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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Champions League betting – Barcelona vs. Shakhtar Donetsk

Barcelona vs. Shakhtar Donetsk betting preview, odds and tips

Barcelona

Jose Guardiola’s men left the Nou Camp 2 weeks ago with their held high and their pride well entirely restored after they asserted their dominance over Arsenal in the 2nd leg of the round of 16. They showed everyone that day that even without pivotal player Gerard Pique they can still match anyone blow for blow. Barcelona will always be dangerous and with the likes of Xavi, Iniesta, Messi and Villa fit and likely to start they will go into this fixture surely as hot favourites. Domestically Villa has suffered a dip in form lately; he suffered a torrid time in Barca’s fixture against Getafe in which they only managed a narrow 2-1 win due to a Dani Alves screamer and a late strike from Bojan. So he will be looking to re-assert himself in this important fixture so a bet on him scoring a brace in this fixture could be an intelligent one at odds of 4.5 on BetFred.

Lionel Messi on the other hand had a stormer of a game and provided the assist for both goals in this fixture, after dazzling the Getafe backline with his trademark trickery. Messi still leads the La Liga scoring charts and after his performance at the weekend and against Arsenal in the round of 16 he is definitely one to watch. So a bet on him to score at any time looks like it could definitely end up paying off with odds of 1.67 on Coral. Barcelona may score a lot but this open style of play does leave them open to defensive frailties and they haven’t kept a clean sheet in their last 3 games, so with Shakhtar coming here with nothing to lose why not have a bet on both teams scoring at odds of 2.25 on SkyBet.

Shakhtar Donetsk

Shakhtar are already a clear 12 points ahead of their nearest rivals Dynamo Kiev in their domestic league and look set to run away with it, their 4-0 demolition of Volyn at the weekend being evidence of this. Influential captain Dario Srna picked up the man of the match award and rightly so, providing the assists for three of the four goals netted in the fixture. He will be a massive figure for Donetsk at the Nou Campo and will need to be at his best to get forward as well as stopping the marauding runs of Lionel Messi, he is a good bet to score the last goal of the fixture at odds of 29.0 on SkyBet.

Manchester United target Douglas Costa scored a fine goal at the weekend and with rumours of a move to Manchester rife he will be looking to put in a hell of a shift against ‘The best team in the world’ so a bet on him opening the scoring could be an ambitious one but could in the end pay off at odds of 19.0 on SkyBet.

Highlighted Bets:

To Score a Brace David Villa 4.5 BetFred
Anytime Goalscorer Lionel Messi 1.67 Coral
Both Teams to Score 2.25 SkyBet
Last Goalscorer Dario Srna 29.0 SkyBet
First Goalscorer Douglas Costa 19.0 SkyBet

By John Fernandez

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Champions League betting – Barcelona vs Real Madrid

Barcelona vs Real Madrid betting preview, odds and tips

It’s another EL Clasico on Tuesday when the two Spanish giants clash again in the Semi Final of the Champions League. This is the fourth meeting in 18 days between the two clubs and perhaps the most important with a place in the Champions League final at stake. Barcelona take a 2-0 advantage into the second leg on Tuesday and have not lost at home to Real since 2007.

Barcelona

Barcelona took revenge for their Copa del Rey defeat in the first leg with a controversial away win. It was a rather scrappy game until Leo Messi brought the game to life with two great goals. Barca also recorded a 5-0 home win over Mourinho’s men earlier in the season and so are rightly favourites for this tie and best priced at 1.67 with Bet365 to get the win. Pep Guardiola will be hoping to progress to the final for the second time as Barcelona manager as he looks for a La Liga and European Cup double this season. That man Messi has scored an unbelievable 52 goals this season and is therefore a great bet at 4.5 with Paddy Power to open the scoring on Tuesday night. A strong defence has also been key for the Blaugrana this season as they have only conceded 19 goals in 34 league games.

Real Madrid

Real Madrid lost a bad tempered first leg at home to Barca on Tuesday and followed it up with a 3-2 home defeat to relegation threatened Real Zaragoza on Saturday. Pepe and Mourinho were both shown red last Wednesday and so the defender will be suspended whilst Jose watches from the stands. The defeat could be critical for Madrid as they will have to score 3 times against a solid defence if they are to progress to the final. Real will also have to try and keep their temperament in Barcelona if they are to stand any chance as they have had 4 players sent off against their rivals this season. Cristiano Ronaldo scored the winner in the cup final a few weeks ago and looks the most likely to get on the score sheet for Los Merengues, so odds of 3.0 from coral for the forward to score at any time are looking very good. There are also decent odds of 2.88 available from Bet365 for the away side to score first.

