Real Madrid and Bayern Munich favourites in Champions League Betting

Bayern Munich v Fiorentina

Two of the midweek Champions League clashes, involve the two teams which saw to the demise of Liverpool’s campaign this season. Italians Fiorentina won Group E ahead of Lyon and Liverpool, and to some extents, were one of the surprises of the tournament. They showed great composure along with an attacking flair, and while they may not quite have all of the tools in place to make it to the final against some more illustrious opposition, if they can find their game, they could cause problems. Fiorentina scored heavily during qualifying, averaging over two goals per game. It wasn’t a one man show in the scoring stakes either, as while Gilardino netted four times in six games, talented youngster Stevan Jovetic (one to watch for the tournament) and Adrian Mutu netted three each. They had a slow start to the Champions League, losing their opening fixture, but then rattled off five straight wins to take the group by a two point margin.

However, they seem to have forgotten how to score goals at the moment. They have fallen back into mid table in Serie A after riding high in the early parts, but just one point in their last five matches isn’t the kind of form to be taking into the Champions League. Bayern Munich on the other hand, had some serious problems trying to qualify from their group, and they had until the final match day to secure their place in the next round at the expense of Juventus. Bayern’s form is a lot stronger than Fiorentina’s at the moment, and the German giants are tied for first spot in the notoriously difficult Bundelsiga. They seem to have found top gear, and are in some extremely impressive form, as well as being potent in finding the back of the net. The German side will start as strong favourites, and should take full advantage of the home fixture. They could be out of sight ahead of the return fixture, as they have scored 28 goals in their last 10 fixtures. They met in the Champions League in 2008, where Bayern ran out 4-1 aggregate winners.

Match Prices:
Bayern Munich to win: 8/15 at SkyBet
Draw: 13/4 at Bwin
Fiorentina to win: 13/2 at Coral

Asian Handicap Betting Tip: Bayern -0.75 are 33/20 at Paddy Power

Lyon v Real Madrid
Lyon took second place in Group E ahead of Liverpool, and their reward was to be thrown up against Real Madrid. Lyon are one of those teams who are always hanging around the Champions League, and which opposition find hard to play against. They have a good history, without making a major impact, yet they often get tipped to make the big upsets. They are fourth in the French Ligue 1, eight points back of leaders Bordeaux. They are not particularly high scorers, but they efficient in their performances and run a pretty tight ship. On their day, at the top of their game, they can cause problems for most teams in Europe, but you never quite know if that strong team is going to present itself when the time comes. Up front, Lisandro will be the key figure for then, and they have  a quality midfielder in Miralem Pjanic.

Lyon have triumphed over Real Madrid twice before in the Champions League, knocking the Spaniards out of the 2005 and 2006 competitions. This will give them confidence they can repeat the feat, but Real Madrid are flying at the moment, and have scored three goals on each of their last three outings in La Liga. Surprising for such giants, Madrid haven’t reach the Quarter Final stage of the Champions League for 5 years now, and this will probably be put right against Lyon. They are still hot on the heels of Champions League holders Barcelona in the race for the Spanish title, and have just gotten Cristiano Ronaldo back from suspension, who celebrated by scoring two goals on his return to action.

It is hard to pinpoint the stand out star in the glitterati of talent that Madrid send out onto the pitch every week. Ronaldo and Kaka stand out obviously, but there is talent all over the pitch, and on the bench. Ronaldo is the Champions League top scorer this season, and has banged in 11 goals in 13 games this season in La Liga. Whether Lyon can live with the power of Madrid this time around is in question, as the Spaniards are in fine form ahead of the clash. They appear to be growing in stature, and simply reaching the Quarter Finals won’t be enough for them. International striker Karim Benzema, who was a doubt for the game, has travelled with the squad to face his old side, after making a speedier than expected recovery from injury.

Match Prices:
Lyon to win: 5/2 at Paddy Power
Draw: 12/5 at Victor Chandler
Real Madrid to win: 23/20 at Boylesports

Asian Handicap Betting Tip: Real Madrid -1 is 39/20 at Bet365