Arsenal Vs. Montpellier betting preview

The big talking point before this game is whether Arsène Wenger will include Olivier Giroud in his starting line-up.  The French striker was a major force for Montpellier before transferring to Arsenal during the summer transfer window, leading Ligue 1’s goal scoring charts with 21 goals.  So far he has been unable to find the net in an Arsenal shirt, but Tuesday would be as good a time as any. Choose a free bet for this match here.

Arsenal: Last 5 games (in all competitions) – W,D,D,W,W.

Arsenal go into this game on a high after proving their goal-scoring prowess against Southampton in a 6-1 victory.  They’ve found the net seven times in their first four games and only conceded one, however this does include two goalless draws.  Arsenal will be looking to improve on their performance in the previous Champions League where AC Milan knocked them out in a thrilling 4-3 aggregate score within which neither side scored an away goal.  Arsenal have started to prove they can cope in the Premier League without Robin Van Persie, however European football is a different matter entirely and they will have to prove their ability to hit the net early on to avoid any questions being raised.

Montpellier HSC: Last 5 games (in all competitions) – D, L, L, W, L.

Montpellier were the surprise package of Ligue 1 last season as they won it to everyone’s surprise.  They head into this group as least favourites to progress and their league form so far has done nothing to offer the fans any support, Montpellier have only gained four out of a possible twelve points and sit just outside the relegation zone. René Girard, the Montpellier manager, remained positive after the Champions League draw, claiming that it could have been worse and his side do have the ability to progress, however he faces stiff from Arsenal in his first game.

Betting tips

Draw – 23/10 Bet Victor

Correct Score – Arsenal 1-0, 6/1 Ladbrokes.

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PSG vs. Dynamo Kiev betting preview

This season’s Champions League kicks off on Wednesday 18^th September when the first batch of group games gets underway. Here, we preview the Group A clash between the summer’s big spenders Paris Saint-Germain and Ukranian side Dynamo Kiev.

Paris Saint-Germain – Best odds: 1.75 with Bet Victor

Football’s biggest spending club of the summer will be looking to have an instant impact on the Champions League as they prepare for their first appearance in the competition since 2005. Choose a free bet for this match here.

Carlo Ancelotti’s men are clear favourites for the win as they host Dynamo Kiev on Wednesday. With a team full of Champions League experience, including the stellar signings of Zlatan Ibrahimovic – with 28 career Champions League goals to his name – Thiago Silva and Ezequiel Lavezzi, they could prove a dangerous team in this year’s competition.

After a stuttering start to their league campaign which consisted of three draws, two of them being 0-0, they have since won two in a row and their new look team has showed signs of gelling.

PSG are unbeaten in their last 19 games at home in European competition, qualifiers included. Their last defeat dates back to November 2006 in the group stages of the then UEFA Cup. PSG have also notably won their two Champions League encounters with Dynamo Kiev, back in the group stages of the 1994/95 campaign.

They are best priced at 4/6 with Coral to take the three points, and star striker Ibrahimovic may be worth a punt at first goalscorer at 7/2 – or 11/10 anytime goalscorer – again with Coral.

Dynamo Kiev [Best priced odds: 5.5 with Sky Bet

Ukranian runners-up from last season Dynamo Kiev had to overcome Feyenoord and Borussia Monchengladbach to reach this season’s group stages, and they have arguably the toughest start to their campaign as they face a trip away to group favourites Paris Saint-Germain.

Dynamo Kiev are an experienced Champions League side, taking part in their 14^th campaign and their first since 2010. However, they have failed to make it past the group stages in their last 10 participations and have won only two of their last 28 away Champions League games.

The transfer window saw the arrivals of Taye Taiwo, Niko Kranjcar and Miguel Veloso as the team looks to fill the gap left by the retirement of striker Andriy Shevchenko.

Kiev have also started their league campaign in good form, picking up 7 wins out of their opening 9 games and currently sit in 2^nd place behind rivals Shaktar Donetsk, and they will be looking to bring this kind of resilient form into their Champions League campaign.

They can be found at a best price of 5/1 with Paddy Power to cause an upset, although history suggests a draw is a more likely ask for Yuri Syomin’s men. A 0-0 draw can be backed at 10/1 with Ladbrokes.

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!

By: Phil Hammond

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Champions League Group G betting preview

On 19 September the first of Group G’s matches in the Champions League will kick off. The group which contains Celtic, Spartak Moscow, Benfica and Barcelona, is sure to prove one of the most tightly fought of this years Champions League competition. Check out all the free bets available for this Group.

