If you’ll forgive us for being a little smug for a moment, in our last preview of Leicester City’s maiden UEFA Champions League campaign we successfully called the 0-0 draw with FC Copenhagen that would propel the Foxes into the knockout round – and now we’re going for two from two as they entertain Club Brugge.
Essentially, much of what was written over a fortnight ago still stands going into Tuesday night’s game, as Claudio Ranieri’s men remain one of only two sides yet to concede a goal in this season’s competition and sit proudly atop Group G with an unbelievable haul of 10 points from their opening four European fixtures.
This remarkable run of form in what is Leicester’s first foray into Champions League football couldn’t be in starker contrast to their opponent’s own efforts in the group, with Michel Preud’Homme’s team failing to secure a single point thus far, and scoring just one solitary strike during their 2-1 home defeat to FC Porto.
Having meanwhile conceded 10 goals in this season’s Champions League, the only real surprise is that Club Brugge aren’t the worst team in this year’s competition – that dishonour goes to Dinamo Zagreb, who have not only failed to put any points on the board but are also yet to find the net in any of their four CL games.
Foxes In The Hen House
Having already thrashed the Belgians 3-0 in the reverse fixture, a home assignment against the second-worst team in the tournament should present no significant problems for Leicester, with the bookmakers seemingly inclined to agree as they label the home team heavy favourites. Indeed, no matter where you look, you’ll be hard-pushed to find odds longer than the 4/9 available at Sky Bet on a Leicester City win.
With the visitors meanwhile coming in at a prohibitive 8/1 with Betfair, it really does look to be something of a sporting mismatch; and any fears that Ranieri may opt to rest some of his star players now that Group G qualification is secured are easily allayed by the fact that a win will guarantee they finish top of the table.
That being said, given the odds-on quotes available on a comfortable home victory are unlikely to get any pulses racing, we will therefore, have to look elsewhere to find our value. One of the most obvious ways to do this is by backing the Half Time/Full Time betting markets, where you can get a much more attractive 6/5 with Coral on Leicester/Leicester or an even better 10/3 on Draw/Leicester courtesy of William Hill.
They Score When They Want
Given Leicester’s tag as favourites and their opposition’s obvious shortcomings in front of goal, it doesn’t seem a huge stretch to imagine that the home side will win the game to nil; an outcome that has bizarrely been priced at an odds-against quote of 13/10 by Coral. No, the question instead seems to be exactly how many goals the Foxes can rack up against a woeful Brugge side – with plenty of big scores providing value.
Naturally, having won by a single strike in two of their three victories so far, 1-0 to Leicester remains the bookies’ favourite winning margin at prices of 6/1 with Betfair and many others. Nevertheless, given the only time Leicester have scored more than one goal in a Champions League game was in their opening fixture against Club Brugge, punters might well be tempted by a repeat 3-0 scoreline at 9/1 with Betfair.
If they fancy the Foxes to go one better and run out 4-0 winners on the night, the odds jump to 18/1 with the same site, but that would merely be the icing on the cake in what should be an easy win for Leicester.
