Lyon the value selection in Champions League first legs

The Celtic players must have worked their way through a few boxsets in the last few days as they first travelled from Glasgow to Aberdeen for an SPL match on Saturday and then they made the long journey overnight to Kazakhstan where they will play a Champions League play-off on Tuesday afternoon (4:00pm).

The draw has been kind to Celtic as their opponents Shakhter Karagandy are one of if not the weakest team left in the competition. Bookmakers make the Glasgow side 6/5 (boylesports/ladbrokes) for the game as they have far greater Champions League experience than their opponents. Celtic though have won one of their last five away from home in this competition and throw in the fact they have to contend with an artificial pitch as well as the after effects of the journey and the price on them winning is not inviting.

Karagandy booked their place with a shock of BATE in the last round a side that have made the Champions League group stages in five of the last six seasons. The Kazakhstan side sit third in their league this season after 23 games winning nine of their 11 home games. The home victory is available at 13/5 (BETVICTOR/paddy Power/STAN JAMES).

Another way to play the game might be in the goalscorer market where Anthony Stoke is 23/10 (BETVICTOR) while Amido Balde and Kris Commons are 27/10 (BETVICTOR). Those looking for a scorer for Karagandy might be interested in Sergei Khizhnichenko who is 11/4 (SKYBET/paddy Power) and has grabbed five goals in his last seven games for club and country and three in four in Champions League qualifiers.

The best bet of the evening might be on the NO in the both teams to score market at 10/11 (boylesports/paddy power/william hill) as this would have paid in five of the last six Celtic competitive matches and in four of the six Champions League matches that Karagandy have played.

As the Celtic game starts in the afternoon and with Arsenal not playing until Wednesday then football fans can watch one of the other tasty games being played that evening.

The one I will be watching is the game between Lyon and Real Sociedad where I think the French side look good value at 5/4 (GENERAL) for victory. Lyon have started the season in fine style hitting seven goals and conceding just once in two victories. Their european home form is excellent also with Bayern Munich and Real Madrid the only sides since 2008 to have beat them at home in either the Champions League or the Europa League. Sociedad have not been in the Champions League since 2004 where they went out in the last 16 to Lyon.

Another cracking tie is the one between PSV and Milan with bookmakers struggling to split the pair. The Dutch side have lost a few key players this summer in Dries Mertens and Kevin Strootman though have shown no ill effects so far this winning three of their four games to nil and are 9/5 (BOYLESPORTS) for victory while the Italians have yet to start their league campaign though ended the last in good form and are 17/10 (BETVICTOR) for victory while the draw in 23/10 (GENERAL). The bet is in the anytime market where the in-form Zakaria Bakkali is over priced as the 17-year-old has already grabbed four in his last two games and can be backed at 3/1 (SKYBET).

BEST OF THE BETS

GOLD: Lyon to beat Real Sociedad 5/4 (GENERAL)
SILVER: Zakaria Bakkali to score anytime v Milan, 3/1 (SKYBET)
BRONZE: NO in both teams to score, Shakhter Karagandy v Celtic, 10/11 (BOYLESPORTS/paddy power/william hill)

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20/08/2013     © Frixo 2026