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Group A
Bordeaux v Juventus
Bayern Munich v Maccabi Haifa

Bordeaux are the surprise leaders of Group A of the Champions League, and they have surprised many with their performances against the more favoured teams in the Group. Juventus and Bayern Munich have a good history of Champions League action, and were the two favourites to go through. However, the French side have really stamped their mark over Group A, with back to back wins over the Germans. Now Bayern are on the brink of missing out on qualification, as everything is now out of their hands. A win for Juventus would essentially kick Bayern out of the competition, as the Germans could only finish on 10 points, the amount which the leaders Bordeaux, who have already qualified, have at the moment. They will have to put thoughts of a Juventus win out of their minds and concentrate on beating bottom of the table Maccabi Haifa. The German side beat Israelis 3-0 on Match Day 1, and despite lacking a bit of form, should come through the tie at home unscathed. Only a win will give them a chance of pinching second spot going into Match Day 6. They are currently down in seventh in the incredibly tough Bundesliga, and are looking like falling giants with a run of three consecutive draws. Juventus go into the game against the leaders after finding their goal scoring touch in Serie A. They currently sit in second place behind Inter Milan, and do have the capacity to beat the French side. When the two met on Match Day 1 however, they were, in many respects, very lucky to hang on to a 1-1 draw at home

Bordeaux P4, W3, D1, L0 Pts 10
Juventus P4, W2, D2, L0 Pts 8
Bayern Munich P4, W1, D1, L2 Pts 4
Maccabi Haifa P4, W0, D0, L4 Pts 0

Match Day Prices
Bordeaux to win: 19/10 at William Hill
Draw: 9/4 at Coral
Juventus: 13/8 at Boylesports

Bayern Munich to win: 1/4 at Bet365
Draw: 5/1 at Ladbrokes
Maccabi Haifa to win: 14/1 at Ladbrokes

Betting Advice:
Bordeaux +0.25 Asian Handicap – 27/40 at Bet365
Bayern Munich – Under 2.5 goals 4/7 at Totesport

TO WIN GROUP A
Bordeaux – 2/5 at BetFred
Juventus – 9/4 at 888Sport

Group B
CSKA Moscow v Wolfsburg
Manchester United v Besiktas

It’s a funny time for the Muscovites in the European competition, as they are finishing their domestic season, while a lot of other European countries are just getting underway. Rubin Kazan have already won the Russian league for the second time, with one fixture remaining. In order to extend their seasons a little further, CSKA Moscow need to pull out a big win over German side Wolfsburg. The Russians are three points behind the Germans, and suffered a heavy 3-1 defeat against Wolfsburg on Match Day one. The only highlight of Moscow’s campaign so far though was their solitary victory over bottom side Besiktas. The Russians, to their credit though, gave Manchester United a good run for their money on their last outing, which was at Old Trafford. It took two fight-back goals from United to earn a 3-3 draw. A win for Wolfsburg, who are an exciting attacking team, will settle things in terms of qualification from the group, although the final places won’t be. Manchester United will be favourites to top the group without having looked anywhere near as proficient as they had in recent years, as just 7 goals in their four games will highlight. Even a mediocre Manchester United though appear good enough to top this group, and if things go as expected on Wednesday, the Match Day six fixture between Wolfsburg and Manchester United, should be an entertaining shoot out to claim top spot in the group. Wednesday night’s games should be something of a formality for Manchester United and Wolfsburg, who are sitting down in eighth in the Bundesliga, but just six points off the top, in probably the toughest league in Europe.

Manchester United P4, W3, D1, L0 Pts10
Wolfsburg P4, W2, D1, L1 Pts7
CSKA Moscow P4, W1, D1, L1 Pts4
Besiktas P4, W0, D1, L3, Pts1

Match Day Prices
CSKA Moscow to win: 6/5 at BetFred
Draw: 12/5 at SkyBet
Wolfsburg to win: 11/4 at Bet365

Manchester United to win: 2/5 at BlueSquare
Draw: 7/2 at SportingBet
Besiktas to win: 10/1 at Coral

Betting Tips:
Wolfsburg 1-0 Correct Score – 10/1 at ExtraBet
Manchester United -1 Asian Handicap – 5/8 at Bet365

