Champions League Group D betting

Group D Champions League odds and tips

Barcelona will breeze through Group D with all respect to Rubin Kazan, Panathinaikos and Copenhagen. The three times Champions League winners are the 11/4 (Victor Chandler) favourites to be kings of Europe and their group opponents should provide the perfect warm-ups. So let’s concentrate on the battle for the runners up spot and it looks a two-horse race between the Russian and Greek champions – but who will prevail?

Group D winner odds

Barcelona – Best odds 1/10 Bet 365
Rubin Kazan- Best odds 16/1 VC Bet
Panathinaikos – Best odds 14/1 Blue Sq
Copenhagen – Best odds 40/1 Bet 365

Rubin Kazan made their Champions League bow last season and pulled of the shock of the competition with a victory in the Nou Camp. While they may get nothing in Barcelona this time around, they stand every chance of progression if they can rekindle this form against weaker opposition. The Russians seem excellent value at 11/10 with Bet365 to make the last 16 at the expense of Panathinaikos. They begin away to Copenhagen and will be confident of making a good start in Denmark.

The Greeks have invested heavily in their squad in recent years and it looks to have paid off with them winning their domestic title and cup double for the first time since 2004. Panathinaikos’ best effort in the Champions League came in 1971 when they were beaten finalists but they can forget about appearing at Wembley in May. If they are to make it through Group D it could go down to the last game where Panathinaikos travel to Copenhagen and Kazan have the much sterner task in Barcelona. If you fancy the Greek representatives to qualify they are available at 6/4 with Victor Chandler.

In the 2006/07 edition of the Champions League FC Copenhagen were making their first appearance in the competition. That experience should stand them in good stead this time around and if they can rediscover their home form they could be a threat. Manchester United, Benfica and Celtic were their group opponents last time and at home they were unbeaten accounting for United and Celtic in the process and holding Benfica to a share of the spoils. The Danish Champions have a familiar face in ex-Chelsea winger Jesper Gronkjaer and his experience playing at the highest level will be sought after. The Danes are longshots at 6/1 (SkyBet) to squeeze through Group D but expect them to struggle at the wrong end of this quartet.

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Champions League Group C betting

Group C Champions League odds and tips

A plum draw for 2008 winners Manchester United who look all set to top Group C with little in the way to prevent them. Cash strapped Valencia are the most obvious dangers but they will be happy to cement the runners up spot in Group C. Rangers and Bursaspor will battle it out for minor placings one would assume for the right to enter the Europa League.

Group C winner odds

Sir Alex Ferguson will be the first to admit he would have liked to have added more Champions League successes to his glowing honours list. Fergie has scooped Europe’s elite prize on just two occasions during the treble winning year of 1999 and in 2008. And after the disappointment of finishing second to Chelsea in the Premier League last season, the United boss will want to add another to his record in the showcase final at Wembley in May. Bayern Munich got the better of United on away goals in last years competition but expect them to be knocking on the door this time around. Progressing through this seemingly easy group should be a formality but they are no price at 3/10 (general) to finish as Group C winners.

Valencia look the second best team on paper in this quartet of clubs. However, the Spanish outfit are in serious financial difficult to the extent where they have had to postpone construction on their new stadium and sell a host of stars including World Cup winners David Villa and David Silva. And, if there is to be a big club that fails to make it out of the group stages, one gets the feeling it could be Valencia. The Spanish club finished third in La Liga last term but that was with the help of their star duo and they face a tricky Champions League opener at Bursaspor. SportingBet offer 2/1 they fail to progress past the group stages so it will be interesting to monitor whether their off field problems will affect their performances on it.

Turkish League and Super Cup Champions Bursaspor are yet another club making their Champions League debut. The newcomers edged out the more fancied Fenerbahce, Galatasary and Trabzonspor to seal the Turkish title and they will head into the competition bidding to make a statement of intent. The hostile atmosphere in Turkey can work in their favour and are not without a chance if they can make the Bursa Ataturk Stadium a difficult place to visit. They entertain Valencia in their opener and are best priced 2/1 (William Hill) to pick up all three points. It will be interesting to see how they approach their home games as they may get little joy on the road.

