roma v manchester city betting tips
like liverpool, who play on tuesday, manchester city are undoubtedly struggling to make it through to the next phase of the champions league and they face roma in the italian capital knowing they need a result. city are currently bottom of a very tight group e and we suspect they may fall short. they must better cska’s result at bayern munich, with a score draw in rome enough to send them through if bayern win. there are various permutations but really city will go all out for the win whilst roma may decide they are happy to aim for a 0-0, a ploy not unfamiliar to the italian psyche.
this should be a really cagey game but city have some huge premier league matches to contend with too and getting the balance right will be tricky for them. the home side are priced at odds of 7/4 here, with the citizens preferred by the odds men at 13/8 and the draw the “underdog" at betting odds of 13/5, which seems somewhat surprising given we predict a close clash.
roma drew 1-1 at the etihad but arguably deserved to win that game though their home results could hardly be more different. they were hammered 7-1 by pep guardiola’s bayern before inflicting a similar scoreline on cska moscow, roma winning 5-1. city are yet to win on the road, but a 1-0 defeat in munich in which they played well and a 2-2 draw at cska when they threw away a two goal lead suggest they could get something here, although it will clearly be tough.
as said, we are predicting a close contest here and so our main betting tip is the draw at half time, available at nice odds indeed.
our prediction: draw at half time, 13/10 (2.30) with bet365
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chelsea v sporting lisbon betting tips
chelsea are in an altogether stronger position than manuel pellegrini’s men, with the blues sitting very pretty at the top of group g and they have already ensured they will go through to the next round as seeded group winners. they play hull three days after this one and even though that doesn’t look the most taxing game on paper, jose mourinho is sure to rotate his squad here with nothing on the line for the blues. as a former porto manager he is sure to want to beat sporting lisbon and he will also feel that maintaining momentum is important but even so we expect to see plenty of changes here which makes predicting the result and the score very tricky.
the visitors’ motivation is much clearer however and if they can somehow muster a win they will definitely qualify behind the home side for the next phase, whilst a draw would also prolong their champions league involvement due to their superior head to head record with schalke, currently third in the group. the odds setters price the home side as huge favourites, with the best odds just 8/11 for mourinho’s men to win, with sporting available at 9/2 and the draw priced at odds of 14/5.
sporting are no mugs and given the home side have nothing to play for we think there may be some value in backing the away side to get what they will come for – a crucial point. chelsea aren’t infallible and whilst their second string players will be out to impress, the more hardened and match fit opposition should have enough to claim a huge draw.
our prediction: draw, 14/5 (3.80) with sky bet
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barcelona v psg betting tips
undoubtedly the biggest game of the final round of champions league group games, psg’s trip to barcelona could be a classic. not only is it a huge contest between sides with realistic hopes of winning the champions league, it will also decide which of these teams tops the group, thus securing an easier passage to the final eight of the competition. as things stand, barca have 12 points and psg 13, so whilst both have qualified for the next round, the equation in terms of topping the group is simple: barcelona have to win.
in what should be a thrilling encounter we predict that is exactly what they will do, although zlatan ibrahimovic is always keen to impress against the side at which he never quite made the grade and he is sure to be a big danger to the catalan giants. barcelona are priced at odds of just 4/7 here, with zlatan and co out at 6/1 with betfair and the draw, which would see the parisians win the group, on offer at betting odds of 10/3.
both sides play attacking football though and so our main betting tip and prediction is for barca to win this game and for both teams find the back of the net, a nice way to boost the odds on a home victory.
our prediction: barcelona win and both teams to score, 11/5 (3.20) with betway
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bayern munich v cska moscow betting tips
man city will be hoping that bayern do them a favour and secure the win here as the german champions face cska moscow in what is effectively a dead rubber for guardiola’s team. the home team are assured of topping group e but the russians can qualify if they manage to somehow win and the roma versus city game ends favourably.
in truth though, despite the fact that bayern may use this opportunity to blood some of their younger players and to give squad players a chance, we can only see a home win. there is a real gulf in class between the teams and whilst the germans won by just a single goal in moscow, we predict a more comfortable success here, with 3-0 our correct score betting tip at nice odds.
our prediction: bayern munich to win 3-0, 17/2 (9.50) with betvictor
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