Champions League Group C betting preview

Group C drew seven times champions AC Milan, with Anderlecht, Malaga and Zenit St Petersburg.  The odds of the tournament winner coming from Group C are at 18-1 from BetVictor and Bwin, suggesting that none of the teams appear to be realistic challengers for the trophy. Check out all the free bets available for this Group.

Arguably, the team who seems to have the best chance to become European Champions in Group C is AC Milan, with odds of 20-1 from Coral. However, it has been a difficult summer for the ‘Rossoneri’, losing star players Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva to Paris St Germain in part of the great summer exodus that included veterans Clarence Seedorf, Flippo Inzaghi and Alessandro Nesta. Nevertheless, new signing Giampaolo Pazzini demonstrated how important he could be for Milan with a hat-trick in his full debut against Bologna. While Milan’s squad may not be as strong as in recent years, the experience they have in the competition will help them adjust to playing teams from other countries and with the best odds of 15/13 with Betfair, they are unsurprisingly clear favourites to win Group C.

The second team drawn into Group C were Russian champions, Zenit St Petersburg. The recent transfer window shows they are now able to attract some of the hottest properties in Europe. High profile signatures include the powerful striker Hulk from Porto (at 50/1 from 188Bet to be the tournament’s top goalscorer) and young Belgian midfielder, Axel Witsel from Benfica. With these big money signings it is hardly a shock to see Zenit as Group C’s second favourites to qualify, with odds of 9/4 from BetVictor to finish runners-up behind Milan. Although what may seem more enticing, considering the uncertainty of the strength of AC Milan’s squad, are odds of 5/2 from Youwin for Zenit to enter the last sixteen as Group C winners.

The third team to enter Group C, Anderlecht, are favourites not to qualify, with odds of 1/7 from BetVictor, but is it fair to write off the Belgian champions so easily? Anderlecht eased through the Champion’s League third qualifying round, demolishing FK Ekranas 11-0 on aggregate, before coming through a tough tie with AEL Limassol 3-2 overall. Star of both rounds, and Anderlecht’s man to watch, was Dieumerci Mbokani, scoring four goals in three games. If the Congolese international is on form, they may be worth the odds of 5/1 from BlueSQ, becoming a surprise entry to the knockout stages.

In beating Panathinaikos, Spanish side Malaga entered the Champions League group stages for the first time. The Spanish side, owned by billionaire Sheikh Abdullah Al-Thani, has made an unbeaten start to the new season, in the highly competitive La Liga. Furthermore, with accomplished summer signings, such as Javier Saviola, Malaga will be confident they can qualify (with best odds of 5/4 from Paddy Power), perhaps even as group winners (with odds of 5/1 from Youwin).

Check out our full range of Champions League betting previews here. If you fancy a free bet for any Champions League match, visit Betfred who are offering new customers a free £50 bet on any event!

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