Tag: Monaco

Man City vs. Monaco, Falcao and Aguero at the Etihad

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Next Tuesday sees high-flying Monaco travel to the Etihad to take on an improving Man City. This is the first time these two sides will come together in Champions League history, and with both sides in fine goal scoring form, the potential is here for a true football spectacle.

Manchester City

City, currently sitting in 2nd place in the Premier League and coming into this game on a strong run of form, 6 wins out of 8 with 21 goals, Guardiola is looking to propel the club past the round of 16 for only the second time in the club’s history. Drawing Monaco seems to be a mixed blessing, avoiding a PSG side who put 4 past Barcelona last Tuesday will be preferred, but Monaco is nothing to be scoffed at. The blue half of Manchester will have high expectations, but their hopes could well be dashed.

Much of the current discussion at City is being generated by their forwards. The arrival of Gabriel Jesus has brought to bear the long-term commitment of talisman striker Sergio Aguero, now threatening a summer move to Real Madrid. Amidst the controversy, Jesus quickly found himself with a metatarsal fracture, putting him out of action until May, further complicating the matter. He joins Ilkay Gündogan on the bench, as well as John Stones who is still in recovery from a head injury that has put him out of contention since the end of January.

Monaco

Sitting 3 points clear at the top of Ligue 1, Monaco is in possession of some truly intimidating form. Unbeaten in all competitions in 2017, with 26 goals in only 8 games, Monaco are no lightweight draw for Man City, and could arguably be considered the favourites in this match. Should they get the better of City next Tuesday, and considering PSG’s phenomenal performance against Barca, this could well be the first season a French team has won Europe’s premier competition since Marseilles in 1993.

Radamel Falcao is the in form player to look out for here. Back at Monaco after unsuccessful loan stints at Manchester United and Chelsea, the Colombian has been truly scintillating so far this season. Joint 3rd in the Ligue 1 goal charts with 16, he has 5 in the last 5 games and will be looking to add to that tally against City. Alongside Falcao, Monaco is capable of putting out a dynamic and attack minded midfield, led by playmaker Joao Moutinho. Gabriel Boschilia is their only player out with an injury.

The value

There is no head to head data to look at, as these two haven’t met before, but it is worth noting that Monaco beat Tottenham 2:1 both home and away in the group stages. City, however, with more recent squad experience in the Champions League have already proven to be more capable of winning in Europe than their Premier League rivals.

I would expect this game to follow the Spurs game in a BTTS pattern, with both sides so strong up front: Bet Victor have BTTS at 13/20 and Bet 365 have City to Win and BTTS:Yes at 21/10. BTTS:Yes and Draw could also be a good shout, considering Monaco’s quality, but I would expect the home team to carry it here.

Champions League Preview – April 22nd

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Hat’s off to Bayern Munich for their 6-1 demolition of Porto in the Champions League on Tuesday night. I didn’t see that coming after their poor display in the first leg. Fortunately Barcelona won by a two-goal margin to give us a return on our bets for the night.

If Wednesday night’s matches follow a similar script, it will be Real Madrid and Juventus going through and bookmakers make that the most likely scenario. However, it is unlikely to be straight forward for Carlo Ancelotti’s team as they meet local rivals Atletico with the tie locked at 0-0 after the first leg.

Atletico have beaten them four times and drawn the other three in their seven previous meetings this season. They ought to know each other inside out, which would probably explain the dull stalemate in the first leg. This match looks more likely to develop at the pace of a game of chess rather than a swashbuckling goal feast.

Another factor is the current injury crisis afflicting Real. They will be without Gareth Bale, Luka Modric and Karim Benzema while Marcelo is suspended. Ancelotti believes that he has the strongest squad in Europe and that may well be the case, but they are surely going to miss four such high quality players.

Atletico are without the suspended Mario Suarez but are otherwise at full strength and will be looking to soak up the pressure and hit Real on the break. They have kept seven clean sheets in nine matches so they are well equipped to do so. The best value here may be in a low scoring game with a repeat of the 0-0 scoreline worth a bet at good odds.

In the other match, Juventus travel to Monaco defending a slender one-goal advantage. They have dominated Serie A in the last four seasons but this is the first time that they have been in the last eight since 2012-13. A semi-final place beckons and Carlos Tevez could be the man to put them there. The former journeyman Premiership player has been in great form all season and even the absence of Pogba should not prevent a win for the Italians.

They have a wealth of experience in their squad including Andrea Pirlo, Gianluigi Buffon and Patrice Evra. Monaco clung on desperately against Arsenal in the last round and, rather like PSG, this may be a step too far. It may be worth speculating on a comfortable win for Juventus.

Real Madrid v Atletico Madrid DRAW @13-5 BetVictor

Real Madrid 0 Atletico 0 @10-1 BetVictor

Goals under 2.5 @8-11 William Hill

Juventus to win @7-5 Ladbrokes

Carlos Tevez to score and Juventus win @7-2 Paddy Power

Monaco 0 Juventus 3 @28-1 BetVictor

Champions League – Quarter-final draw and odds update

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

In our September Champions League preview we recommended Atletico Madrid (25-1) and PSG (16-1) as the value bets in this season’s competition. Both sides have made it safely through to the last eight but the draw has not been kind.

Atletico Madrid gave us a tremendous run for  our money last season in reaching the final before losing in extra-time to rivals Real. They face Ronaldo and co again in the two-legged quarter-final but will be more than hopeful of causing an upset this time.

Diego Simeone’s side have beaten the reigning champions twice in the league and knocked them out of the Copa del Rey this season. That surely entitles them to some respect here but the bookmakers have them at a top price 18-1 to lift the trophy. Anyone who saw Real Madrid scrape past Roberto di Matteo’s Schalke in that astonishing second leg match will regard the champions as suspect. Their price has eased to 9-2 third favourite in the wake of that display and a defeat against Barcelona at the weekend has dented their domestic league prospects.