Walter Smith’s Rangers retained the SPL title with three games to spare last season and thus secured automatic entry for the 2010/11 Champions League. However, they must improve drastically on last years CL where they only managed a point and finished bottom of a group which included Sevilla, Stuttgart and Romanian minnows Unirea Urziceni. But Rangers could struggle again to pick up points and it would be a surprise to see them go any further and another European failure looks set to happen. They are a large 9/2 (Bet365) to qualify but this can be overlooked and this is justified by the 2/7 (SkyBet) for them to exit early. Smith was Sir Alex’s assistant in the 2003/04 season but don’t expect him to do the Rangers chief any favours when they begin with an unforgiving trip to Old Trafford.

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Champions League Group B betting

Group B Champions League odds and tips

Group B at first glance is probably the most open of the eight with Olympique Lyonnais, FC Schalke 04, Benfica and Hapoel Tel Aviv making up the quartet. Last years semi-finalists Lyon are much fancied to top the group after their impressive showing but it is difficult to discount both the German and Portuguese opposition. Israeli’ Champions Hapoel are the only non-European club in the group stages after winning their domestic title for the first time in a decade, but most would agree that they could struggle to pick up points in this line-up.

Group B winner odds

Lyon – Best odds 15/8 VC Bet
Schalke – Best odds 2/1 Stan James
Benfica – Best odds 11/4 Coral
Hapoel Tel Aviv – Best odds 25/1 Sky Bet

In such a tight group, Lyon have been chalked up as favourites to finish as group winners at 15/8 (Victor Chandler) and this bet must be proceeded with caution. Forgetting last seasons performance, Lyon could only finish runners-up to Marseille in Ligue 1 last term having won the French league no fewer than on seven occasions in the last ten years. So there is an element of doubt as to whether Lyon are on a downward spiral but their home form should see them comfortably through to the knockout stages.

Bundesliga runners-up last season FC Schalke are the real interesting contenders in Group B. Under manager Felix Magath they are likely to go well after two years in the wilderness without Champions League football. However, the last time they were involved in the 2007/08 they did reach the quarter-final stage and they will be targeting a similar performance this time around. While the 2/1 (Paddy Power) odds for them to finish top of the group seem a little short, they can certainly progress at odds of 4/5(Bwin.com) which seems more sensible. They kick-off their campaign in away to Lyon and will be hoping to avoid defeat in France which might relinquish any strong hopes of progressing.

During the early 1960s when the Champions League was effectively known as the European Cup, Benfica were winners on two consecutive occasions (1960/61 and 1961/62). The current Portuguese champions more recently have struggled in the competition, falling at the first hurdle in both 2006/07 and 2007/08 relegating them into the Europa League. They have spent the last two seasons challenging for this honour and they may have to settle for the same again. They can be overlooked in Group B and they may well only play a minor role by finishing third. However, surprises are aplenty in the Champions League and if they can transfer last seasons domestic form into Europe they hold every chance of qualification at 8/11 but preference is for Schalke at 4/7.

When we talk about Hapoel Tel Aviv we enter the unknown a little. The Israeli’s are making their Champions League bow after overcoming Austrian side Salzburg in the qualification round with a 4-3 aggregate win. The nine million pound payday the club will receive for reaching the group stages may be the only good thing to come out of the Champions League however and they will struggle to register a point on the board. This is justified with the bookies 1/7 on odds that they go no further than the group stages. They make their European debut in Benfica’s Estadio Da Luz and this one can be regarded as a home banker at 2/5 (Bet365). Tel Aviv are 13/2 with Paddy Power but very few, if any will be nibbling on the Israeli’s. A draw (10/3) may be the best they can hope for but that also looks out of their reach.

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Champions League Group A betting

Group A Champions League odds and tips

Champions League Group A immediately leaps of the page as Tottenham Hotspur figure amongst the clubs aiming to progress into the last 16. Spurs along with Dutch Eredivisie Champions FC Twente make their debuts in Europe’s elite competition, while last years winners Inter Milan and Germans Werder Bremen complete the quartet. But what can we expect from Harry Redknapp’s men who secured their place after overcoming a dogged Young Boys in qualifying?

