Tag: Barcelona

Will PSG Topple the Mighty Barcelona?

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

The Champions League is set to return after its traditional Christmas and New Year break. We have now reached the knockout stages. The pick of the last-16 ties is clearly between Paris St Germain and Barcelona. With the departure of several key players, PSG is no longer the force they have been in recent seasons.

Their league position sees them tied with Nice and three points behind Monaco. In recent seasons with the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic leading the line, they have been catering to the French title. Those days appear to have gone and this leaves this current PSG team as significant underdogs against Barcelona.

Spanish Clubs are Dominating

The big three of Spanish football of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid have been dominating the Champions League in recent seasons. Madrid lifted the trophy in 2014 and 2016 with Barcelona winning in 2006, 2009, 2011 and again in 2015. Meanwhile, Atletico has been beaten finalists in 2014 and 2016. There have been two all-Spanish finals in the past three seasons and only a fool would back against that again.

Barcelona with their triple strike force of Suarez, Messi and Neymar have proved tough to stop. However, they are struggling to keep pace with rivals Real Madrid in the league. So both Barcelona and PSG have dropped a level since last season. The first leg between PSG and Barcelona will be held in Paris. PSG must at least go back to the Nou Camp with a draw to have any chance.

Looking for the Best Bets

So just why do Barcelona win so many matches? The answer is obvious. Looking back through their matches this season and with the odd exception, they always score. Even in defeat they still manage to score. The basic fact of a football match is that if you can score, your opponents must score at least twice to beat you. This is why Messi, Neymar and Suarez have been such powerful acquisitions for Barcelona.

It is tough to see how PSG can stop Barcelona from scoring but two bets stand out above all others. The first one is the 11-10 offered by BetVictor for a Barcelona victory. Even as the away team these are good odds. The second bet is for Barcelona to be ahead at half time and at full time. Bet365 are quoting 9-4 for that bet.

The fact of the matter is that while both teams have slipped this season, PSG has slipped further. Barcelona has had several key losses this season and have been very un-Barcelona like at times. They will still have far too much for PSG and will comfortably go through over two legs.

Goals Look Certain at Parkhead

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

CELTIC face one of the toughest challenges in world football on Wednesday night when they host the mighty Barcelona at Parkhead in Champions League Group C.

The Scottish champions will need every one of the 61,000 passionate sell-out crowd to play their part in this one and become “The Bhoys” 12th man; it has worked before with them beating the five-times European champions in 2012, but this time around it’s very difficult to make any case for a shock win.

The two sides met at the Camp Nou in September and Celtic was very lucky to come away with just a 7-0 hammering. There is simply too much of a gulf between these two sides, something which is highlighted by the bookies’ odds for the game.

Barca are just 1.30 to bounce back to winning ways after their 3-1 defeat in their last Champions League match at Man City, and it’s impossible to look past them, but I personally couldn’t back them at those very short prices.

The Catalan giants were held to a goalless draw against Malaga on Sunday to let odds-on backers down, and with key players returning in Glasgow they should win this, but the weekend disappointments might still be fresh in some punters minds.

Celtic are a massive 12.00 with Bet365 for the win and even though they are running away with their domestic title again and held City to a 3-3 draw at Parkhead, they won’t be getting anything from this one.

The match prices look spot on offering very little value, and the best way to profit is to get with goals.

In Celtic’s four group C matches 17 goals have been scored, and it’s a similar story over in Barcelona with 18 goals featured in their four matches; over 2.5 goals looks the banker bet, but again it’s a very short price at the 1.50 with Coral. Over 3.5 goals in the game looks a better play for smaller punters at a more generous 2.25.

Despite Barcelona offering an incredible goal threat from all over the pitch but mainly from their front three of Neymar, Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi, they are always vulnerable to concede, and both teams to score “yes” looks another nice bet at 1.91 with William Hills.

With goals expected and obviously an away win more than likely, instead of playing the 1.30 on a Barcelona win, it might pay to look at some nice correct-score bets. I like 3-1 and 4-1 for the visitors at 11.0 and 17.0 which pays 6.60 coupled.

Champions League: Man City Need Perfection, Arsenal Need a Repeat

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

The Champions League proved to be a tale of two major scorelines for English clubs in recent weeks as Arsenal and Man City both found themselves in the middle of some end-to-end action.

For the former, the flow of action against Ludogorets was certainly a lot more positive than the latter’s experience against Barcelona. This time around, the action may not be as juicy, but there’s certainly likely to be some goals when Man City welcome Barcelona and Arsenal travel to Bulgaria to face Ludogorets.

No Pressure on Arsenal but Players Can’t Become Complacent

Starting with the more positive of the two match-ups, Arsenal will head into their second game against Ludogorets with almost no pressure. After blitzing the Bulgarians 6-0 in their Week 3 showdown, the Gunners can afford to take it easy on Tuesday night.

