вторник, 9 декабря 2014 г.

Champions League Betting: All the permutations ahead of Matchday 6

Can Liverpool produce another magical European night at Anfield

Almost every club has something to play for going into the last round of group fixtures in the Champions League, and here Mike Norman details exactly what is still possible in each of the eight groups...

Group A

Last year's runners-up Atletico Madrid, and Italian giants Juventus are certain of qualification to the knock-out stage - the only matter remaining for these two is who tops the group. Juve need to beat Atletico on Tuesday night by a margin of two goals or more to claim top spot. A single goal victory for the Italians (or failure to win) will see the Spanish outfit finish ahead.

Atletico are 1.222/9 to win Group A, Juventus can be backed at 5.04/1.

In the other Group A fixture, Olympiakos need only avoid defeat at home to Malmo to qualify for the Europa League.

Group B

A very simple group to understand. Real Madrid are the winners, and Liverpool will finish second if they beat FC Basel at Anfield on Tuesday night, for which they can be backed at 1.784/5 to do so.

Should Brendan Rodgers' men fail to win then Basel will progress to the knock-out stage, and if Ludogorets - away to Reald Madrid - somehow manage to better Liverpool's result then it will be the Bulgarian side who go into the Europa League at the Reds' expense.

Group C

A fascinating group. Bayer Levrkusen have definitely qualified, but it remains to be seen whether as group winners or runners-up. Either Monaco or Zenit St Petersburg will join Leverkusen in the knock-out stages, but either can still finish top or as low as third depending on results.

Leverkusen have it in their own hands; a win at Benfica and they will top the group. Anything other than a win means Monaco will win the group if they win at home to Zenit.

However, if Leverkusen lose in Portugal then just a draw for Monaco will see them claim top spot, but a defeat means Zenit will be the group winners and Monaco will go into the Europa League. Such fine margins.

To win Grooup C, Leverkusen can be backed at 1.75/7, Monaco at 3.259/4, and Zenit at 7.87/1.

Group D

Another very straightforward group; Borussia Dortmund and Arsenal have qualified to the knock-out stage, Anderlecht will play Europa League football in the next phase. The only matter yet to be resolved is who finishes top of the standings.

The Gunners are 2.166/5 away to Galatasaray and must win to stand a chance of topping the group. But they will also need help from Anderlecht in Germany.

Should Dortmund win then they will top the group, and they are also very likely to finish top of the pile if they only draw (assuming Arsenal win) as their head-to-head record with Arsenal is identical. This brings group goal difference into play and means Arsene Wenger's men would need to beat Galatasaray by at least six goals to finish ahead of the German outfit.

Group E

The easy part here is to say Bayern Munich have won the group. But who joins the 4.216/5 Champions League favourites in the knock-out stage might get very complicated indeed.

The most likely outcome is that if there is a winner in the Roma v Manchester City game then they will progress. Roma qualify most definitely with a win, City qualify if they win and CSKA Moscow fail to beat Bayern in Germany.

Should Roma and Man City draw however, and Moscow lose, then it's all down to the scoreline. A 0-0 draw will see Roma qualify (better head-to-head with City thanks to their away goal in Manchester), a 1-1 draw or higher will see the Citizens qualify because of their superior goal difference in the group (should it end 1-1) or better head-to-head record (2-2 or higher).

The other outcome that we definitely know is that if Moscow beat Bayern then they will qualify if Man City don't lose. Wins for both Moscow and Roma will see the Italians qualify because of their better head-to-head over the Russian outfit.

If both games end in a draw then we are assured that Roma will qualify, even though Man City - with a 1-1 draw or higher - could end up with a better head-to-head record over the Italians. Please direct any questions/queries to UEFA.

Group F

PSG and Barcelona will qualify from Group E, Ajax or APOEL will go into the Europa League. The first two mentioned meet each other on Wednesday night, and so do the last two mentioned, so this is all very simple.

Laurent Blanc's side must avoid defeat in the Nou Camp to top the group - Barcelona 1.564/7, PSG 6.611/2, The Draw 4.57/2 - while Ajax need to avoid defeat at home - Ajax 1.625/8, APOEL 5.85/1, The Draw 4.216/5 - to remain in Europe.

A win for Barcelona however will see them top the group, while a APOEL victory will progress them into the Europa League.

Group G

Chelsea have won the group and will be joined in the knock-out stage by either Sporting Lisbon or Schalke.

A draw for Lisbon at Stamford Bridge will see them progress because even if Schalke win at Maribor and move level on points, the Portuguese outfit have a better head-to-head record. In fact the only way Schalke can qualify is if they beat Maribor and Lisbon lose.

Maribor are 4.67/2 to beat Schalke, and if they do so then that is the only result that will move them above the German side and into the Europa League.

Group H

Possibly the most straightforward group of them all; Porto have finished top and Shakhtar Donetsk have finished second regardless of how their meeting ends up on Wednesday night.

That just leaves one matter to be decided - who will go into the Europa League? Athletic Bilbao have a one point advantage over BATE Borisov and therefore only need to avoid defeat at home to the Belarusian side to progress. Bilbao 1.330/100, BATE 13.012/1, The Draw 6.25/1.

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