so, it is worth taking the 11-4 about Bale scoring first here. Tottenham will have one eye on the Arsenal match and if that starts to go against them it is possible that their heads may drop. With the exception of their mauling at Villa Park, Sunderland have shown a lot more fight since Paolo Di Canio arrived and they could poach a point here.

Draw 19-4 Bet Victor

Gareth Bale to score first 11-4 Ladbrokes