Champions League Preview

The Champions League returns this Tuesday evening for gameweek two. We will have a full preview of both the Tuesday and Wednesday action before that though here is a quick look at how the outright markets are shaping up.

Spanish duo Barcelona and Real Madrid are top of the market for the Champions League with the Catalan side the 13/5 (paddy Power) favourites. Barcelona don’t seem to have missed a beat after Tito Vilanova took over from Pep Guardiola in the summer. The return of David Villa has been one of the key differences between Barcelona this season and Barcelona last season. The addition of Jordi Alba and Alex Song has also brought a bit of depth to the squad. I would expect the Catalans to go far in this competition as they are probably one of the two best teams. However, the knockout nature of the tournament means I would not be rushing to get involved at this price as the best side does not always win the Champions League. Real seem to have turned the corner since victory over Man City and I would fully expect them to be among the players in the later stages of the Champions League. Madrid are 4/1 (BetVictor/ladbrokes/pinnacle) though they still have tough group games to come so I would also swerve this one. Man Utd are available at 51/5 (pinnacle) thanks to what looks a straight forward qualifying campaign. Bayern are next at 11/1 (BetVictor) which looks much better value than United. The Germans have been impressive in their domestic campaign so far with six wins from six league games. They have grabbed 19 goals and conceded just two. Also in Europe they opened with a 2-1 victory over Valencia. This looks a big price on the finalist of last year.

Others expected to go well in the tournament are Man City at 12/1 (general), Juventus and Chelsea at 16/1 (general), Arsenal are 20/1 (BetVictor/BlueSq/888sport) as too are PSG (BetVictor/188Bet/william hill).

Lionel Messi has already got two goals in the Champions League and the scoring machine is 11/8 (Blue Sq/paddy Power/888 Sport) to finish top scorer. He is expected to be rivaled once again by Cristiano Ronaldo (9/2-bet365/Coral). The best value though is with Zlatan Ibrahimovic at 16/1 (general). The PSG forward has already got one one goal in the campaign this season and looks capable of adding to this. The Swede is in fine form in the domestic campaign with seven goals from six games and is backed by a creative midfield featuring Pastero, Menez and Gameiro. Others expected to be among the goals are Robin Van Persie (20/1-BetVictor), Fernando Torres (20/1-general), Karim Benzema (20/1-general), Mario Mandzukic (25/1-general), David Villa (25/1-general), Mario Gomez (25/1-general) and Sergio Aguero (25/1-general).

Over in the Europa League Atletico Madrid are the 9/1 (paddy Power/ladbrokes/188 Bet) favourites to lift the trophy once more in a tournament they seem to dominate. The Spaniards are sure to go close once again. English pair Tottenham and Liverpool will also have their supporters at 16/1. Both teams are picking up their games after slow domestic starts and it is likely that first season managers Andre Villas Boas and Brendan Rodgers will welcome a trophy. Fellow English side Newcastle are available at 28/1 (general) though Alan Pardew has not seemed keen on the tournament so far and seems to judge it as more of a distraction than a welcome addition. Other sides expected to be in the mix are Anzhi Makhachkala (18/1-boylesports), Inter 20/1 (BetVictor), Napoli (20/1-BWin) and Lyon 30/1 (BWin).

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04/10/2012     © Frixo 2024