Benfica who qualified after finishing 2^nd in the Portugese Primeira Liga, will be looking to repeat the successes of last year’s Champions League campaign, when they advanced to a quarter final tie against eventual winners Chelsea. Whilst the squad’s names may not initially jump off the page, Benfica have undoubted quality. Pablo Aimar and Maxi Pereira both have over 50 appearances for Argentina and Uruguay respectively. Meanwhile Oscar Cardozo has led the club’s goal scoring charts in recent campaigns and last year finished with 20 goals from 29 league appearances, he was also a key contributor to Benfica’s 2009/10 European campaign when he provided a respectable 10 goals from only 13 appearances. At the back Benfica are equally solid where stalwart towering defender and captain Luisao, who holds 43 international caps for Brazil, has proved a rock at the heart of the Benfican defence for the past decade.

From the other side of the Iberian peninsular Barcelona will be hoping that new manager Tito Villanova can step up and match the reputation of departing manager Pepe Guardiola. Villanova, previously Guardiola’s number two, will be aiming to emulate his former boss’s impressive record in the competition which saw Barcelona crowned Champions of Europe in both 2008/09 and 2010/11. Barca’s pantheon of stars will no doubt shine at this years competition, so vast are their resources and so skilled are their entire squad that even a heavy injury crisis would not threaten to impact their success at this stage. The quality of the Barcelona roster is so overwhelming that even former Arsenal talisman Cesc Fabregas has struggled to secure a starting spot in the first team.

Scottish giants Celtic will be relishing their return to the Champions league group stage after three years of failing to qualify. The prize and television money will no doubt be a welcome contribution to the coffers of ‘the Bhoys’, whose most recent figures exposed a £7million debt. Monetary troubles had partly forced the £6million sale of Ki Sung Yeung to Swansea City and Celtic will have to work hard to make up for the loss of such a promising player. Celtic certainly don’t have the same level of resources to match the undoubted favourites of the group Barcelona, and it would be reasonable to assume they might struggle under the expectation that they perform well at this stage of the competition.

Whilst it may seem that Celtic may have a difficult task on their hand this isnothing compared to the undoubted minnows of the group Spartak Moscow. The Russian outfit finished 2^nd in last year’s Russian Premier League but have struggled to find form this season. In their last seven games they’ve only come away with wins from two, suffering four away losses. Their success will depend largely on the talents of prolific Brazillian striker Welliton, who has an impressive record of 57 goals in 102 appearances for Spartak. With other notable players such as former Everton winger Diniyar Bilyaletdinov and former Celtic midfielder Aiden McGeady, Spartak are certainly not to be underestimated. However with the undoubted worldclass quality of the group’s opposition Spartak will certainly have to work hard to make any successful push for progression to the next stage.

Clearly Barcelona are favourites to top the group. With so much skill at their disposal it would be a tragedy for them to fail to top the group, let alone fail to qualify. The interesting fight will be that for the second qualification place for the next stage. Celtic might once have been staunch favourites to run away with it, but the reputation of the Scottish club with a European pedigree is beginning to look unstable. Benfica have a very talented squad so they might well prove an understated power in the group, one would expect them to stake a bold claim for a qualification spot. Meanwhile Spartak will have an enormous challenge in this group of giants. However Western European clubs always seem to struggle when playing teams in the ‘east’ such as the Greek or Russian clubs in the competition, so maybe Spartak will be able to work this pressure in their home fixtures to their advantage.

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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Champions League Group F betting preview

BATE Borisov     – Odds to progress: 9.50 – Tournament Winner: 950.00

Belarusian side BATE Borisov qualified by beating Champions League debutants Kiryat Shmona, and must surely expect to face a greater challenge in their group. They have never surpassed this stage of the competition, only reaching it on two other occasions (08/09 and 11/12). They have re-signed Alexander Hleb over the summer who began his
career at the club. He has plenty of experience at this level having played for some of Europe’s top teams in Arsenal, Barcelona and Stuttgart. Check out all the free bets available for this Group.

FC Bayern Munich – Odds to progress: 1.10 – Tournament Winner: 15.00 

The four time winners, most recently in 2001, will have been disappointed to have lost in the final last May – especially seems as it was being hosted at their home ground. Over the
summer they have invested in potential, signing the highly sought after Javi Martinez for what is rumoured to be about ?32 million, and the winger Xherdan Shaqiri. They also brought in Mario Mandžukic who scored 20 goals for Wolfsburg last year and received praise for his performances at the European Championships over the summer. All of this will be supplemented by the talent already at the club, including Arjen Robben, Franck Ribery and Mario Gomez; the latter scored 8 Champions League goals last year.

