Football Champions League 13th Feb

The tie of the round gets underway Wednesday night as Real Madrid take on Man United while dark horses Shakhtar Donetsk and Borussia Dortmund do battle, here is our guide to the best of the bets.

Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho are two very different characters yet both men share a common love of football and wine. Both men are thought to be quite close off the pitch and it is the Portuguese coach that Ferguson is said to have recommended to the Old Trafford board as his eventual replacement. In terms of battles between the two it is Jose who leads the way with Ferguson only registering two wins from 14 competitive encounters with Mourinho lead sides. Man United have never won away against Madrid drawing two and losing the other two and winning on just two of 13 previous visits to Spain in the Champions League. Real can be backed for first leg victory at 4/6 (paddy Power/ladbrokes). Ferguson will take hope though from the respective performances in the domestic leagues this season. Madrid are third in Spain, some 16 points behind Barcelona, while United are 12 points clear at the top in England. Off-field issues are unsettling Madrid with Mourinho expected to leave this summer. The Red Devils then could be value to get something from the game. It is 7/2 (bet365) the draw while an away victory is 68/15 (pinnacle).

One bet I like the look of is Cristiano Ronaldo to score NO goals over both legs at 2/1 with ladbrokes. Is Ronaldo in the top two players in the world? Yes. I just feel Alex Ferguson will have a game plan to deal with him, likely double teaming him with Rafael and Phil Jones. If United do go with Phil Jones I suspect they will use a five man midfield and this will not be the feast of goals that people are expecting. Bookmakers have over 2.5 goals a best priced 19/29 (pinnacle) which is a terrible looking bet.

Those looking for a goalscorer bet on the game will see the market headed by Cristiano Ronaldo who is 7/2 (general) to open the scoring, Karim Benzema is an 11/2 (general) chance, while Gonzalo Higuain is a 6/1 (BetVictor/ladbrokes) shot. Robin Van Persie looks value at 7/1 (general) and 9/4 (Stan James). Domestically the Dutchman has been on fire all season and in Europe he has grabbed three goals in his two away games (he did not travel to galatasaray) in the Champions League this season. Real have problems at the back and a player of the class of Van Persie should never be 9/4.

In all this excitement you could be in danger of forgetting the other game that evening which could also be a real treat between two footballing sides in Borussia Dortmund and Shakhtar Donestsk. It is difficult to know what to make of this game as Donetsk have not played for a while as their domestic season is on a winter break meaning they will either be incredibly fresh or incredibly rusty. Bookmakers are struggling to split the pair with Donetsk marginal favourites as they are at home and they can be backed at 8/5 (bet365/boylesports/Coral), the Germans are 15/8 (Totesport/betfred/BetVictor) and the draw is 53/21 (Pinnacle).

The bet in this game might be in the scorer markets where Marco Reus is 7/1 (general) to open the scoring and 9/4 (Stan James/ladbrokes) to score anytime. He has netted in each of the three Dortmund Champions League away games this season and looks value to do so again here.

BEST OF THE BETS

GOLD: Robin Van Persie to score anytime v Real Madrid, 9/4 (Stan James)
SILVER: Marco Reus to score anytime v Shakhtar Donetsk, 9/4 (Stan James/ladbrokes)
BRONZE: Cristiano Ronaldo to score ZERO goals over both legs, 2/1 (ladbrokes)

Go To bet365

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13/02/2013     © Frixo 2024