Group A winner odds

Inter – Best odds 5/6 VC Bet
Spurs – Best odds 7/2 Blue Sq
Werder Bremen – Best odds 5/1 Betfred
FC Twente – Best odds 18/1 Bet 365

There’s no denying the fact the North Londoners may have to do it the hard way just to qualify from the group stages. However, perhaps the only saving grace was that it could have been a lot worse considering the Pot Three hopefuls avoided Real Madrid in last Thursday’s draw. Instead, they open their campaign in the Weserstadion in Bremen as a pose to the daunting prospect of kicking off in the Santiago Bernabeu. Nevertheless, Werder Bremen will be no pushovers and are not here by default despite needing extra time in their second leg qualifier against Sampdoria to progress on aggregate.

Like Tottenham who were given an opening leg scare against Young Boys, Bremen who finished third in the Bundesliga last season, at one stage looked to be dropping into the Europa League at the hands of Italians Sampdoria. Markus Rosenberg’s extra-time winner though made it the sixth time in seven seasons they had made it into the group stages. And you can get 11/10 with Bet365 the Germans make it a nightmare start for ‘Arry’s men who themselves are a tentative 9/4 to record their first ever Champions League success.

Jose Mourinho guided Inter Milan to their first top European triumph last term after overcoming Bayern Munich in May’s final. The ‘Special One’ has since left the Italian Champions for Madrid but in Rafel Benitez they have secured a more than adequate replacement. The ex-Liverpool boss tasted Champions League in 2005 with the Reds and will feel he has a real chance of emulating Jose’s success at the San Siro. If Inter Milan do follow up and win the 2010/11 Champions League they should have no problems negotiating their way through Group A. The top seeds are as short as 1/14 to progress but look excellent value at 5/6 with Victor Chandler to finish as group winners. They begin their defence with a trip to FC Twente and can get off to the perfect start in Holland but at no sort of odds (2/5).

Twente owe much of their recent success to former England Head Coach Steve McClaren. He guided the team from Enschede to the Dutch league last term seeing off much fancied rivals in Ajax and PSV Eindhoven, hence their Champions League entry this time around. But McClaren has since left for Wolfsburg and their chances of group progression have diminished rapidly now Michel Preud’homme takes the hot-seat. This is justified with the bookies 9/1 odds for them to qualify and it seems almost a certainty they will finish rock-bottom of Group A.

The best bets in this group surround Spurs and they represent a decent price at 4/5 (Coral) to qualify from the group.

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Champions League betting – Copenhagen vs Chelsea

Copenhagen vs Chelsea betting preview, odds and tips

FC Copenhagen progressed through the fairly tough group D in this season’s competition, finishing second behind Barcelona, to set up a knockout meeting against Chelsea. While the Blues finished top of group F after winning 5 of their 6 games and only conceded 4 goals. Chelsea have reached the semi-finals 5 times in the last 7 seasons but face a Copenhagen side in the last 16 for the first time.

Copenhagen

Copenhagen might be going into the knockout stages of the competition for the first time but they are certainly no strangers to success. The Danish side has won the Superligaen the last two seasons and currently sits, top, unbeaten and 19 points clear of their nearest rivals. In spite of this FCK are still clear underdogs because of their lack of experience in the knockout stages and best priced at 5.5 with Stan James and others. Dame N’Doye has been prolific in the league so far this season with an impressive 13 goals from 18 games and the striker is looking good at 4.33 with Paddy Power to score at any time. Though it has been scoring goals were FCK have struggled in the competition this season, after netting just 7 in the group stage, they have scored the joint lowest all of qualifying teams.

Chelsea

Chelsea’s stuttering season continued on Saturday after they missed several good chances and went out on penalties at home to Everton in the FA Cup. This means they have now not won for 3 games and scored only 2 goals in the process. Fernando Torres can play in Denmark and the striker is showing good odds of 5.0 with Skybet to open the scoring on the night and get his first for his new club. It will be interesting to see whether Ancelotti continues with the 4-3-3 system that has stuttered in recent months and who, in fact, he selects from his 3 star strikers to start the game. After drawing their last 2 Chelsea may struggle for confidence against a Copenhagen team that haven’t lost at home this season in Europe and so a 1-1 draw is looking good odds of 7.5 with BlueSq. On the other hand if you feel Chelsea can overcome their recent poor form then a 2-0 away victory will get you good odds of 8.5 at Coral.

