UEFA Champions League Final: FC Barcelona v Manchester United - Saturday 28th May

[FcGers10]

Re: UEFA Champions League Final: FC Barcelona v Manchester United - Saturday 28th May I thought I would reveal my true colours haha :lol! Although everything I said above that was being open minded and from what I had seen all season :). Yes, I can see we are going to end up going back and forth on certain subjects if we haven't already done that! Oh well, too late, hopefully others have enjoyed reading our posts lol! Agreed with you that Barcelona will need to score to win this game unless it goes to penalties, obviously :tongue2. Basing your opinion of Pedro and Villa on the stats is fair enough and you cannot argue with the stats and I see how you conclude the burden falls on Messi to score the goals. We will agree to disagree and everyone is entitled to an opinion which is neither right or wrong. My thoughts are as ive says, I would not underestimate Pedro or Villa due to the stats or current form. I wouldn't like chances to fall their way is all im saying. The only fear for United neutralising Messi's threat is that from every game up until this point, there is not ONE player who can say, I stopped Messi. Therefore, it would suggest it will take Man Utd more than 1 player to stop Messi if they possibly can. Doing this would therefore leave space elsewhere and an unmarked man. Knowing Barcelona, they will pick apart any team 11 v 11 so giving them the extra space and extra man will introduce other players to score the goals if we assume Messi is out of the picture somewhat. Surely you agree or at least see where im coming from :). To me it would seem Man Utd would get opened up hugely this way. This then looks at the whole picture and question Man Utd have to answer, How do we stop Barcelona? And just stopping Messi isnt going to stop them although it would go a long way doing that. There's no doubt it will be a very hard night for Man Utd and no doubt in my eyes Barcelona are surely favourites. This is all just my opinion though. I can see how your basing your opinion on current form yes, but to say my comment 'form goes out the window because its a final' is nonsense is a bit harsh :\. For an example, Gerard Pique, been solid at the back all season, uninjured, had to have a few central defensive partners due to injuries to others - Puyol - Milito - Abidal and is playing very well. He goes into the final, slips, and rooney's in? Short pass back to keeper intercepted? Caught in possession?. Or turn it round, Ferdinand slips, Villa's in one on one. You can fancy the chances if you like but i'd rather not thanks lol. Anything can happen is what I mean, its a final. I have not finalised my bets yet as we are only at Wednesday but I am considering a first goalscorer in Villa or Iniesta yes, because if attention is giving to Messi, stopping his shots then if a goal is coming it must be from elsewhere? Even though the stats would suggest not Villa or Pedro. Both not been in goalscoring form and Barca's normally solid and reliable defence so Yes I can see how you could have a pop at under 2.5 goals :ok. It is known that a lot of Barcelona's players are tired and at the beginning of the season were tired from the World Cup as players themselves have admitted. Pep has done well coaching and training them to get to where they are now. I think they were glad to get the league won as soon as possible. They were playing exceptional 4-5 months ago, beating Real Madrid 5-0 comes to mind and their obviously not in that form just now. Im not thinking they will come out and blow Man Utd away 5-0 but they will be prepared and motivated and agreed Pep has done all he can in the hope they are refreshed. Personal opinion is that the couple weeks break that they have been able to have will have done them a world of good and refreshed them. It mostly does concern the Spanish World Cup players which is quite a few but people like Messi who didn't go all the way in the World Cup, didnt even want to be left out of the last two meaningless league games so he's ready and raring to go lol :tongue2. i'll say no more as we are going to be repeating ourselves it seems haha. Enjoyed reading your opinions mate, good talking to you, and can see your point of view. Good luck with any bets you put on and enjoy the final :D ... ..Viva el Barcaaaaa!! :lol

[Lahrio]

Re: UEFA Champions League Final: FC Barcelona v Manchester United - Saturday 28th May I feel that Barca are better in every position except their defence. I can't see how United will shut down the Barca midfield. The only team that has outplayed Barca in Europe over the past 3 seasons has been an Inter side led by Mourinho. That was last season, and somehow Messi has become even better then he was back then. It is Barcelona's game to win, and if they show up they should win it comfortably. Barcelona @ 2.00 (Sportbet) Barcelone -1 @ 3.75 (Sportsbet)

[theboybroon]

Re: UEFA Champions League Final: FC Barcelona v Manchester United - Saturday 28th May

As for Pedro' date= Christmas, end of January who cares? It's still months ago whichever way you look at it! 2 goals since then tells it's own story for a offensive player in a superb team like this one, and he is subbed virtually every game, if he does start at all..

