Champion’s League Odds

The Champions League will continue in mid-October. Here is a quick look at two important sports betting matchups from the group that many consider to be the most difficult this year.

Manchester City vs. Villareal – Tuesday, October 18, 2011

The Champions League returns on October 18, 2011 with a series of important matches, but none more highly anticipated than the clash between Manchester City and Villareal. The Spanish side has lost consecutive games to open up their schedule in Group A, falling to both Bayern and Napoli, but City hasn’t been that much better with only a draw against Napoli to fall back on through two contests. Both sides will be desperate for a win when they meet, and it should be a high-scoring affair, with Manchester City coming out on top for the pay per head win.

Champions League Betting Pick: Manchester City

Napoli vs. FC Bayern – Tuesday October 18, 2011

The Italian side will have home field advantage as they look to move past FC Bayern in the Group A standings. Napoli is two points back of the German side, and if they are able to pull off the unlikely upset, then the Stadio San Paolo should explode. Edinson Cavani and his mates have handled the pressures of playing in a tough group well, but this will easily be their biggest sports betting bonus test so far as they meet an old rival.

Champions League Betting Pick: Draw

When new manager Andres Villas Boas arrived with Chelsea FC, fans eagerly awaited for him to put his fingerprints on the club that he hoped to lead to not only an EPL title, but deep in to the Champions League as well. That move came with the dismissal of Romelu Lukaku from his the UEFA Champions League team, meaning that he will not be able to play in the group stages. While this wasn’t the biggest mistake that a manager can make, the loss of another reserve defender in the case of emergency could hurt Chelsea, and with so many other sportsbook promo options this one was clearly not the one to choose.

Fishing with a plethora of talent in the central midfield, including Frank Lampard, Ramires, Raul Meireles, and John Obi Mikel, there was no reason for Villas Boas to keep a fifth in Oriol Romeu. Should Romeu see the field in the Champions League, there will have been a big mistake made, and by choosing him over Lukaku there now is a big hole on the bench. With Fernando Torres and Didier Drogba struggling to score goals, the club could use Lukaku’s ability to cause havoc in the box, and use his size to create chances. After Salomon Kalou has looked so hesitant this season, perhaps he was the better option to bring to the bench ahead of Lukaku, who has looked solid in his brief time on the pitch. Whatever the case Villas Boas made the wrong cut, and it may come back to haunt him in the long sports betting run.

The draw for the group stage of the 2011 UEFA Champions League group stage was held on Thursday, and while some of the 48 teams were fortunate with their standing, a handful were left wondering up at the long mountain they will need to climb just to get out of the group stage. The teams were drawn into 12 groups of four teams on a seeded basis, and a closer look at those groups reveals just how difficult it will be for some teams to advance. The top three contenders for the Champions League are Barcelona, Manchester United, and Inter Milan, but the interesting sports betting bonus part will be who meets them through the group stage.

Inter Milan perhaps have the easiest route of the big three in Group B, where they will face a tough test from CSKA Moscow but should have little problem with Lille and Trabzonspor. Manchester United on the other hand will have to deal with Benfica from the Portuguese league, as well as Swiss team Basel. The hardest road of the three top contenders belongs to Barcelona, who will be forced to take on Milan in Group H. That match will represent a true early test for the Spanish stars, and it will be interesting to see how they hold up. Perhaps the most interesting group will feature another couple of key contenders, as Group E has Chelsea, Valencia, Bayer Leverkusen, and Genk all competing for the two sports betting spots available to advance.

It seems as though every sports betting year is the same in the UEFA Champions League, with powerhouse countries Italy, England, and Spain sending their top four teams to the tournament, while Germany, France, and Russia send three, and the rest of the world watches as they fight for club supremacy. Rarely does a smaller club break through on the biggest stage, and when they do it usually only lasts so long before another club takes them down. Finding sports betting underdogs capable of winning the Champions League is a difficult task, particularly since it begins with looking past both Manchester United and Barcelona.

Both of those teams will be among the sportsbook promo favorites to win the tournament again this year, but it wouldn’t be too much of a long shot to think that an Italian side could figure into the mix. Serie A champions Milan and Inter Milan have been two of the top teams in Europe for the better part of a decade now, and it could be time for one of them to knock off either Manchester United or Barcelona. Another underdog that could get the job done is Chelsea, which have looked good early on this year under their new manager Andre Villas-Boas. Beyond that there is little reason to think that any other teams can upset the football giants from Spain or England, and that is why the smart money should be on the top Italian sides to make the difference.

