The second round of Champions League group matches has some great-looking matches, not least Paris Saint-Germain versus Barcelona. But here we will focus our attention on the four English clubs as they each try to raise their game after under-par performances in their opening group matches as we try to bring you some profit-making Champions League betting tips.
Tuesday 30th September 2014
Manchester City v Roma (19:45) – Half time correct score: 0-0 (12/5 with Bet365)
Man City were disappointed to have lost their opening Champions League group game at Bayern Munich after a last minute goal for the home side proved decisive. Having said that, Manuel Pellegrini’s men were off the pace and were perhaps a little lucky to have withstood for that long. The Chilean manager will be hoping for a far stronger performance against Roma on Tuesday, but the Italian side have won their first five matches in all competitions this season, including an emphatic 5-1 drubbing of CSKA Moscow in their last CL match, and they will be stubborn opponents.
City are the odds-on favourites for victory, and while Roma have only earned one victory in 14 attempts when playing on English soil, we fancy Rudi Garcia’s men could have enough to earn a point at the Etihad. They are very adept from a defensive point of view and they have enough attacking threat to ensure City don’t take too many chances. As such we fancy backing the game to be goalless at the break looks great value given neither side will be particularly gung-ho in the opening period.
Sporting Lisbon v Chelsea (19:45) – Draw at half time (5/4 with Bet365)
Chelsea fell short of their best when hosting Schalke in their first group match and were only able to share the spoils after the match ended 1-1. No ground was lost in Group G for Jose Mourinho’s men, however, as Sporting only managed a 1-1 draw against Maribor. As such, a win for either side here would put them in a strong position and we predict both sides will be going all out for the three points.
Mourinho’s men are the rightful favourites at odds of 4/5 with Sky Bet, with Sporting out at tempting odds of 4/1 with Ladbrokes. Considering Chelsea lost at Basel last season, some might well lump on the Portuguese side at those odds, while the draw could also appeal at 13/5 with Bet365. With Sporting having drawn four of their first six matches of the season and Chelsea two of theirs, taking the match to finish all-square could be a decent option, but we are playing it slightly safer by backing the draw at half time as Mourinho takes a relatively cautious approach early on.
Wednesday 1st October 2014
Arsenal v Galatasaray (19:45) – Arsenal to win and both teams to score (85/40 with BetVictor)
Arsenal overcame Turkish opposition in the playoff to make it to the group stage of the Champions League, but it was hardly plain sailing as they managed just a 1-0 aggregate victory over Besiktas. Galatasaray are likely to pose more of an attacking threat than their countrymen, but that should actually play into Arsenal’s hands as they will be afforded more space for their own attackers to exploit. With Danny Welbeck in good form and Alexis Sanchez, Aaron Ramsey and a clutch of other very accomplished attacking players at Arsene Wenger’s disposal, we think the Gunners will have far too much for the visitors and will run out relatively comfortable winners.
Having said that, Arsenal have looked far from secure at the back for much of this season and while we can see them getting enough goals to win the match, we can’t see them keeping a clean sheet. Backing the home side to win 3-1 or even 3-2 might well bring home the bacon at best respective odds of 12/1 and 25/1 with BetVictor, but we will opt for the rather more conservative bet of Arsenal to win with both teams scoring, just to be on the safe side.
Basel v Liverpool (19:45) – Draw (13/5 with Ladbrokes)
Liverpool managed to stutter to victory – the only English side to do so – in their opening group match in this season’s Champions League against Bulgarian champions Ludogorets at Anfield, winning 2-1 thanks to a goal from Mario Balotelli and a late, late penalty from captain Steven Gerrard. Travelling to Basel poses a significantly more difficult prospect, however, as Chelsea found out last season.
Basel were walloped 5-1 away in their first group match, but that was against Champions League holders Real Madrid, and they will fancy their chances against a Liverpool side who are yet to come to terms with life after Luis Suarez. Daniel Sturridge could well be fit after recovering from a thigh injury, and his return would come as a major boost to Brendan Rodgers, whose side have found goals hard to come by in Sturridge’s absence. But whether he plays or not we feel Basel now have the European experience necessary to get a result out of this game and we’ll be backing the match to end all-square as the Reds continue to struggle on their return to the European big time.