Highlighted Bets
1-1 draw – 7.5 BlueSq
FC Copenhagen win – 5.5 Stan James
Dame N’Doye anytime goal scorer – 4.33 Paddy Power
Chelsea to score in first 10 minutes – 6.5 Skybet
Fernando Torres first goal scorer – 5.0 Skybet

By Sam Markham

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Champions League betting – Chelsea vs MSK Zilina

Chelsea vs MSK Zilina betting preview, odds and tips

Chelsea slumped to a third Premier League defeat in four games at the weekend after going down 1-0 at Birmingham. After been rocked by the news that captain John Terry will be side lined for several weeks with a nerve injury, the Blues have gone from being firmly in control at the top of the league to looking extremely wobbly. Despite this, manager Ancelotti will be looking to regain some confidence with a win over Slovakian side MSK Zilina.

Although their recent poor form hasn’t affected their odds at all with Chelsea odds on favourites and best priced at 1/6 with William Hill. Even though manager Ancelotti has confirmed he will play his youngsters, as his team are already assured of a place in the last 16. Highly rated 17 year old midfielder Josh McEachran has been assured of a start by his boss and 11/2 for the youngster to score at any time and Chelsea go on to win the match is a good shout at William Hill.

MSK Zilina     Form:LLLL     League Position:4th
Slovakian side MSK Zilina are the current holders and leaders of the Slovak Corgon Liga. Unfortunately they have struggled in the champions League this season, they currently sit bottom of their group, with no chance of being able to qualify for the knockout stages, having only scored one goal and being thrashed 7-0 at home last time out in the Champions League. There is no wonder then, that MSK go into the tie priced as long as 20-1 with SkyBet, even though they may not be facing a full strength Chelsea team. Tomas Oravec was very much the danger man the last time the two clubs met in Slovakia after netting a tap in and the Striker is a great price at 20-1 with Bet Fred to be the last goal scorer, if you think they can get on the score sheet.

Match Prediction      Chelsea to win 2-0 best priced 6/1 with Victor Chandler

Although Chelsea have struggled recently and Ancelotti will give some of his young stars a run out, they will still be too strong for an MSK side that have conceded 15 goals in the group stage so far this season. Daniel Sturridge should get a run out and the striker scored his first Champions League goal against Zilina in September and is most definitely worth a bet with odds of 5/1 with Bet Fred to open the scoring on the night. Whilst the Slovakian side have conceded an average of 3 goals a game in the Champions League Group stages, Chelsea to win by a 3 goal margin is a standout bet at 15/4 with Bet 365.

By Sam Markham

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Champions League betting – Chelsea v Manchester United

Chelsea v Manchester United betting preview, odds and tips

Chelsea may finally now be able to give up on their title challenge after a draw with Stoke this weekend, 11 points behind leaders, and Champions League Quarter Final opposition, Manchester United with only eight games to play, albeit with a game in hand.

Although they beat Manchester United at home at the start of March, they showed frailties throughout the 90 minutes, and David Luiz was lucky to be on the pitch to score his equaliser after a series of fouls went unpunished whilst on a yellow card. This weekend at Stoke they had chances to win the game, and went close on a number of occasions, yet so did their opponents, who arguably had more clear cut chances.

The question in the build up to such a big game will be how Ancelotti sets out his strike force. Torres was preferred to Drogba, with Anelka alongside him, when the two sides met last month, but the £50 million man is still yet to score, or come close. Drogba was on target at the weekend and is clearly the man in better form. Top scorer Anelka seems to have the backing of his manager, so it’s down to the two heavyweights to battle for a place.