Pedro Since Beginning of Feb potentially 23 games -

90 minutes completed - 3

Substituted - 9

Substitute brought on - 7

Assists - 1

Goals - 2

You can't argue with that can you!? Yes i can.:) Stats don't and never tell the whole story! What's has February got to to with it, it was months ago. ;) Potential games wtf? Subbed virtually every game if he does start at all? If you really do watch Spanish football you'll know that Ozil was subbed nearly every game he started and you know fine well it wasn't because he had been playing poorly. Great players are regularly subbed so that argument carries no substance. If he does start at all? From when he was injured on the 13/3 he made 3 sub appearances which amounted to one hour of football up untill the 16/4 where he started against Real Madrid as he did in their following three meetings. That tells me a lot and on watching these games it is my opinion that whilst he's probably not been at his best, he's certainly not been poor. If you don't mind me asking did you get on the unders @ 1.84 and if so when as the market on Betfair has been steady around 1.72 for the last week. Well done if you did :ok Anyway that's me done, at least with regards to Pedro ;) so the best of luck to you, and anyone else having a bet on the game. :ok

[drawback05]

Re: UEFA Champions League Final: FC Barcelona v Manchester United - Saturday 28th May If we are looking at betting then here are the value bets, as I see them. 1. Dani Alves to be booked 2/1 Betfair. This man will be chased, hassled and harangued all day long by the engine that is Park Ji-Sung. So he will either be booked for diving or else he will dive in on Park. 2. Both teams to score 21-20 William Hill. Barcelona will have the ball for over 70% of the game but with a resurgent Valencia back on form for United he will be piling in dangerous crosses and Rooney and Hernandez will be lurking. 3. Man Utd to come from behind and win or draw 11-2 William Hill. They did this to Bayern Munchen in 1999 and Arsenal did this to Barcelona in 2011. Fergie may well have to have the hairdryer on at half-time, but no-one does it like him. 4. Minutes of additional time in second half 4 mins 9/4 or 5 mins 11/2 Imogen's Bookie. Barring a first half injury there should be 6 substitutions in the second half, so that's 3 minutes as a minimum. I like the 5 for added drama, with one side being a goal down. Hoping for a good match with Barcelona coming out on top!

[HastGill1]

Re: UEFA Champions League Final: FC Barcelona v Manchester United - Saturday 28th May

:lol Right, be my last post on the game as it's getting daft. Potential games meant the amount of games he could have played during this period. It doesn't hugely matter how many times he completed 90 mins I agree, but anyone who plays for Barca in a highly attacking position like he does should have better stats than 1 assist and 2 goals, contrast what his early season stats were and I expect you would get a fair idea of what I'm talking about. Stats do matter if you play in a position like him, I would expect Villa to be judged on goals and assists as should Messi, if you play for such a high profile side and can't expect to be judged on anything else especially in the positions these people play in..but hey-ho, agree to disagree. 1.84 was on paddypower on Mon-Tues I think, I quoted it in one of my earlier posts, I didn't put anything on as I'm flying to Vegas when the game is on and can't watch it (begs the question why the bloody hell have I spent so much time discussing a game I can't watch), but in retrospect maybe should have done considering how the prices have gone. Pretty sure I wasn't mistaken but if you say the exchanges have been 1.72 for the past week, then your making me a bit unsure.. Good luck with whatever bets you have on the game, I don't think it will be a cracker but I remember saying the same before the Liverpool v Alaves final in '01 and deciding to work through it, was very wrong that time..:lol

[TheImp]