TO WIN GROUP B
Manchester United – 1/9 at Totesport
Wolfsburg – 7/1 at Ladbrokes

Group C
Real Madrid v FC Zurich
AC Milan v Marseille

There is a return to one of the most exciting Match Day 1 fixtures of this year’s Champions League, when Spanish giants Real Madrid entertain the minnows of FC Zurich. The hotly tipped Madrid found themselves in more of a game than they had expected in Switzerland, when Zurich started to stage a comeback after being 3-0 down at one point. The plucky Swiss hit two quick goals to bring themselves within one goal of the La Liga leaders, before Cristiano Ronaldo and Guti hit late goals to flatter the score line a little. Real Madrid are locked in battle with Champions League holders Barcelona in their domestic league, and are having to cope without the might of Cristiano Ronaldo at the moment. The Portuguese star missed duty for his country in their World Cup play-off against Bosnia. Fortunately for the Galacticos, they have a wealth of talent to cope with the absence of one of the World’s best players, and that has been highlighted by striker Gonzalo Higuain. Higuain has hit five goals in the short time Ronaldo has been missing, and for a guy who scored 22 times in 34 last season to be sitting on the bench, illustrates the depth that Madrid coach Manuel Pellegrini has at his disposal. However, they are not infallible, as has been proven in the Champions League this year, as AC Milan have gotten the better of their two matches. Milan stole a 3-2 victory in Spain, before returning to the San Siro to pick up a 1-1 tie. Both teams however have another factor to take into consideration, and that is the French side Marseille, who are not getting left behind in the group. Didier Deschamps’ men were a little unlucky on Match Day One, to lose 2-1 to Milan at home, and it feels like that was their chance gone begging. This time around, they will face an AC Milan who have picked up their domestic form, to pull themselves up to third place in Serie A. Marseille’s two victories were back to back wins against bottom placed Zurich, and they will realistically need a big win over the Rossonieri to keep their dreams alive. A draw for Marseille would take it to the final day, while a loss would see them eliminated with a Real Madrid victory over Zurich.

AC Milan P4, W2, D1, L1 Pts 7
Real Madrid P4, W2, D1, L1 Pts 7
Marseille P4, W2, D0, L2 Pts 6
FC Zurich P4, W1, D0, L3 Pts 3

Match Day Prices
Real Madrid to win: 2/14 at Bet365
Draw: 7/1 at BetFred
FC Zurich to win: 20/1 at SkyBet

AC Milan to win: 10/11 at Bet365
Draw: 5/2 at BetFred
Marseille to win: 7/2 at SkyBet

Betting Tips:
Real Madrid and AC Milan Win Double at Bet365

TO WIN GROUP C
AC Milan – 10/11 at Coral
Real Madrid – 5/4 at SkyBet

Group D
FC Porto v Chelsea
APOEL v Atlético Madrid

Group D is already decided, with two teams having already qualified with two games remaining. The top two, Chelsea and FC Porto respectively, go head to head in Portugal, with the home team confident that they can pinch a surprise top spot from the London glamour club. When the two sides met on Match Day 1, it was a uninspiring 1-0 win for Chelsea, with a goal from Anelka. Didier Drogba was missing from the line-up for their first three Champions League games, but still Chelsea have managed to negotiate their way through the competition. They dropped their first points away to Atlético Madrid on Match Day four, with a spray of late goals ending the game at two-a-piece. This will be the showcase game, and definitely Chelsea’s most challenging. The group had all the likelihood of ending up like this. Porto have been tottering along nicely since that opening defeat, and have played themselves well into contention, albeit the group was weakened by the terrible form of Atlético Madrid both domestically and in Europe. Still, games have to be won, and that’s what the top two have done exactly. A win for Porto would make things interesting going into Match Day 6, while another win or a draw for Chelsea, should pretty settle the positions. The other game is simply a matter of playing for a bit of pride, and a non-entity as far as the Champions League itself goes. When the pressure is off, perhaps Atlético may actually turn up for a game.

Chelsea P4, W3, D1, L0 Pts10
FC Porto P4, W3, D0, L1 Pts9
Atlético Madrid P4, W0, D2, L2 Pts2
APOEL P4, W0, D1, L3 Pts1

Match Day Prices
FC Porto to win: 2/1 at Coral
Draw: 12/5 at SkyBet
Chelsea to win: 17/11 at Expekt

APOEL to win: 11/4 at Bet365
Draw: 12/5 at SkyBet
Atlético Madrid to win: 11/10 at William Hill

Betting Tips:
Chelsea Draw No Bet – 4/5 at Paddy Power
Atlético Madrid To win by 2 or more goals – 3/1 at Bet365

TO WIN GROUP D
Chelsea – 2/9 at Totesport
FC Porto – 4/1 at Paddy Power