Football Betting Previews

Champions League Barcelona V Manchester United (Monday, May 25, 2009)

Barcelona V Manchester United - Wednesday 19:45 ITV1 It's now the turn of the biggie itself. The Champions League is the greatest club competition in Europe, possibly even the world. It will be shown all across the globe and will attract well over 100 million viewers. For 90 minutes, the majority of Europe, especially the two country's involved, will stand still as Barcelona and Manchester United do battle for the best team in Europe tag. To add to the anticipation of the big game, the recipe for an exciting game is close to perfection. There are too many world class players on show for this to even come to close to a dull affair and we expect this to be a real thriller in Rome. With the Premiership now done and dusted, United now go in search of their fourth piece of silverware this season. With the Carling Cup, World Club Championship and more importantly the Premiership trophy all locked away in the United trophy cabinet, 'The Red Devils' will be gunning for the title of all titles as they prepare to entertain a very dangerous Barcelona side. Sir Alex Ferguson will have the tough task of nullifying the Barcelona forwards which is certainly easier said then done although it maybe wise to seek advice from former Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink. He kept Barcelona at bay for nearly 180 minutes in the Semi-Finals and he was spot on in his tactics despite the negativity of Chelsea's play. However, although United will be looking to drown out the Barcelona front line, they will still want to play their own football and we don't expect Sir Alex to set his side up to defend for one second. He has too many quality players up front to even consider that with Wayne Rooney and Christiano Ronaldo being United's biggest goal scoring threat. They were both rested in Man Utd's 1-0 victory away at Hull over the weekend and the fact that the pair will be fresher then ever is a major negative for Pepe Guardiola and Barcelona. Unlike the Champions of England, Barcelona don't go into the final with a win behind them. Not only did they lose just their fifth game of the season at the weekend but it was also in front of the home fans which doesn't bode well ahead of their biggest match since the 2006 Final with Arsenal. Yes, Pepe Guardiola may have rested a fair few of his first team regulars but it's always a morale boost to go into such a big game with a win behind you. Barca now don't have that luxury and with United having the slight edge in terms of form, the Barcelona manager will need to do his utmost to get his players focused on the task at hand. In regards to the home defeat against Osasuna on Saturday, only Samuel Eto took part and that was down to the Cameroon International attempting to win the Golden Boot award. He failed in his bid to keep Diego Forlan at bay and was predictably substituted at the beginning of the second half. He was the only first team regular to feature in that game and like United, all their players will be fresh after having the weekend off, although it does make you think that a United second string could beat a struggling Hull on their travels and yet a Barcelona side with Eto in attack couldn't beat a relegation threatened Osasuna side at The Nou Camp. There are a few positives for both sides in regards to team news. However, there is more bad news for Barcelona than good news. Pepe Guardiola was boosted by the news that Iniesta is winning his fight for fitness ahead of Wednesdays final. The midfield maestro is Barcelona's most influential player and everything goes through the Spanish international. He was also pivotal in their success against Chelsea as he scored the eventual winner late into injury time. Also, Thierry Henry has been declared fit for the final in what appeared to be a final Henry was destined to miss with a knee injury he sustained in Barcelona's 6-2 mauling of Real Madrid at The Bernabeu a few weeks ago. Now the bad news. Eric Abidal's appeal against his red card in the game with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge wasn't overturned and he will now miss the final along with full-back Dani Alves. The latter will be a big loss for Barcelona as he would have been a huge threat down the wings, bombing forward from right-back. Former United full-back Gerard Pique is now Barcelona's only real recognised defender which does leave the Catalans exposed at the back. Sir Alex Ferguson doesn't have anywhere near as many injury problems as his opposite number. United's only real concern ahead of the trip to Rome is the possible absence of England centre-back Rio Ferdinand and of course the suspension of Darren Fletcher. Ferguson stated earlier in the week that Ferdinand would need to feature against Hull if he was to have any chance of playing the final and that game unfortunately came to early for Rio. A few questions will be raised about the possible starting eleven of Manchester United, especially in defence. With Ferdinand on the brink of missing the final, it would appear that Jonny Evans could step in but after receiving a torrid time by the Porto forwards earlier in the tournament, we aren't too confident in his ability to defend against the likes of Messi, Iniesta and the sheer pace of Eto. I wouldn't hold out much hope of this finishing 0-0. Manchester United may have the best defensive record in the Premiership but their probable back four on Wednesday doesn't fill me with much confidence. John O'Shea and Jonny Evans will need to be on top of their game if they are to keep the Barcelona forwards at bay which in my honest opinion, is highly unlikely. The same can be said for Barca's back line also. They are missing their first choice full-backs and that leaves them exposed to the likes of Ronaldo down the right and Rooney down the left which doesn't bear thinking about if you're a Barcelona backer. We can see this match producing a fair amount of goals. Both sets of forwards should enjoy the vulnerability of the oppositions defence with Barcelona being the weaker of the two. It really is hard to see Rooney and Ronaldo not having much luck against what will be an inexperienced Barca back line and with that in mind, we will regrettably back Man Utd to do the business and win back-to-back Champions League titles. Barcelona - 7/4 @ BlueSquare Draw - 23/10 @ Bet365 Manchester United - 7/4 @ Coral SoccerBetting Tip - Over 2.5 Goals - 11/10 @ SportingBet Labels: champions league betting, Champions League Final Posted by soccerbetting.info @ 4:08 PM << Home