Bayern Munich vs Barcelona
FreeI think this game has to contain the bet of the day, really. Barcelona to win on the night is 13/10 – I’ll definitely be putting something on it. Why? Because they’re simply an unstoppable goalscoring machine. Some people where I live actually had the ridiculous notion that Bayern Munich were well-equipped enough to give Barcelona a game, most probably due to their emphatic victory on aggregate against a very poor Sporting Clube de Lisboa last round. Naturally they were proven wrong and I expect Barcelona to win the game again tonight. Bayern Munich made a mini-revival at weekend as they stormed past lowly Eintracht Frankfurt but Barcelona also won, beating Recreativo de Huelva. The hosts simply aren’t in the same league as the visitors, however. I’d be amazed if Bayern Munich got so much as a draw here tonight. The only way, and I mean only way that I could see this occurring is if they somehow managed to score 2 early goals and Lionel Messi wasn’t playing in the game. Both of those are a long shot, however. My call for this is 1-2 but one thing is certainly on the cards – there should be another lesson in football dished out tonight by the Catalan club.
In the other big game today in the Champions League, resurgent Chelsea host Liverpool in a game that frankly doesn’t need to be played. Chelsea are all but through to the next round of the competition as their visitors need to score at least 3 goals here tonight to have a chance of progressing. People are widely acclaiming Guus Hiddink as Chelsea’s hero for their recent magnificent run of form. Whereas I think he’s done a good job and he’s a fantastic coach, I don’t think that’s the reason. My personal view is that it’s down to the return of one fantastic midfielder – Michael Essien. They miss him immensely when he doesn’t play and it says a lot when in the Champions League final 2008, he was deployed at right-back for the first half of the game and was made mincemeat of (along with the rest of his team!) so naturally, myself and all of my fellow Manchester United fans were delighted as he wasn’t in central midfield. Unfortunately, Avram Grant twigged that might be why his side weren’t playing well, switched him to central midfield and my beloved Manchester United clung on for dear life in an epic encounter. What I’m painstakingly trying to point out is that when he plays, Chelsea play well and I daresay that will be the case tonight. Liverpool will have to go at Chelsea tonight and Rafa Benitez really hates his sides to be fully committed to attacking as he’s primarily a defensive manager. Chelsea will expose that and I’m confident they’ll capitalise on it. Calling the score in this game is a nightmare because it really does depend just how clinical each side is on the night. I’m going to stick with 2-1 to the hosts, however.
Tuesday’s Picks
My tips:
There’s just one treble that stands out for me tonight, and that contains Hamarkamaratene, Barcelona and Spartak Trnava. The odds should be something like 9/1.
For the rest of the picks, see below!
UEFA Champions League:
Chelsea vs Liverpool (6) 2-1
Bayern Munich vs Barcelona (7) 1-2
Danish Superligaen:
Esbjerg vs FC Nordsjaelland (6) 1-2
Italian Serie B:
Sassuolo vs US Avellino (5)
Northern Irish Premier League;
Coleraine vs Linfield (6) 1-2
Crusaders vs Glentoran (6) 1-2
Lisburn Distillery vs Cliftonville (5) 1-1
Ballymena United vs Newry (7) 2-0
Glenavon vs Dungannon Swifts (7) 1-0
Institute vs Bangor (5) 1-1
Norwegian Tippeligaen:
Fredrikstad vs Staebek (6) 2-2
Norwegian Adeccoligaen:
Hamarkamaratene vs Alta (8)
Slovakian Corgon Liga:
Ruzomberok vs Spartak Trnava (8) 1-2
Enjoy your free betting tips!