Football Betting – Barca And United Can Dominate Europe Again

Is it just me or is the Champions League becoming oh so predictable nowadays? I mean, let’s face it, you can probably count on one hand the teams with a realistic chance of actually winning the thing come next May. Clubs like Inter, Bayern Munich and Juventus may have a European pedigree but money talks, and most of it is being spent in England and Spain nowadays. Let’s start on home soil. Manchester United, losing finalists last season and winners in 2008. Okay, so they’ve lost Ronaldo and Tevez but the rest of their formidable squad remains and when you have ‘fringe’ players like Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Gary Neville to fall back on, the outlook’s still pretty rosey. Apart from a blip against a fired-up Burnley, they’ re already looking formidable in the Premier League and Wayne Rooney has taken on the added responsibility of being their chief goal-getter with an unexpected maturity. Given luck with the draw in the knockout stages, I would have thought United will be thereabouts come the final reckoning so the 9-1 currently available on betfair and betdaq looks good value. Then there’s Chelsea. Time is running out for several of the Blues’ squad if they are to achieve the ultimate prize in club football so they’ll be doubly-determined to make their mark this season. It certainly appears that Carlo Ancelotti has been brought in with the specific aim of winning a Champions League. Chelsea were, of course, just seconds away from reaching the final last season having lost out on penalties to Manchester United in Moscow 12 months earlier. Lampard, Drogba, Essien, Terry and Ballack are among a plethora of world-class players, – but will they still have the legs to produce their best after another busy season? A general 6-1 says there may be a doubt. Liverpool are the other English team that will be popular but they are just so reliant on Steve Gerrard and Fernando Torres for inspiration that I’d be prepared to lay the available 12-1. So that’s three of the quintet taken care of and it will come as no surprise that the other two of the famous five play in Spain’s Primera Liga. Real Madrid (a general 5-1) were the first winners of the original European Cup but they’ve lived in the shadow of great rivals Barcelona in recent times, both home and abroad. However, a list of signings that includes Kaka, Ronaldo, Benzema, Alonso and Negredo suggests they won’t settle for second-best anymore. The whole doesn’t always match the sum of its parts, however, and Manuel Pellegrini has some massive egos to massage this season – therefore, I still prefer Barca. Lionel Messi and Thierry Henry may grab all the headlines but it’s the influence of Iniesta and Xavi in midfield which provides the ammunition and, with Zlatan Ibrahimovich already looking a good swap for Samuel E’too, the Catalans may again be the team to beat. Skybet and Betfred go 9-2 – there are worse bets around!