James Eastham explains why the absence of a certain Manchester United striker is arguably a bigger factor than the involvement of 22 other players in the game. Best bet: Under 2.5 goals @ 2.16 . Recommended bets: Manchester Utd v Bayern Munich under 2.5 goals @ 2.16 ; Manchester United to win 1-0 and 2-0 @ 9.2 and 10.0 respectively.
Find out how your creativity and banter can play a big part in the Manchester derby on the 19th April….
The Barney Army is never more vocal than in Scotland and that can be enough to inspire Raymond van Barneveld to victory over Adrian Lewis this week… Back Manchester United to beat Bayern Munich @ 1.8 Back van Barneveld to beat Lewis @ 2.6 Back Kolkata Knight Riders to beat Delhi Daredevils @ 2.4 Treble pays @ 11.2 Bet 1: Football – Champions League Bouncebackability may have only been officially recognised as a word of the English language since 2004, but its literal definition – the ability to bounce back – is a trait which Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United sides have been practising for over two decades.
Sir Alex has gone from upbeat to downcast in the space of a week but that doesn’t mean he’s giving up, says Ralph Ellis. Meanwhile, why Liverpool could yet make good Rafa’s fourth place promise and why Wigan are the relegation value… “So is that it then? Is it time to load on to Carlo Ancelotti’s side at 1.66 and make some easy money
There’s more than one version of “Clash of the Titans” being shown this weekend says “Mystical” Mike Norman as he previews Saturday’s huge Premier League encounter. Best Bet: Back Didier Drogba To Sore @ 2.8.
Best Bet: Back Didier Drogba @ 2.8 in the To Score market
Also: Back Yes option @ 3.6 [...]
Ed Nicholson looks at the big match of the weekend as Chelsea visit Old Trafford and Wolves’ trip to the Emirates in search of over/under 2.5 goals value. “With United casting one eye on their second leg quarter final match against Bayern Munich next week, and without the influential Wayne Rooney I can see United being quite tight and compact here. Chelsea too will want to get a result – and a draw is not a bad one for them. So a low scoring draw is foreseen.” Man Utd v Chelsea This game now has a completely different feel to it following Chelsea’s impressive 7-1 success against Aston Villa last Saturday and, perhaps even more pertinently, Wayne Rooney’s injury in midweek. And for those who have been saying that Man United have only performed so well this season thanks to Rooney’s tremendous form, this Sunday’s game against Chelsea will either go some way to proving them right or wrong. Obviously one match will be far from conclusive on that score, but it does just happen to be against Chelsea at a time of the season when losing any game could prove decisive in deciding league titles or relegation battles
Horrible night in Germany for United ends in last minute defeat and injury to Rooney.
Dave Farrar just can’t see how Bayern can get past United, in fact things could get messy at the Allianz Arena “Unless Ribery can produce a vintage performance out of nowhere, then I just don’t see an area of the pitch in which Bayern have an advantage. Mario Gomez is out, and so Miroslav Klose will play alongside Ivica Olic up front, and that looks a little bit lightweight to me against a sometimes shaky, but generally powerful, United backline. “ The Champions League draw threw up two glorious looking ties which are both dripping with glamour and resonance, but whereas Arsenal against Barcelona looks a relatively even match, and at least a competitive pair of games, I can really see only one winner between Bayern and Manchester United . It’s been a strange few weeks in the Bundesliga, with none of the big teams taking advantage of chance after chance, slip-up after slip-up, by their rivals, and Bayern have been as guilty as anyone. Louis Van Gaal ’s team did well to beat the League leaders Schalke in the Cup, but they have lost their last two Bundesliga games, and the news that Arjen Robben could well miss out against United is a real hammer blow. Franck Ribery came on as a half-time substitute against Stuttgart at the weekend, but his injury ravaged season means that he doesn’t look as match sharp as he might, and without their two wingers fully fit and firing, Bayern are half the team that they might be. Unless Ribery can produce a vintage performance out of nowhere, then I just don’t see an area of the pitch in which Bayern have an advantage. Mario Gomez is out, and so Miroslav Klose will play alongside Ivica Olic up front, and that looks a little bit lightweight to me against a sometimes shaky, but generally powerful, United backline
Ibrahimovic is back on the scoring trail for Barcelona and that’s ominous for Arsenal, says Ben Lyttleton “Much of the focus this week will be on how Arsenal stops Messi, but the danger is that they double up on the Argentine and allow crosses for Zlatan to take advantage.” Teams in Champions League action historically drop points on the weekend before big European games, often because they rest their most important players, and so it proved in the cases of Bayern Munich , Arsenal and Internazionale this week. Bordeaux also lost their French League Cup final to Marseille, after coach Laurent Blanc prioritised the European tie against Lyon
Manchester United are back on top of the Premier League and Dan ‘The Betting Man’ Fitch expects them to win again, even if they do rest Wayne Rooney. Best Bet: Back a Manchester United clean sheet @ 2.12 .