Lille OSC – Odds to progress: 3.00 – Tournament Winner: 466.00

Lille had to come from behind to beat Copenhagen 2-1 in extra time to qualify for the group stages. They lost Eden Hazard to Chelsea over the summer but managed to keep hold of Mathieu Debuchy despite both strong interest from Newcastle United and the
player wanting to move. They also signed Salomon Kalou after he was released by
Chelsea, who has already got off the mark by scoring against AS Nancy in his
second competitive appearance.

Valencia – Odds to progress: 1.50 – Tournament Winner: 81.00

Although Valencia were knocked out in the group stages last year, they still showed that they had some pedigree competing in Europe by reaching the semi-finals of the Europa League where they lost to eventual winners Atletico Madrid. They signed Fernando Gago over the summer who had struggled to get many games at Real Madrid since Mourinho took charge. He still has league winning experience to add to the side though and at 26 years of age, should just be hitting his peak. They also have a proven goal scorer in Roberto Soldado, who has hit the back of the net 55 times in 98 appearances.

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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Champions League Group E betting preview

The group stages of the Champions League have nearly arrived and Chelsea will be delighted they are in a group that doesn’t offer them much of a threat to qualify. Chelsea go into this competition as former champions league winners and will intend to retain their title. To get through this group they will be competing against last years Danish champions FC Nordsjaelland, who are in the Champions League for the first time in their history. Italian giants, Juventus who will firmly intend to qualify into the last 16 and will definitely pose the main threat to Chelsea’s chance of finishing top of the group. The fourth club to grace group E is Shakhtar Donetsk, who go into this group as unbeaten leaders in the Ukrainian Premier League and will intend to cause an upset against the English and Italian giants. Check out all the free bets available for this Group.

Chelsea

Roberto Di Matteo has transformed a once beleaguered Chelsea team into what are now the premier league front runners and current holders of the Champions League and FA Cup. The Chelsea manager has acquired six players over the summer for a combined total fee of £75 million. Hazard and Oscar are the largest of the six signings and have already proved their worth during the opening of the Premier League season and will be hoping to continue their form into Europe. Chelsea will be expecting to at least qualify through this group with the best price coming from sporting bets at 21/20, with Sky Bet offering 5/4 on Chelsea to win this group.

Juventus

Juventus are back in the Champions League for the first time since 2009 following their embarrassing cheat scandal that has unfortunately been the headline of Italy’s third oldest club over recent years. Juventus are currently unbeaten and top of the league in Serie A, current holders of the Super Cup and have just won the Berlusconi trophy. Juventus are best priced at 13/8 from Coral to win this group and 9/2 to qualify by Bet385, 888sport and Coral. If Juventus can continue their domestic form into Europe they should qualify through group E with no real problems and it will be a welcome return to see one of Europe’s best clubs return to footballs biggest stage.

Shakhtar Donetsk

Shakhtar are managed by Mircea Lucescu, one of the most experienced managers in the world and he will be hoping he can inspire his team to qualify through to the last 16, after a disappointing campaign in 2011. Shakhtar have been blessed with some quality players. One player in particular is Darijo Srna who is the captain of Shakhtar, a Croatian international and voted into the UEFA champions league team of the year 2010-2011. Srna’s quality will be needed if Shakhtar are to qualify and there is no doubt he will need to be at the top of his game. They are currently unbeaten and top of the league in Ukraine, as are Chelsea and Juventus in their respective leagues and there is no doubt they will intend to continue their form into Europe. Nonetheless, the odds are not favouring them to qualify with Boyles Sports offering the best price at 2/1.

FC Nordsjaelland

FC Nordsjaelland, managed by Kasper Hjulman, are the Danish champions and current Danish cup holders. They go into this group as clear outsiders and are best priced by 888sport and Stan James with odds at 20/1 to qualify and 100/1 to win the group with Blue Square. Nordsjaelland will not be expected to win many in this group but to get anything they will be strongly relying on their 23 year old striker Joshua John who is currently on loan from FC Twente and has already scored 6 in 4 games. They do have the benefit that every team will have a very long trip to the outskirts of Copenhagen and the difference of playing at Stamford Bridge and the Juventus stadium compared to the 10,000-seater Farum Park will be vast. The question is can they make this count to their advantage – only time will tell.