Belmont betting enthusiasts also handicapping the British Premier League are now able to reflect on the 2010 – 11 seasons, which were some of the best. This year, fans sports betting on the beautiful game, saw many ups and downs for all of their favorite teams. With new teams entering the Premier League for next year and other teams fine tuning their rosters, here is the latest offseason news.

After winning the BPL title, Manchester United was unable to capture UEFA Gold, as they fell to Barcelona FC by a score of three to one, in the Champions League finals last weekend. Making matters more intriguing, after the game, talk began to surface that enigmatic scoring phenom Dimitar Berbatov wanted to be traded from United, since he wasn’t used very much in the second half of the season. However, just yesterday, Berbatov told the British Tabloids that he wants to stay with United, as they are the best team in the world.

What’s perhaps most intriguing as well, is that Berbatov’s striking partner Michael Owen, just signed a new contract with the Red Devils, despite also being used sparingly. Owen and Berbatov would replace stars Wayne Rooney and 22 year old Mexican scoring sensation Javier Rodriguez. Initially, Rodriguez was glued to the bench, as Berbatov got off to a blistering start, but when Berbatov cooled off, Rodriguez took his place and soared to the top of Manchester United’s depth chart.

Other news making the headlines in the Premier League, after failing to survive relegation for the third time in the last decade, West Ham United fired manager Avram Grant. Grant’s Hammers were amazing during the Carlton Cup, but could not turn that success into success on the pitch against other BPL teams. Grant will be replaced by Sam Allardyce, who formerly managed Bolton and Newcastle.

March Madness betting online signals the beginning of the final stretch of the Barclay’s English Premier League season, as there are only six weeks left. As many soccer betting enthusiasts will tell you, no Premier League team has turned their fortunes around quite as quickly as the Arsenal Gunners. Made up of a solid mix of youth and veterans alike, the Gunners appear to be close to a Premier League title, for the first time in a few years. But do the 2010-11 Gunners have what it takes to get over the hump?

Through 28 fixtures this season, the Arsenal Gunners sit in second place in the overall standings of the Premier League, three points behind rival and league leader the Manchester United Red Devils. The Gunners have won 17 games, while only losing five contests overall. However, the team’s Achilles Heel for another consecutive year, is their goaltending and defensive corps. Over the last five years, the Gunners have gone through a plethora of goaltenders, hoping to stabilize the last line of defense. Yet year after year, the goaltending situation comes back to bite the Gunners.

This season alone, the Gunners have used three different goalies to help them place second overall. The Gunners are led by a good core of young stars, including Captain Cesc Fabregas, Robin Van Persie, and Jack Wilshire to name a few. Over the last few weeks, the Gunners goaltending has been pretty good, with Polish recruit Wojciech Szczensy providing a calming presence. However, earlier this week, the Gunners lost not only their game against Barcelona, but Szczensy as the Pole will be out of the lineup for up to six weeks.

On paper, the Arsenal Gunners have one of the best teams not only in the Premier League, but in the world. However, with the lack of a solid keeper, and poor defense, we do not feel that the Gunners can win the BPL title this season.

Soccer betting enthusiasts from across the globe looking for a dark horse pick for the 2010-11 UEFA Champions League tournament, should look no further than British middleweights Tottenham Hotspur. Last week in a thrilling affair, sports betting online fans were able to watch Peter Crouch score a beautiful goal in the 89^th minute to guide Spurs to a one nothing victory over AC Milan in the round of 16 first leg. Over the last few years, Spurs has come on strong in the UEFA League, and this year appears to be their year, here is why.

Perhaps the most exciting part about Tottenham’s victory over AC Milan last week wasn’t the confrontation between the AC Milan Captain and a Spurs assistant coach, but rather the fact that Spurs were able to win the game without Gareth Bale. Throughout the year, Harry Redknapp has been able to get Spurs to play some of its most inspired football in years. The big reason for Tottenham’s resurgence is due to Gareth Bale. However, he’s been injured the last few weeks.

During last week’s fixture with AC Milan, Tottenham were the better team. Essentially, from start to finish, Tottenham who was considered an underdog in the game, were able to dominate their legendary opponents. Manager Harry Redknapp employed the use of a balanced attack using a four defender four midfielder one winger and one striker structure.

Throughout the game, the balanced design of the Spurs starting 10 appeared to be too much for AC Milan. In the first half, Milan was sloppy at best. However, in the second half, it appeared that the frustration of Milan’s sloppy play was boiling over as we noted above, the Milan Captain assaulted one of the assistant coaches of Tottenham Hotspurs.