Now, that doesn’t mean Arsenal can completely relax, but it’s certainly safe to say they can play below par and still come away with a result. Indeed, we only have to look to Arsenal’s recent match against Reading in the League Cup. Yes, Wenger’s men won and yes they didn’t look under threat at any point, but it’s important to point out that they lacked a certain lustre.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was undoubtedly the shining light during the 2-0 win, but when it came to other forms of attack, the side was severely lacking. Now, it’s worth saying that it wasn’t the strongest Arsenal side possible, but if the players put in a similar performance against Ludogorets they could find themselves in trouble.

Arsenal Have too Much Firepower for Ludogorets

Of course, fans of the North London side will point to the 6-0 drubbing and say there’s nothing to worry about. This may be true, but in the Champions League, it’s also true that anything can happen, and a loss of concentration could prove costly going forward.

Now, if you’re of the mindset that Arsenal’s lacklustre performance against Reading will cost them valuable points in the Champions League, then Sun Bets will give you 17/2 on a Ludogorets win. If, however, you’re more inclined to think the Gunners will have too much firepower for the home side, 1/3 is the going price at Paddy Power.

For something a little more lucrative, Arsenal to win 4-0 is currently 14/1 at Paddy Power. Given that the last meeting between the two sides was all one-way traffic, this looks like a potentially juicy bet. For those wanting to spread their risk a little more, 5/6 on an Arsenal win + over 2.5 goals looks to be the value bet of the night.

City Face a Tough Task at Home

While Arsenal can look back to their previous Champions League game with a smile, Man City will want to forget theirs as quickly as possible. Although a loss to Barcelona is nothing to be ashamed of, the 4-0 deficit was possibly a little too much for even the most die-hard City fans to bear. According to the odds makers at Coral, the current Champions League betting line for a City win stands at 15/8.

Contrasting this with the 29/20 on offer for Barcelona and the 5/2 odds for the draw, anyone with any appreciation of betting lines can surmise that it’s going to be a lot closer this time around. City manager Pep Guardiola has already acknowledged that he faces an uphill struggle on November 1, but does believe Barcelona are beatable.

“I’d like us to show courage and put everything into the game. Hopefully, our quality can make the difference. For them it’s not a final, for us, it is like a final,” Guardiola told the media.

Perfection is Paramount if City wants to Beat Barca

Will it take an almost perfect performance to do it? Almost certainly. Is City capable of near perfect football? Again, almost certainly. In reality, the result of this Champions League clash will come down to two factors: who wants it more, and who makes the fewest mistakes. City has been sublime in the Premier League this season, but the Champions League has been a different story.

If City is going to win, they’ll need Sergio Aguero to be on top form. The Argentinean forward has scored 13 times this season, which is only one less than Lionel Messi. With both players proving they’re more than capable of scoring this season, 19/4 on Aguero to score first and 4/1 on Messi look like fantastic value. Indeed, even if you leave the outright odds to one side, these markets look to offer impressive alternative value.

Of course, if you do want to speculate on the outright winner, the smart money would be on Barcelona. The first encounter was, for all intents and purposes, a whitewash, and if all goes to plan, things won’t be any different this time around. Naturally, home advantage will give City something extra to play for this time around, but it’s hard to see past Luis Enrique’s men in this one.

Champions League Best Bets: Matchday Three Kicks Off

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

THE Champions League is back on Tuesday and we start our look at the best bets in Germany where Bayer Leverkusen host Tottenham at the BayArena.

Leverkusen have had an indifferent start to their Bundesliga season, currently sitting in a lowly ninth place in their league table; they are short in the betting markets for the win here at just 2.20 with BetBright.

On the other hand, Tottenham are riding high in the Premier League. Maurico Pocchetino’s team are unbeaten in their last six matches, and they will prove popular at the general 3.50. However, the draw looks a big runner as Leverkusen have drawn their opening two matches in this competition, and with that as the outsider of all three match outcomes, 3.60 with William Hill looks appealing.

One Thing we do Expect to See is Goals

In both Leverkusen’s Champions League games this season, both teams have scored. That has been a winning wager in eight of the Germans’ ten matches this season, and 1.70 with BoyleSports on another yes in the ‘both teams to score’ market looks a sensible play.

Premier League Champions Leicester are Having a Very Strange Season.

The Foxes have been woeful in the Premier League, but they boast a 100 per cent winning record in the Champions League, and I am expecting that to continue when they host FC Copenhagen at the King Power.

Claudio Ranieri’s side were awful in the 3-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge at the weekend, but at home they are unbeaten and they are a strong selection to win this at 1.91 with William Hill.

The home side look to have already given up on the Premier League, and is concentrating solely on Europe. With two Champions League wins already without conceding a goal against Bruges and Porto, another Leicester win to nil looks a spot of value at 3.00 with BetVictor.

Guardiola Returns to the Club Where he Made His Name

The biggest match of the week comes from the Camp Nou on Wednesday when Barcelona host Manchester City in Group C, and this promises to be a cracker.

Pep Guardiola returns to Catalan and he’s a massive 6.00 to get a win, with Barca just 1.57 and those prices look bang on the money and hard to disagree with.