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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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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Champions League Group B Betting preview

Group B of this year’s UEFA Champions League should prove to be one of the most open and exciting groups of the competition. It could also turn out to be one of the trickiest for punters; Arsenal, Schalke 04 , Olympiakos and Montpellier were drawn together in Monaco on 30th August and we are likely to see some very tight and interesting encounters between the sides. Check out all the free bets available for this Group.

Arsenal (ENG)

Appearing in Europe’s premier competition for the eleventh time in succession, Arsenal go into Matchday 1 on 18th September as favourites to top the group and are best price to achieve this at 1.75 with BetVictor. Although Arsene Wenger’s men finished third in last season’s Premier League , a massive 19 points behind 2nd placed Manchester United; they have started the new campaign in steady fashion, yet to concede a goal in three games having gained a respectable 5 points along the way. Their 2 – 0 win away at Liverpool last Sunday was achieved through slick, intelligent and assured football although in the two previous matches  Arsenal failed to find the back of the net as they begin to adapt to life without the prolific Robin van Persie. However, if Arsenal’s new signings Olivier Giroud, Lukas Podolski and Santi Cazorla can begin to fire they could well find themselves at the top of Group B come December 4th. 

Schalke 04 (GER)

Schalke are considered second favourites to finish Group B as winners, best priced at 4.0 with bet365, although not usually recognised as one of the bigger teams in the competition Schalke regularly attract some of the highest crowds in Europe to the Veltins-Arena in Gelsenkirchen and this will prove a tough away trip for any side. Much like Arsenal there is always huge pressure on Schalke to succeed, again like Arsenal they also finished 3rd in their domestic league last term, 17 points off eventual Bundesliga champions Borussia Dortmund. Schalke will be confident of their ability to score goals in the competition thanks to keeping hold of their top marksman Klaas-Jan Huntelaar who finished last season as the Bundesliga Golden Boot winner with a impressive haul of 29 goals and have also been able to retain the services of highly rated Greek centre back Kyriakos Papadopoulos.

Olympiakos (GRE)

Olympiakos are once again paired with Arsenal in the group stages, the Greek champions faced the North London side  last season and in 2009/10 . Arsenal know only too well how difficult a trip to the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium can be after their 3 – 1 defeat there last season in a hostile atmosphere, Olympiakos unlike Arsenal have been able to keep their best players since then and with the likes of Ariel Ibagaza and David Fuster being retained  and the recently signed Paulo Machado from Toulouse in midfield added to the squad, Olympiakos should provide a stern test for their Group B opponents, especially at home.  However they are arguably the weakest team in the group and this is reflected with the 15.0 that totesport are offering for them to finish top.

Montpellier (FRA)

Montpellier come into the Champions League after finishing as surprise Ligue 1 champions last season, the first time they have won France’s top division. Having lost joint top Ligue 1 goal scorer Oliver Giroud to Arsenal over the summer, Montpellier are hoping Emanuel Herrera signed from Primera División de Chile side Unión Española can be a adequate replacement for their departed top marksman. Despite this loss, La Paillade still have the nucleus of their title winning side, this can only give them confidence, the excellent Younes Belhanda has recently come back into the side and despite a relatively poor start to the domestic season Montpellier will play without fear in the Champions League after last season’s heroics and could spring a surprise in Group B. Montpellier  are best priced at 7.0 with Coral to finish as group winners.

Champions League Group B betting tips

Arsenal / Montpellier straight forecast pays a enticing 10.0with BetVictor

Schalke not to qualify is also worth a look at 2.38 , again with BetVictor

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!

Champions League Group A betting preview

This season’s Champions League kicks off on Wednesday 18^th September when the first batch of group games gets underway. Here, we preview Group A; which pits Porto, Dinamo Zagreb, Paris Saint-Germain and Dynamo Kiev together. Check out all the free bets available for this Group.

Porto: To win the group: 15/8, to qualify for knock-out stage:  4/9, to not qualify: 

2004 Champions League winners Porto qualified automatically for this season’s group stages after winning the 2011/12 Portuguese Superliga, whilst also holding on to their top seed status.

They will be looking to improve on last year’s Champions league performance in which they failed to make the knock-out stage after finishing 3^rd in Group G.

Manager Vito Pereira is now into his second season in charge after succeeding Andre Villas-Boas in 2011 and has done an exceptional job in carrying on their title winning form.

This summer’s transfer window came with a lot of speculation surrounding Porto’s key players Hulk and Joao Moutinho, but after a summer long saga both players remain contracted to Porto. Brazilian striker Hulk was constantly linked with a big-money switch to Chelsea or to the Russian Premier League, whilst a transfer deadline day swoop from Tottenham for Portugese starlet Moutinho failed to materialise.