Highlighted Bets

Barcelona WIN – 1.67 Bet365
2-1 home WIN – 9.0 Unibet
Leo Messi to score first – 4.5 Paddy Power
Ronaldo anytime scorer – 3.0 Coral
Madrid to score first – 2.88 Bet365

By Sam Markham

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Champions League betting – Barcelona vs Arsenal

Barcelona vs Arsenal betting preview, odds and tips

Barcelona

Barcelona’s narrow weekend victory over Real Zaragoza at the Nou Camp will have definitely raised spirits for the Catalan giants. They are now 10 points clear of closest rivals Real Madrid in La Liga and will be looking to this game to show that the first leg really was just a fluke. Barca go into this clash as firm favourites to not just win this fixture but to progress and win the competition, they have understandably unfavourable odds of winning at 1.3 on StanJames to win the game.

Pep Guardiola’s side will be missing key man Gerard Pique and will be forced to replace him, meaning that the defensive stability they had in the first leg of the fixture could be lost for this game. Star man Lionel Messi has been on fantastic form this season with 27 goals in all competition and can count himself extremely unlucky that he didn’t walk away with a goal at the Emirates in the 1st leg. The Argentine magician is priced at 1.57 on William Hill to score at any time in the fixture.

Arsenal

Since Arsenal’s miraculous comeback against the Catalonians in the 1st leg Arsenal’s form has been extremely erratic, with draws against Leyton Orient, Sunderland and losses against strugglers Birmingham it’s hard to predict which Arsenal are going to pitch up. Arsene Wenger will be hoping that the Arsenal that played the last 30 minutes when they previously faced Barcelona will be the ones heading to the Nou Camp.

Integral to this will be whether captain fantastic Cesc Fabregas is fit, as well as on form striker Robin Van Persie who caused the Barcelona backline a whole host of problems in the last fixture.  Arsenal will surely be a much more favourable bet if the two players are fit, the odds of Cesc Fabregas opening the scoring are 17.0 on BoyleSports. Arsenal trailed at half time in the last fixture and could be good value to do the same at odds of 51.0 on Bet 365.

Overall it looks like it could be a tight affair and it may come down to extra time, the question will be who can bring on and make the most impact with the fresh legs of substitutes. Barcelona boast Dutch international Ibrahim Affelay on the bench while Arsenal could bring on players like Andrey Asrshavin who is starting to find form again. Whatever happens this is one to watch for sure and is way too close to call.

Highlighter Bets:

Outright Barcelona 1.3 StanJames
Anytime Goalscorer 1.57 William Hill
First Goalscorer Fabregas 17.0 Victor Chandler
Half Time/Full Time Barcelona/Arsenal 51.0 Bet 365

By John Fernandez

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Champions League betting – Arsenal vs Partizan

Arsenal vs Partizan betting preview, odds and tips

Arsenal Champions League Position: 2nd Champions League Form: WWWLL

Arsenal’s last 2 Champions League games have not exactly gone to plan, qualification looked certain after the first 3 fixtures. However big slip ups have prevented automatic qualification before Christmas. Arsene Wenger’s men showed that they were made of sterner stuff this weekend when they beat Fulham 2-1. Samir Nasri has been nothing short of inspirational this season and while Cesc Fabregas’s absence is still felt in the Arsenal camp, Nasri has been able to fill in the boots nicely. Nasri’s 8 goals this season have helped Arsenal to reach the top of the Premier League, so a bet on him to open the scoring at 5/1 at Bet 365 isn’t a bad shout.

Arsenal will again be without first-choice centre back Thomas Vermaelen and goalie Manuel Almunia and therefore will be relying on stand in keeper Lukasz Fabianski, who in all fairness has stood in very well. Arsenal also have Robin Van Persie back to full fitness and Arsene Wenger may be tempted to go with two strikers in the shape of Van Persie and Marouane Chamakh. So going forward Arsenal look strong but it is at the back that they usually suffer, so a bet on both teams to score at 13/8 on Coral looks like a promising one.

Partizan Champions League Position: 4th Champions League Form: LLLLL

Partizan have not had the best luck in the Champions League, managing to score only in one of 5 games in the Champions League. This game however was against Arsenal, again emphasising Arsenal’s defensive frailties. Partizan back home are in good form sitting at the top of the Serbian league table. Their reliance on the goals of Brazilian striker Cleo is a notable weakness though with goals coming from few other areas of the pitch.

Arsenal have a dodgy European record lately but should be expected to pull out the stops for this game, it really is make or break. This week Bacary Sagna said: ‘We don’t want our season to be over in December, we must win.’ So obviously Arsenal’s team will be satisfied with nothing less than a win.

Highlighted Bets:

First Goalscorer 5/1 Bet 365
Both Teams to Score 13/8 Coral
Arsenal Win 1/9 Paddy Power & Stan James

By John Fernandez

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