Re: UEFA Champions League Final: FC Barcelona v Manchester United - Saturday 28th May This is probably the hardest game to predict so far for 2011 in my opinion. I've written up my opinions on both teams who I have watched regularly: Barcelona I've watched Barcelona every week, and certainly if this game was being played prior to the Christmas break/end of 2010 I would have bitten your hand off even for odds of 1.95, they were that sensational, week in week out scoring 5/6+ goals against league opponents. I compare them very much in terms of form with Chelsea who were scoring bags of goals at the start of the season but trailed off. However, since the Christmas break, things have been different. It even comes through from watching that the fluidity isn't as it was a few months earlier. This could be due to fatigue, or even Real Madrid's form increasing has put a bit of pressure on them. I do agree that Villa has been very poor and in my opinion he doesn't deserve a starting position. Pedro has been excellent but again his form in the past few months has dropped vastly. I don't think you can really say that Messi is someone who you can write off based on conditions/previous stats. He really is someone who out of nothing can create both for others and himself at the drop of a hat (example against Real Madrid in the 1st leg semi-final) and even when the rest of the team's heads have dropped, his quality can come through. For that reason, Barcelona have shown they are extremely potent in the second half with the vast majority of their goals this season coming after half time. Barca's key players are Puyol, Pique, Xavi, Iniesta, Messi and Pedro at the moment. I can't believe no one has really mentioned Dani Alves - he is superb on the wing as a defender, very similar to how Fabio/Rafael play with deep runs and crosses and it will be an excellent contest seeing either of the twins play against him. In Europe, Barcelona have put aside tougher teams with relative ease including Real Madrid, Shaktar, Arsenal. However aside from beating Panathinaikos (sp?) 0-3, they have scored no more than 2 goals per match, unlike their league performances. Manchester United United's performance this season has not been outstanding, but sufficient with no outstanding single player really dominating in the way that Messi has for Barcelona. They are a very team orientated organisation with a mix of experience (Giggs, Scholes, Vidic, Ferdinand etc) combined with youth and flair (Hernandez, Fabio/Rafeal, Park, Nani) with inbetweeners like Rooney, Park, Fletcher etc linking up. This is a team that has not changed massively in dynamic over the past seasons and has really culminated this season. I agree with what Beckham said recently in that this season's team is the best team that Ferguson has crafted for years. United have been excellent at home, with a poorer away record. If this was being played as a Premier League tie against a team with a similar calibre to Barcelona I would definately opposed them, however their Champions League form completely diminishes that idea, they have been excellent both home and away in Europe. Manchester United's midfield is weaker than Barcelonas, with United's strength really in its defence and strikeforce particularly Vidic/Ferdinand/Evra and Rooney/Hernandez (although Berbatov deserves a mention). The twins on the defensive wings have been good this season breaking forward and supporting any attacks. I think the key point with United and the Champions League this season is that they have had an easy time of it in Europe. They haven't played any real major club aside from Chelsea whose form was questionable anyway. They haven't encountered the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona, Inter, AC Milan, Bayern etc having had an easy route through to the final playing teams like Schalke (who are the bottom end of the Bundesliga), a poor Chelsea, Marseille, Valencia, Rangers and Bursaspor. Summary I genuinely think from all of the above it is going to be an extremely tight game with few chances on goal with lots of midfield battles. I do think that considering Barcelona's style of play, the way they can create out of nothing, in particularly with Messi/Xavi/Iniesta etc they will snatch a second half goal, where most of their goals come from. Barcelona @ 2.05 (William Hill) Correct score 1-0 @ 7.00 (William Hill)

[aloha]

Re: UEFA Champions League Final: FC Barcelona v Manchester United - Saturday 28th May I agree with bounce08, that this game is hard to predict, because, on one hand, barcelona has been great for the whole season, on the other hand, playing at Wembley will surely benefit ManUnited, and finally, it's Champions League final, enough said. I've seen a lot of match winner predictions here, so, I've decided to turn your attention to corner market. I personally believe that this final will be similar to what we saw in 2009 in Rome. I expect both teams to be very accurate at the back and keeping clean sheet will be number one priority for both teams. If to speak about me, I believe that there is value in Asian Total Corners Under 9.5. I've made a small research and found out, that during 2009 final there were only 5 corners [barcelona - ManU 3:2]. I also checked couple of games with approximately equal teams in knockout phase of 2011 Champions League. Barcelona - Arsenal 5:2 Arsenal - Barcelona 4:1 ManU - Chelsea 7:2 Chelsea - ManU 3:5 As you can see, all of these games went under 9.5. So, my choice is: Asian Total Corners Under 9.5 @ 1.95 (Bet365) There is also a chance, that by the end of the game there will be one goal difference and winning team will try to waste as much time near the corner flags as possible, so, there is alternative bet: 1st half Asian Total Corners Under 4.5 @ 1.90 (Bet365) Thank you for your attention and good luck with your bets ! aloha

[slizorn]

Re: UEFA Champions League Final: FC Barcelona v Manchester United - Saturday 28th May

