Champions League Outright Betting Update

Sports betting tends to be as exciting as the sport which you are betting on, so as the season progresses to its exciting finale the sports betting community focuses on football. We are going to analyse the Champions league outright betting market in this article. Champions League football betting is great because you are betting on the best teams in Europe, arguably the world, fighting each other for the trophy.

Are Manchester Utd destined for another European title or will Barcelona retain the title they won in 2009? Let’s focus on the chances of each of the main contenders in turn to find out, using the odds from bwin.com.

Barcelona – 5/2

Although tied with Real Madrid in La Liga on 62 points, Real were surprisingly eliminated from the Champions league early in the knock-out stages for the sixth year in a row. This leaves Barcelona as the favourites and they are 15 points ahead of their other league rivals. Barcelona only managed to draw away to VfB Stuttgart in their last game and must win at the Nou Camp to go through. I do not think a bet on them at this stage is worth it, especially due to the form shown by Manchester Utd in their game this week. Should they progress and get a good draw in the next round, their odds could drop to 2/1 or 7/4.

Manchester Utd – 4/1

This is definitely the value bet in the market for me right now. They have shown excellent form in the league and in a defining night in the career of Wayne Rooney (amazingly he still only 23) he is now discussed as a player among the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka on the world stage. The question is can their squad be equally relied upon to outplay the big sides like Barcelona in a big match? Much depends on the fitness of Vidic and Ferdinand in the centre of defence and, of course, Rooney up front. If he gets injured they are in big trouble. I think 4/1 will shorten and therefore I urge anyone wanting to back them to win the Champions league to get on early. They are certainly one of the more likely winners this season.

Chelsea – 5/1

Chelsea must first turn around a problem score line against Inter Milan where Inter lead 2-1 after the first leg. At home, Chelsea will be cheered on by a capacity crowd hoping to emulate Arsenal who emphatically turned around a first leg deficit against Porto to go through to the next round. Chelsea may be hindered by the almost desperate hunger from the likes of Drogba, Lampard and Terry to win the Champions league. They were one penalty away from winning it in 2008. I think they have a chance, but at the moment 5/1 is a bit short considering their difficult task of getting through Inter Milan. Injuries to all of their starting goalkeepers at the moment with inexperienced 19 year old Ross Turnbull deputising in goal further complicates matters for them. With all the media coverage surrounding his private life it is easy to forget that Ashley Cole is a big miss for them at left back.

Bayern Munich – 7/1

Franck Ribery is in their team which is a massive bonus but they have a history of not doing that well in the competition. Personally I think the teams above will succeed in making the final rather than Bayern. I may be wrong, but I think Arsenal at 15/2 is better value in this price range.

Arsenal – 15/2

After trailing in the first leg match to Porto, Arsenal made a mockery of those expecting them to be eliminated by blowing Porto away at the Emirates Stadium 5-0. This begged the question; can they go all the way? The horrific leg break suffered by midfielder Aaron Ramsey, who I think is going to be a top player, is not only a major blow to the player but also to the team who benefited from his distribution of the football from the middle of the park. Choosing not to recall Jack Wilshere from his loan at Bolton is interesting, but I think they may get to the semi-finals if they get a good draw. Winning it, however, is a bridge too far for them this season.

I think a repeat of the 2009 final of Manchester Utd and Barcelona is very likely. Barcelona are the only team that can spoil the party of a Manchester United versus Chelsea final and I think one of these teams will lift the trophy. Man Utd seem the best bet to me at the moment at 4/1. The final I would like to see if the draw works out that way is another Manchester Utd versus Chelsea final.

Football betting fans may like the 5/4 bet for an English team to win the tournament. There are other special bets available at bwin.com.

By Malcolm Clarke