These two teams boast some of the best attacking quality in world football, and it’s just impossible not to see goals, but both teams to score and over 2.5 goals in the match are very short at 1.57 and 1.45; there is better value elsewhere to be found.

Barcelona have scored a staggering 27 goals in their last seven matches, including TEN in their two Champions League games. With Man City scoring 17 in the same period, you’ve got to get involved in over 3.5 goals in the match at 2.20, and we can also make a case for over 4.5 goals as well at 3.60 with Coral.

My best bet on Wednesday night are Celtic, who look very big at 3.25 with Sportingbet to beat Borussia Monchengladbach at Parkhead.

Celtic are unstoppable in the Scottish League, and in Europe, the rule when betting on the Scottish champions is to back them at home and avoid them like the plague away from Glasgow.

Celtic have won nine of their ten matches at home this season. The only time they failed to win was their last Champions League match against Man City, a 3-3 thriller.

They’ve played four home matches already in this competition scoring 13 goals, and winning three and drawing one. With their passionate home fans behind them, look for Celtic to have the edge against a Monchengladbach side that has lost their two Champions League matches and have failed to win a Bundesliga away match this season.

Champions League – Bayern Munich v Barcelona

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

We correctly forecast a win for Barcelona with Neymar on target in the first leg of their semi-final against Bayern Munich. He was outshone on the night by Lionel Messi and Barcelona’s all-star line-up have one foot in the final as they prepare for the return leg on Tuesday.

It is probably dangerous to dismiss Bayern out of hand but the fact that they are 20-1 to qualify for the final says it all. Pep Guardiola undoubtedly had a game plan at the Nou Camp to stifle the Spaniards and hope to escape with a draw. That plan looked likely to succeed until the 77th minute when Messi opened the floodgates. A second goal followed from the Argentinian within three minutes before Neymar’s injury-time goal virtually sealed the tie.

Bayern Munich beat Barcelona 7-0 on aggregate two years ago but there seems more chance of that score being reversed than of Guardiola’s side reaching the final. A spate of injuries, notably to Ribery and Robben, has left Bayern looking a pale shadow of the side that were favourites for the Champions League only a few weeks ago. They have lost their last four matches without scoring a goal and there is no encouraging news on the injury front. It will still be a makeshift side that starts on Tuesday needing to score three times without reply to take the tie into extra-time.

By contrast, Barcelona have gone from strength to strength. They brushed aside Manchester City and PSG without ever looking in danger of defeat. They have found a way for Messi, Suarez and Neymar all to play in the same side and that is a fearsome front-line by any standards. In recent weeks they have beaten Getafe 6-0 and Cordoba 8-0.

Coach Pep Guardiola has dismissed rumours of a move to Manchester City in the Premier League and is contracted to stay at Bayern until the summer of 2016. Bayern had already wrapped up the Bundesliga prior to their recent run of defeats. Ribery, Robben, Alaba, Rode and Badstuber are all out and it is difficult to see anything other than a comfortable night for Barcelona.

Barcelona to win @13-8 William Hill

Bayern Munich 0 Barcelona 2 @17-1 BetVictor

Messi to score and Barcelona win @11-4 Paddy Power

Champions League – Barcelona v Bayern Munich Preview

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

The second Champions League semi-final gets under way at the Nou Camp on Wednesday night when Barcelona face Bayern Munich in the first leg.

Barcelona were knocked out by Atletico Madrid at the semi-final stage last year but arrive here in peak form with all three strikers performing well. They were priced at 6-1 at the start of this year’s tournament but have been steadily cut to clear favourite at 7-4 ahead of both Bayern and reigning champions Real Madrid.

The reason is their dominant displays against Manchester City and PSG where they looked relatively untroubled. Luis Suarez took a long time to settle into the side but he is now playing well alongside Lionel Messi and Neymar.  With an attack that sounds like someone’s “dream team”, it is no wonder that they are favourites to win the Champions League for a fourth time in ten years.

This particular tie has the added interest of Pep Guardiola returning to his former club, this time in charge of Bayern. Having led Barcelona to 14 trophies, he is better placed than most to discover a way of beating them. The big problem for Guardiola is his massive injury list which includes several key players. The absence of Arjen Robben has been particularly keenly felt in recent matches while Franck Ribery, Holger Badstuber, David Alaba and Sebastian Rode are all absent.

Robert Lewandowski scored twice in the remarkable 6-1 second leg win over Porto but he may be forced to play in a mask on Wednesday after picking up a facial injury.  Veteran striker Claudio Pizarro was called upon in the weekend defeat at Leverkusen and Bayern will be desperate to escape with a good result here.

Neymar scored in both legs against PSG and has now scored in six of his last seven matches. The Brazilian is clearly in no mood to be overshadowed by Messi or Suarez and could be worth a bet to open the scoring here. Bayern Munich conceded three times at Porto and there must be a real danger that they could be out of this tie before the return leg. Barcelona have won their last eight Champions League appearances and have averaged over two goals per game during that spell.

Barcelona to win @8-11 Ladbrokes

Neymar to score first @5-1 Paddy Power

Neymar to score and Barcelona to win @5-2 Paddy Power