Manchester United

Sir Alex Ferguson’s side come into the business end of the season with the chance of winning another famous treble. Another string has been added to their impressive attacking front line with the return of Antonio Valencia. Whilst United toiled in the first half against West Ham this weekend, Valencia was a constant thorn in the side of the defence. The tide turned when Ferguson brought strikers Berbatov and Hernandez off the bench, joining Rooney in a three pronged strike force.

The defence that looked so shaky against Liverpool and Chelsea could be boosted by the return of Rio Ferdinand, although Chris Smalling has proved himself a worthy deputy when alongside captain Nemanja Vidic.

Their weakness lies in midfield, an area where it’s hard to predict who will play as each game approaches. The in-form Nani was dropped for the West Ham game, whilst Ji-Sung Park and Gibson both played. With Fletcher’s place in doubt, the Scottish midfielder is struggling with a virus, it is really anyone’s guess to how the side will line-up in midfield, or even the system as a whole.

Match Prediction: DRAW – 3.3 Victor Chandler – sign up for a free £25 bet

The tie last month was the perfect cliché, a game of two halves. United were all over Chelsea in the first half, but the momentum swang across to the West Londoners, and they capitalised with two goals to win the game.

Chelsea’s success could depend on who leads their attack. Is any Chelsea fan confident in Torres’ performances that he should play in such an important tie. Both him and Drogba could win their side the game if they perform to their best, yet neither have this season, less so Torres who has looked a shadow of his former self.

Rooney is the only Manchester United striker definite of a place come Wednesday, and with all this conjecture over who will start up front for both sides, the better bet may be a bigger priced midfielder for first goal.

Without a goal for quite some time, and full of shots in their game at Stoke on Saturday, Michael Essien may be worth a pop at 19.00.

The game itself will most likely be a tight affair, with neither side wanting the game out of their grasp ahead of the second leg, Chelsea not daring to leave too much space for United to get an away goal and the Reds probably more than happy to take a draw back to Old Trafford.

Highlighted Bets:-

Over/Under: Under 2.5 Goals – 1.62 Sky Bet
First Goalscorer: Michael Essien – 19.00 Blue Square
Correct Score: 1-1 Draw – 6.5 Will Hill

By Chris Wilkerson

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Champions League Group Betting Preview

Betting on the Champions league group stage and individual group winners can prove very profitable. Online bookmakers often find that the majority of favourites win their groups, and special bets such as all 4 English teams to win their respective groupsa re often popular and successful for punters. We provide a free betting preview of each Champions League group.

Champions League Group B betting

Man Utd are massive odds on favourites for this one in what is a relatively easy group. They look almost guaranteed to pick up 9 points from their three home games, although have some potentially tricky away ties at the likes of CSKA Moscow and Besiktas. The other side in this group are German outfit Wolfsburg, who at odds of 5/1 offer no value for a potential upset. We don’t recommend betting on this group. Bet now with Bet 365 to get £200 in free bets

Champions League Group D betting

Chelsea are ½ favourites to win what looks like a potentially tricky group. We fancy Chelsea to do well in this seasons Champions League, but with Athletico Madrid and Porto both in this group, it could be tricky for Chelsea. Porto have proved time after time they are a quality side, and at odds of 7/1 represent value to win this group. Group D is made up with Cypriot side APOEL Nicosia, and they look set to be the whipping boys. Bet now with Bet 365 to get £200 in free bets

Champions League Group E betting

Liverpool are the bookies favourites for this group at 8/11, but with Lyon and Fiorentina also in this group they will definitely be challenged closely. Lyon are not the side they once were, but will still challenge even the best Champions League sides at home. Fiorentina aren’t one of the top Italian sides but are still in with a good shout of qualifying. Whipping boys in this group look like 100/1 outsiders Debreceni. Bet now with Bet 365 to get £200 in free bets

Champions League Group H betting

Arsenal are massive odds on favourites with the online betting firms to win this group. Whilst there are no other European big names in Group H, AZ, Olympiacos and Standard Liege are all good footballing sides. We suggest this group will be a lot closer than the bookmakers have priced it up. Bet now with Bet 365 to get £200 in free bets

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Champions League Final Betting Preview

