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Champions’ League final betting tips

By Matt | May 20, 2008

CHELSEA can realise Roman Abramovich’s five-year-old lifelong dream on Wednesday night by lifting the UEFA Champions’ League trophy in Moscow, the Russian capital.

The club are 6/5 outsiders at SkyBet to win the tournament outright – which suggests most punters are betting on the wrong horse in my book.

SkyBet also have 11/5 about the draw in 90 minutes – and that looks like a good saver in what is sure to be a tight, cagey contest.

But the momentum is with Chelsea, who put in a fantastic end-of-season run to push Manchester United all the way to the league title. Their efforts included a thrilling 2-1 win over the Red Devils at Stamford Bridge, which featured two goals from Michael Ballack.

Ballack in ominous form
The German midfielder is hitting his best form for years – ominously for both Manchester United and Germany’s opponents at Euro 2008. If Ballack plays at the top of his game in Moscow then United’s defence will have their hands full, and at 14/1 with Bet 365 he looks a cracking bet for first goalscorer.

Of course, the Footballer of the Year will be lining up for United – but unlike Ballack, Cristiano Ronaldo has nothing like the German’s experience in matches of this magnitude. The Portugese winger has one of the biggest talents in world football, but Ashley Cole has kept him in his pocket on previous occasions and I see no reason why he won’t do again.

Wayne Rooney, another player blessed with terrific footballing skills, has been out of sorts for most of this season – whereas Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard, Chelsea’s main goal threats, are still bang in form.

Chelsea momentum
Chelsea have now beaten Manchester United twice in key games over the last year or so – the win last month at Chelsea, and in the FA Cup Final of 2007. The pair drew in the Community Shield, and United managed beat the Blues during the farcical saga of Jose Mourinho’s departure in a win that now looks pretty irrelevant.

The resurgent form of Paul Scholes, Rio Ferdinand’s growing stature in central defence, and Carlos Tevez’s tireless running look to be the biggest reasons for making a case for United. But that just doesn’t stack up against the team assembled by Roman Abramovich – and I’m betting that the Russian billionaire will be smiling as John Terry lifts the European Cup in Moscow on Wednesday night.

Selections
• 5 points Chelsea to lift the European Champions League trophy (6/5, SkyBet)
• 2.5 points draw at 90 minutes (11/5, SkyBet)
• 1 point Michael Ballack to score the first goal (14/1, Bet365)

Topics: Football betting

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One Response to “Champions’ League final betting tips”

  1. Matt Says:
    May 22nd, 2008 at 9:05 am

    Hmm. “The Russian billionaire will be smiling as John Terry lifts the European Cup.” If I’d used different words to “smiling” and “lifts” (perhaps “still a billionaire” and “loses”) it would have been a much more accurate forecast.

    And fair play to Ronaldo - he dodged the Ashley Cole issue by lining up on the other flank, and got the first goal as a result.

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