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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