Porto have started the defence of their Superliga title in good form, recording two wins out of three, including a comprehensive 4-0 victory over Guimaraes.

They start their group campaign with an away trip to Croatian champions Dinamo Zagreb. [Match betting: Porto: 10/11, Dinamo Zagreb: 11/4, Draw: 12/5] (Source: Oddschecker.com)

Paris Saint-Germain: To win the group: 11/10, to qualify for knock-out stage:  2/9, to not qualify: 7/2

Football’s biggest spending club of the summer will be looking to have an instant impact on the Champions League as they prepare for their first appearance in the competition since 2005.

The club finished runners-up in French Ligue 1 in 2011/12, therefore qualifying automatically for the group stage.

A summer spree of transfers has seen a number of Europe’s top players move to the French capital. These include the stellar signing of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, as well as Brazilian centre back Thiago Silva, Argentine forward Ezequiel Lavezzi and Dutch full-back Gregory Van der Wiel, all of whom pack bags of Champions League experience.

With the experience of ex-Chelsea and AC Milan boss Carlo Ancelotti at the helm – coupled with their new big name signings – Paris Saint-Germain could prove a dangerous team in this year’s competition.

However, they will have to improve upon a stuttering start to their league campaign as the team has failed to deliver the performances many were expecting of them; drawing their first three games this season, whilst currently sitting 8^th in Ligue 1.

Their Champions League experience begins with a home tie to Dynamo Kiev. [Match betting: Paris Saint-Germain: 8/13, Dynamo Kiev: 9/2, Draw: 14/5] (Source: Oddschecker.com)

Dinamo Zagreb: To win the group: 25/1, to qualify for knock-out stage:  6/1, to not qualify: 1/9

Dinamo Zagreb – Croatian champions for the past five seasons – qualified for the group stages of this year’s competition after comfortable aggregate wins in the 2^nd, 3^rd and play-off rounds of qualifying against Ludogorets, Sherrif Tiraspol and Maribor respectively.

Last year saw them crash at out this very stage, finishing bottom of Group D and failing to even make the Europa League.

They have started the defence of their league title in fine form, recording 6 wins out of 7 and currently occupying top spot in the Croatian HNL.

Striker Milan Badelj scored a crucial goal in the first leg play-off round against Maribor, but has since left the club for German side Hamburg, his last contribution effectively sealing qualification for the lucrative group stage of the Champions League.

To reach the last 16 of the completion will be a steep ask, but manager Ante Čačić will be confident his side will provide a stern test for teams, especially at their home stadium of the often intimidating Stadion Maksimir.

A home trip against Portuguese champions Porto is their first game of this season’s competition. 

Dynamo Kiev: To win the group: 7/1, to qualify for knock-out stage:  6/4, to not qualify: 1/2

After finishing runners up in the Ukrainian Premier League last season, Dynamo Kiev overcame the challeneges of first Feyenoord, and then secondly Borussia Monchengladbach; in order to progress to the group stages of the competition.

The victories would have done much to erase the memories of last season’s play-off defeat to Rubin Kazan.

A narrow 4-3 aggregate win in the play-off round against Borussia Monchengladbach came after a second-leg scare, with the German side clawing their way back into the tie with a 2-1 victory, just one goal away from levelling the tie and forcing extra-time.

However, Yuri Syomin side’s victory was rewarded with not only their passage into the group stages, but also second seed status in the group stage draw.

The transfer window saw the arrivals of Taye Taiwo, Niko Kranjcar and Miguel Veloso as the team looks to fill the gap left by the retirement of striker Andriy Shevchenko.

An away trip to big spenders Paris Saint-Germain is the first port of call for the Ukranian team in this season’s Champions League.

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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Everton vs Newcastle betting preview

Everton: Form: LWWWL

Everton’s 2 – 0 defeat at West Brom, another team that’s made a solid start, was a setback to what has been a superb opening to the season; arguably a surprise considering Everton traditionally don’t start getting results till January. Belgian midfielder Maroune Fellaini, converted into a central attacking midfielder under David Moyes, has flourished in the role, scored two goals including the winner against Manchester United at Goodison Park in their opening game. Positively for Everton fans, they seem to have two high quality goalscorers in their squad for the first time in a long time; Nikica Jelavic had a superb opening few months in the Premiership following his arrival from Glasgow Rangers. He is joined by summer siging Kevin Mirallas, who scored an impressive twenty goals in twenty-five games last season for Olympiakos. Despite the loss of promising youngster Jack Rodwell, Moyes has made some decent business this summer and Everton look have one of their strongest squads for a number of years. The Toffee’s return of fifty goals in the Premiership last season wasn’t too bad, but to take them to the next level they need to have consistent goals from their strikers and the arrival of Mirallas paired with Jelavic could be just what is required. Get a free bet for this match here.