Ronaldo has already dragged them through a few tricky matches this season and he will be the main threat to Atletico but it should be a fascinating tie.

PSG were extremely fortunate to get past Chelsea who were guilty of sitting back against ten men in the hope of seeing out time. I am always happy to praise Jose Mourinho for his tactical genius but he failed to galvanise his troops that day. Credit to PSG for hanging on long enough to get a result but I can see why they are a longer price now than they were back in September.

As well as their average form, there is the little matter of Barcelona to overcome in the last eight. The Spaniards saw off Man City and would have run up a cricket score but for Joe Hart’s brilliance between the posts.

Bayern Munich have emerged as the new favourites and they face Porto while Juventus face Arsenal’s conqueror’s, Monaco. The Gunners came close to turning around a 3-1 deficit and Monaco were on the ropes for almost 90 minutes. Few will be rushing out to take the Coral price of 80-1. Juventus are in to 8-1 after thrashing Borussia Dortmund and could be this year’s surprise package.

Best odds

Bayern Munich 13-8 Ladbrokes

Barcelona 28-11 Unibet

Real Madrid 9-2 Ladbrokes

Juventus 8-1 Ladbrokes

Atletico Madrid 18-1 Boylesports

PSG 20-1 Paddy Power

Porto 80-1 Coral

Monaco 80-1 Coral

1/3 odds, 1,2

Quarter-finals to be played April 14th, 15th, 21st, 22nd

Champions League – Monaco v Arsenal Preview

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Things are looking ominous for British teams in the Champions League this season. Chelsea were knocked out last week by PSG following a tetchy 2-2 draw after extra-time. The Blues had drawn 1-1 in Paris but were eliminated on the away goals rule. Arsenal and Man City both lost their home legs and need to produce something special to extend their interest in the competition.

Arsenal face Monaco on Tuesday night needing to overturn a 3-1 deficit after a disastrous first leg at the Emirates Stadium. The Gunners were guilty of some woeful defending and were duly punished by a well-organised Monaco side. That leaves Arsenal having to score three times against a team that qualified with the best defensive record in the competition. They only conceded one goal in three home games in winning their group.

Although Arsenal have become a regular fixture at this stage of the tournament, they are facing elimination before the quarter-finals for the fifth consecutive season. Arsene Wenger has been quick to blow his own trumpet about their record in the competition but there is a growing frustration at their inability to go deep into the competition.

The Gunners have faced such adversity in the past and are capable of putting up a brave fight. They won 2-0 in Bayern Munich after losing the home tie 3-1. It was not enough to keep them in the competition and I fear that they will face a similar result on Tuesday. Just one goal from Monaco will effectively kill-off any lingering hopes that Arsenal may have and a 2-1 away win seems a real possibility.

Arsenal have been in fine form in the league and are now just one point behind champions Manchester City in third place. They recently stunned City with a victory and have also beaten Manchester United. Monaco are unbeaten in their last 16 at the Stade Louis II but they face a tricky tactical dilemma. The natural tendency is to try to hold what you have and that could give Arsenal a chance to forge a victory.

Tuesday’s other tie sees Atletico Madrid welcome Bayer Leverkusen to Spain with the Germans having won the first leg 1-0. Atletico could be left to rue the failure to score an away goal and go into this game with only one win in six games. Their patchy recent form almost mirrors that of Chelsea who came unstuck last week. Diego Simeone’s team will be without Diego Godin and Thiago Mendes through suspension while Leverkusen are only a roll with five consecutive wins. If Leverkusen poach a goal, this is going to be really difficult for the home side.

Arsenal to win @11-8 Totesport

Monaco 1 Arsenal 2 @9-1 Paddy Power

Atletico Madrid to win @8-11 Bet365

Champions League Preview 25th February

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Arsene Wenger will be relishing the prospect of meeting his old club Monaco in their first leg Champions League last 16 tie. The two sides clash at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday night , the first time that they have ever met in European competition.

Wenger led Monaco to the French league title in 1988 during a seven-year spell in charge. Silverware may have been hard to come by at Arsenal in recent years but they have a good chance of reaching the last eight in the Champions League and are still defending the FA Cup which ended their long trophy drought last season.

The Gunners have failed to reach the last eight since beating Porto in 2009/10 but they are in good form in the Premiership and have a stronger squad than in previous years. There is healthy competition for most places, particularly up front since the return to fitness of Giroud and Walcott. The form of Sanchez and Cazorla has been key to Arsenal’s recent form and they look to have enough fire power to take a first leg lead.

Monaco won Group C with the best defensive record in the competition, conceding only one goal. They have also been in good form domestically with a defeat against Guingamp their first in nine games. The wise bet here may be to go for the Gunners to win by a single goal.

The other Champions League tie is between Bayer Leverkusen and Atletico Madrid. Leverkusen were knocked out comprehensively by PSG last year and have a poor record against Spanish opposition. They are currently only sixth in the Bundesliga and have been leaking goals in recent matches.

Spanish champions Atletico were beaten in the final by Real last season and have failed to keep pace with their rivals this season in La Liga. They did manage to beat them at home and away and are strong favourites to make it through to the last eight.

It will be interesting to see former Liverpool and Chelsea striker Fernando Torres back in action in this competition. All of his goals for the club have so far come in the Copa del Rey. His first spell with Atletico was back in 2004 to 2007 when the Champions League was just a pipedream.

Arsenal to win by 1 goal @9-4 Bet365

Atletico Madrid to win @31-20 BetVictor