The Champions League final between Man Utd and Barcelona has all the making of a great game, and with two such evenly matched sides it also represents a great betting opportunity. Champions League Special – Bet £10 get £20 free with Paddy Power

Man Utd vs Barcelona Match Odds – Best odds

Man Utd 7/4 Coral – New customers get a £10 free bet
Draw – 23/10 Bet 365 – New customers get a £100 free bet
Barcelona – 7/4 Blue Square – New customers get a £25 free bet

Not even the bookmakers can decide between the two teams for this game, but our preference goes for Manchester United. Barcelona were lucky to progress against Chelsea, only having one shot on target in the second leg, and over the two legs were kept at bay by Chelsea’s quality defenders. Man Utd’s defensive record, conceding just 3 goals in their last 6 Champions League games. With Man Utd so strong in attack, and Barcelona not having an amazing defensive record we feel they are good enough to win this within 90 minutes.

Man Utd vs Barcelona First Goalscorer betting

Cristiano Ronalo – Best odds 13/2 with Sky Bet – New customers get a £10 free bet
Samuel Etoo – Best odds 7/1 Totesport – New customers get a £25 free bet
Lionel Messi – Best odds 7/1 Betfred – New customers get a £25 free bet
Wayne Rooney – Best odds 15/2 Paddy Power – New customers get a £25 free bet
Dimitar Berbatov – Best odds 8/1 Blue Square – New customers get a £25 free bet

Champions League Final Special betting markets

To add extra interest to the match, why not have a bet on one of these special markets, many of which represent good value as well as entertainment:

Betfred have a Man of the match Market with some notable good prices: Messi or Ronaldo 9/2, Wayne Rooney 6/1, and Paul Scholes 12/1 to name but a few. Click here for a free £25 bet on this market.

Betfred are also offering 10/1 on either Man Utd or Barcelona to win on penalities. Betfred are a great online bookmaker for offering special markets, and have loads more available for the Champions League Final. Find out more here.

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Champions League betting – Bayern Munich vs Inter Milan

Bayern Munich vs Inter Milan betting preview, odds and tips

Bayern Munich

Bayern Munich sit 5th in the Bundesliga, so domestically things aren’t looking great, they trail league leaders Borrusia Dortmund by 16 points. Saturday’s result over Hamburger SV will have filled the German’s with confidence. The 6-0 winning margin showing their dominance over the game, Dutch winger Arjen Robben managed a hat-trick with Frank Ribery and Thomas Muller pitching in. The hat-trick brought Robben’s tally of goals up to 9 at this point of the season, so with him being in good form he could be good value to open the scoring at 7.0 on Coral.

By far Bayern’s most in form goalscorer at the moment is Mario Gomez, who has pitched up an impressive 18 goals this season in the league alone, leading the Bundesliga scoring charts. So a bet on him scoring any time in the fixture with odds of 2.38 on SkyBet. The Champions League finalists last year have looked strong in most European fixtures this time around and already have an away goal advantage from the first leg so may have the chance to play defensively, however with the players at his disposal, Louis Van Gaal will surely go out to win it on home soil and avenge last year’s final loss.

Inter Milan

Inter have seen an upturn in from since Rafael Benitez parted company and current coach Leonardo was hired, this in no small part down to the fantastic performances of 3 time African player of the year Samuel Eto’o who has banged in 30 goals in all competitions this season. So a bet on him scoring the last goal of the game with odds of 7.5 on BetFred could be a good investment on this fixture.

Inter’s domestic record has improved, meaning that they are now only 3 points behind league leaders AC Milan in Serie A. Their last 3 games though have been tight affairs though and this could be a trend that carries on into this Tuesday. It looks like Bayern will go into this with more confidence though and this could be enough to edge it in what will definitely be another tight affair, so a bet on a Bayern 3-2 win could be good value at 29.0 on SkyBet

Highlighted Bets:

First Goalscorer Arjen Robben 7.0 Coral
Anytime Goalscorer Mario Gomez 2.38 SkyBet
Last Goalscorer Samuel Eto’o 7.5 BetFred
Correct Score Bayern Munich 3-2 29.0 SkyBet

By John Fernandez

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