Soccer betting fans of the British Premier League will most likely be glued to their computers today, as the final day of loan transfers wraps for the 2010-11 Premier League season concludes today. Despite being the best team in the soccer betting online world, Manchester United Red Devils appear to be one of the most active squads on the final day of transfers. Here is an update on the most recent loaning news surrounding the Evil Empire of the European football world.

Although they are the best team in the BPL, Manchester United’s Achilles heel has been that of their goaltending. With the recent announcement that current United goalie Edwin Van Der Sar will retire at Old Trafford at the end of the season, Sir Alex Ferguson and United’s scouting staff have been in search of Van Der Sar replacement.

Presently, the two biggest names that the Red Devils appear to be working out transfer agreements with are German national goalkeeper and Bayer Leverkusen starter Rene Adler. The potential deal could see United pay $17 Million Euros to acquire the big German’s services. What’s more, apparently Adler would love to play for Manchester United, as although he plays for Bayer Leverkusen, it has been revealed that his heart lies with the Red Devils. The question now remains if Adler’s current club would be willing to part ways with the youthful goalkeeper.

Another goaltending possibility is that of 20 year old Atletico Madrid phenom David De Gea. Even though he is only 20 and still has a full career ahead of him, Atletico Madrid is rumored to be asking for over $20 Million Euro. With such high praise, $20 million may appear to be a good deal for the Red Devils. However, if not, they have Adler at $17 million who is more than willing to join his favorite boyhood club.

There has been much news in the soccer betting world this season aimed towards the Manchester United Red Devils. From soccer betting online enthusiasts being led to believe that star striker Wayne Rooney was on his way out of town, to the Qatar royal family supposedly working out a deal to buy the storied club, United fans have heard it all this season. However, just when United fans thought they’d heard and read it all this campaign, over the weekend fans were shocked again.

During Premier League play on Saturday, it was revealed by several British tabloids, that the Manchester United Red Devils were supposedly interested in signing legendary Brazilian midfielder, Ricardo Kaka. The future football hall of famer is currently playing for Spanish squad Real Madrid, where he is sidelined with an ankle injury. Yet many Spanish newspapers and British tabloids, are reporting that Kaka has been granted permission by Real Madrid, to try his trade in England.

As we noted earlier, Manchester United has the best possible chance of landing the skilled veteran midfielder. The potential deal has Kaka inking a permanent deal with the Red Devils for $50 million Euros. When healthy, Kaka is seen by many experts as a top five soccer player not only in Europe, but in the world all together.

This season, through 17 matches, United has gone undefeated in Premier League play. They have either destroyed teams or tied against them, with no middle ground in sight. However, despite the 2010-11 teams’ success, many critics of the storied franchise feel they are a player or two away from greatness. Enter Kaka, who alongside Berbatov, Rooney, and Hernandez, will be giving even the best defensive minded opponents nightmares on the field.Kaka could be the most storied midfielder to play with United since his former teammate David Beckham.

Soccer betting fans have long become disgruntled as a result of overpaid underachievers playing for their favorite teams. Initially fans betting on their favorite football clubs to do well are thrilled when they sign a top tier star. However, as these three players show, sometimes paying the transfer fee for their services is a scam in itself.

• Hernan Crespo - Before the Chelsea Blues wised up and got Anelka and Drogba to join Frank Lampard in turning the club around from a joke to the best in the Premier League, there was Hernan Crespo. At the beginning of the decade, Crespo was part of a wave of Italian strikers that legitimately struck fear into the hearts of any opposing team’s defenders. Yet over the last several years, Crespo has totaled a combined debt of transfer fees of 121 million Euros. To say his tenure with Chelsea was a disaster would be an understatement. The Blues were able to get rid of him a couple of years ago in one of the franchises best moves.

• Nicolas Anelka - Given our praise above for Anelka, this position seems rather misleading. However, consider that Anelka has literally played all over Europe as he has flopped everywhere he has been. Initially considered to be the next big star for the Arsenal Gunners, Anelka has played for four Premier League squads in a span of five years. Considering how much money he has cost his various clubs through transfer fees, you would expect him and not Didier Drogba to be guiding the Chelsea Blues to Premier League titles.

• Zlatan Ibrahimovic - Ibrahimovic is the most expensive overrated footballer of all time. At 156 million Euros, Ibrahimovic has become the priciest choke artist. While he posses all world talent and scoring ability with a dream physique for the position, he can never get the job done in the big game. Whether it is international or UEFA play, no striker has vanished quicker under pressure.