the champions league group phase is coming to the boil nicely and with just two games left to go teams now know exactly what they need to do in order to qualify for the knockout stage of the competition. in a relatively low key round of matches, the highlight comes from italy, where the clash between juventus and man city will probably decide who tops group d. we’ll be taking a look at that and some of the other fascinating matches too and offering up our champions league betting tips, predictions, odds and analysis.
juventus v manchester city
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betting oddsas said, this is the biggest tie of the round, both in terms of glamour, class and the importance of the clash in the context of the group. man city are the only english side certain to make the next round and a win here would mean they topped the group. as arsenal have found in recent years, finishing second in the group can lead to a punishing draw in the last 16, and with real madrid, barcelona and bayern munich almost certain to top their respective groups, both of these two sides will be desperate to do likewise.
juventus are strong favourites on wednesday evening, priced at 6/5 with william hill, whilst manuel pellegrini’s men are out at 27/10 and the draw is available at 12/5 with sportingbet. a draw would do city very nicely as it would maintain their one point advantage ahead of their final game, at home against whipping boys borussia mönchengladbach.
of course, juve won the first match between the pair 2-1 at the etihad, so will really fancy their chances on home soil, despite their appalling form in serie a. the old lady, looking to record a fifth straight serie a title are currently placed seventh but they are improving and have lost just once in nine in all competitions. their record at the juventus stadium, for so long a major strength, is poor though and despite the fact they are yet to play any of the top seven on home soil they have already dropped seven points in six games in front of their own fans, as well as being held to a 0-0 draw there by mönchengladbach.
this is undoubtedly a tough match to call but on balance we feel the draw looks a decent shout. juventus play milan prior to this one and whilst man city have a tough game against liverpool too, we feel their squad depth will help them to a valuable point here, especially if sergio aguero and/or david silva are fit to return.
barcelona v roma
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betting oddsthere is a glamour tie in group e too and whilst this one also features the top two, it would take a near-miracle for the italians to usurp barca and win the group. the catalan maestros are unbeaten in the competition and have a five point advantage over roma and whilst the italians are currently second, they could yet finish bottom of the group and are far from sure of qualification.
lionel messi is close to a return for barca but whether he plays or not we can only predict a home win in this champions league showdown. the bookies agree, with william hill pricing neymar and co at betting odds of just 2/5, compared to odds of 8/1 that coral will give you on an away win. the draw, which roma would surely take, is out at a chunky 46/10 with sportingbet but given barcelona’s record at the nou camp we can only see one winner here.
in rome the sides played out a 1-1 draw but roma are significantly stronger at home and on the road their porous defence looks a major achilles heel. with neymar, luis suarez and probably messi likely to be that defence’s opposition on tuesday night, we fancy a big home win here.
roma conceded four at leverkusen and three at bate and given barcelona have scored 18 times in six home liga clashes and five in their two champions league games at the nou camp, backing barcelona -1.75 on the asian handicap looks great value at odds of 4/3 with betvictor.
maccabi tel aviv v chelsea
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betting oddschelsea are enduring an unfathomably horrendous season and whilst many neutrals might be indulging in a spot of schadenfreude, for blues fans this season is already one to forget. indeed, cesc fabregas reportedly said the campaign was “f**cked" and it’s hard to disagree with that concise opinion.
the blues are just about hanging in there when it comes to the champions league and whilst the premier league title is gone – indeed finishing in the top four looks a huge struggle – chelsea will still hope to save this season with a strong performance in europe. they know from their successful champions league campaign of 2011-12 that the trophy isn’t handed out until may and equally that there are no marks for playing well and so they will feel if they can battle their way through group g, anything remains possible.
as things stand they are three points behind porto and we have already emphasised the importance of topping the group. that may be too much to ask but a win here would probably be enough to see them qualify and would certainly keep them in the hunt ahead of their final game at home to porto.
given their israeli opponents are one of the weakest in the champions league and remain pointless after their four games, the visitors will certainly fancy their chances. the bookies do, that’s for sure, with best betting odds of just 4/9 on chelsea whilst maccabi are out at odds of 8/1 with sportingbet. the draw can be backed at 7/2 but our betting tip here is a narrow chelsea win by exactly one goal, available at big odds of 5/2 with sky bet.
arsenal v dinamo zagreb
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betting oddsif chelsea are struggling to make the last 16 of this year’s champions league then arsenal are in serious trouble. the gunners are bottom of group f and need two wins, favours from elsewhere and for their win over olympiakos to be by two goals or more in order to prolong their champions league participation. that’s a big ask but they should manage the first part of the bargain with a revenge win over zagreb here.
the reverse fixture saw arsenal surprisingly beaten in croatia but we predict they will record a comfortable win at the emirates on tuesday. the bookies agree, with the best betting odds on a home win just 1/5 (with sky bet), compared to 7/1 for the draw and a massive 16/1 for the away side.
,p>arsenal are in solid form and are second in the premier league and much of their success has been down to their excellent defensive record on home soil. as such our betting tip here is for arsenal to win to nil, available at nice odds of 11/10 with sky bet. given they managed that feat against bayern we think those odds are huge against a zagreb side that has scored just three goals in their four champions league games to date.
manchester united v psv
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betting oddsthe fourth english side in champions league action are man united and they currently top group b but with just three points separating them from bottom side cska moscow nothing is yet decided among this foursome. psv are second, level with wolfsburg one point behind the red devils and having secured a 2-1 in the netherlands against louis van gaal’s men they won’t be afraid of a trip to old trafford.
that said, psv have lost both of their previous away games, whilst united have won both of their home games, so many a champions league punter will no doubt be backing the home side here. the bookies make lvg’s men big favourites, with the best odds on united just 4/9 with william hill. the draw is available at best betting odds of 18/5 with betvictor whilst the dutch outfit are available at 7/1 but we are predicting a comfortable home win.
united’s record at old trafford means 4/9 is actually decent value but we think it’s worth taking a punt on united to win by a single goal. their defensive record on home soil is strong so 1-0 is a distinct possibility but play it safe and snap up odds of 11/4 (at sky bet) that wayne rooney and co win by exactly one goal. a win would be enough to secure their place in the last 16 and whilst we’re confident they’ll get it, rarely have they blown sides away this term so a narrow win looks the way to go at nice odds.