Newcastle United – Form: DWLDW

Alan Pardew’s men have made an average start to the Premiership season; a win, a draw and a loss from their opening three games sees them sitting in tenth position, but of course the league standings mean nothing at this stage of the season. Their indifferent opening has prompted Pardew to say that his key players are yet to start performing, this despite Hatem Ben Arfa and Demba Ba already scoring superb goals.

The Geordies have a very solid team and over the years they have made some superb signings, mostly from France – a place they think shows the best value in money for players at the moment. The policy is working superbly with players such as Yohann Cabaye and Ben Arfa being brought in for small fees and consequently turning into a couple of the Premier League’s finest performers. This summer Pardew has added another Frenchman; the relatively unknown Romain Amalfitano, and also Dutch utility man Vernun Anita, who will add cover in defence and midfield.

It will be hard for the Geordies to replicate last season’s heroics with Chelsea added some superb talent to their squad and with Arsenal now possessing a solid defence. However, as long as the Toon can keep their team together there is always a chance they can come to places like Goodison Park and take three points.

Match Prediction: Everton win 1.85 at William Hill

Also: Both teams to score 1.95 at William Hill

This is a very hard game to call with both teams highly capable of putting a few goals past the other. Everton’s home advantage and better start to the season makes them my tip. This could be the first game that Mirallas and Jelavic start up front together (should Moyes choose to play two up front) and this could mean a few goals in store, with Newcastle’s prolific front two Demba Ba and Papiss Cisse both available for selection. Cisse showed last season on numerous occasions that he is very capable of producing a goal from nothing and despite his goalless start to the season, he will have to be marshaled very closely by the home defence.

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Reading vs Spurs betting preview

Spurs visit the Madejski Stadium on Sunday afternoon with
both teams yet to record a win in the Premier League this season. Andre Villas
Boas’ side were booed off the pitch in their last game, a 1-1 draw at home to
Norwich where they conceded in the last ten minutes for the third game in a
row, in a run off torrid form for AVB that stretches back to his ill fated tenure at Chelsea. Reading have only played one fixture since losing to Chelsea on the 22nd
of August, and that was a victory in the Capital One Cup against Peterborough. Get a free bet for this match here.

Reading: Form – LD  –4.2 Bet Victor

Reading’s top goal scorer last year was Adam Le Fondre,
with a rather modest return of 12 goals. His position in the team has been
challenged by the addition of Pavel Pogrebnyak, who had a blistering end to the
season with Fulham last year, scoring 6 goals in 12 games. Brian McDermott
seems to prefer the Russian, having chosen him over Le Fondre in the game
against Chelsea, and he is 9.00 to score first with William Hill. Reading
conceded a miserly 18 goals at home all season last year, and spurs have failed
to score in the first half of any game in the Premier League this season –
Reading are 6.50 with BetVictor to be winning 1-0 at half time. Ian Harte and
Danny Guthrie seem to be sharing the set pieces duties between them, with the
latter having already scored this season. He is 11.00 to do so again anytime
with Blue Square.

Tottenham Hotspurs: Form – DDL  – 2.10 Stan James

Spurs have had a disappointing start to the season for a
side hoping to challenge for a top four place. They haven’t kept a clean shirt
but have managed to score every game. Adebayor has been lacking fitness, and
had to settle for coming off the bench. He is 7.50 with Coral to score last on
Sunday. The additions of Dembele, from under the noses of Manchester United,
and Clint Dempsey are expected to add goals to the side and Gareth Bale got off
the mark for the season, scoring a superb free kick for Wales in midweek. Bale
to score and Spurs to win comes in at 5.50 with Blue Square.

Reading vs Spurs betting tips

Pavel Pogrebnyak First Goal scorer 9.0 – William Hill

Reading winning 1-0 Half Time 6.50 – BetVictor

Danny Guthrie Anytime Goal scorer 11.00 – Blue Square

Emmanuel Adebayor Last Goal scorer 7.50 – Coral

Gareth Bale anytime goal scorer/ Spurs win 5.50 – Blue Square

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