I agree with bounce08, that this game is hard to predict, because, on one hand, barcelona has been great for the whole season, on the other hand, playing at Wembley will surely benefit ManUnited, and finally, it's Champions League final, enough said. I've seen a lot of match winner predictions here, so, I've decided to turn your attention to corner market. I personally believe that this final will be similar to what we saw in 2009 in Rome. I expect both teams to be very accurate at the back and keeping clean sheet will be number one priority for both teams. If to speak about me, I believe that there is value in Asian Total Corners Under 9.5. I've made a small research and found out, that during 2009 final there were only 5 corners [barcelona - ManU 3:2]. I also checked couple of games with approximately equal teams in knockout phase of 2011 Champions League. Barcelona - Arsenal 5:2 Arsenal - Barcelona 4:1 ManU - Chelsea 7:2 Chelsea - ManU 3:5 As you can see, all of these games went under 9.5. So, my choice is: Asian Total Corners Under 9.5 @ 1.95 (Bet365) There is also a chance, that by the end of the game there will be one goal difference and winning team will try to waste as much time near the corner flags as possible, so, there is alternative bet: 1st half Asian Total Corners Under 4.5 @ 1.90 (Bet365) Thank you for your attention and good luck with your bets ! aloha

I am so with you on this. Just gonna throw in some more statistics that I found. 11 out of 12 of Barcelona's games have gone Under 10.5 Corners. Barcelona's games are producing an average of about 7 corners per game. 8 out of 12 of Man Utd's games have gone Under 10.5 Corners. Man Utd's games are producing an average of about 10 corners per game. 10pts Under 10.5 Corners @ 1.62 StanJames 4pts Under 9.5 Corners @ 1.95 Bet365 GL all :hope

[TheImp]

Re: UEFA Champions League Final: FC Barcelona v Manchester United - Saturday 28th May I agree on the corners. Barcelona really aren't the type of team that plays for corners, they rarely score goals from lofted balls and prefer their passing game of in and around the box.....even Dani Alves who plays the wings cuts inside at the top end of the penalty area instead of coming inside near corners. I'm going to go with this generous offering from Ladbrokes: Under 9 Corners @ 13/8 (Ladbrokes)

[Rob the I ty]

Re: UEFA Champions League Final: FC Barcelona v Manchester United - Saturday 28th May Draw @3.50 I see a tight game here which is usually the case in finals of any kind. Barca are superb as we all know but teams haven't allowed them to roam through the middle so easily. Man U match well with them, in they can defend the middle of the park with Fletcher, Park, Carrick, Vidic/Rio, plus Rooney can't track back and act as defender when needed. Barca were fortunate against both Arsenal and Real to play with a man advantage at crucial points in each fixture, both fixtures were in the balance up to that point. Real were quite even with Barca in every match within the past month, what seperated them was Pepe's red card which was quite harsh tbh. United are a great counter attacking side something Inter used to exploit Barca last season. United's physicality and speed will push Barca around and keep them from being comfortable on the ball and force them to pass around the half way line. I see this game being very similar to the recent matches vs Real. Add United +0.5 @1.85 Game decided by penalties @6.00

[witcha lineman]

Re: UEFA Champions League Final: FC Barcelona v Manchester United - Saturday 28th May Pique first goalscorer 25/1 with paddy power. Pique 1-0 80's and Pique 2-0 at 125/1. PP refunding if barca win. so its win win imo.

[HeresTheKey]

Re: UEFA Champions League Final: FC Barcelona v Manchester United - Saturday 28th May my preference goes to over 2,5 in bet365 @ 2,25 they refund your first live bet if it s a loser so this gives me a chance for covering in the second half if the game is 0-0 why over 2,5? cause of the odds of course my point of view is that in a match with players like mesi, nani, rooney, villa, giggs, iniesta etc over 2,5 has equal chances with under 2,5 so i go with the odds i dont agree with the folks that say that finals are always tight

If we look back on the previous European cup finals since it became the Champions league in 1992 there has been 18 finals and 9 have gone over 2.5 and 9 have gone under 2.5. good luck to all!

[ONEDUNME]

Re: UEFA Champions League Final: FC Barcelona v Manchester United - Saturday 28th May It baffles me why people seem to think that playing at Wembley will be a big advantage for United. Why exactly? The pitch is about the same size as Barca's pitch. A standard international pitch size that every single Barca player will be well used to playing on. It's not as if it's a home game for united where the crowd would be 80 or 90 percent United fans. Where's the logic? You would have thought that a United team would be more used to, and suited by playing at Wembley than Manchester City were. Didn't do them a great deal of good did it? If Barca go a goal up, United will find themselves wishing they were playing somewhere with a smaller pitch so that they could get the ball back.

[Rijpma05]

Re: UEFA Champions League Final: FC Barcelona v Manchester United - Saturday 28th May

Also Paddy Power are doing money back if Barca win in 90 mins (correct score' date=' 1st/last goalscorer and scorecast) so if anyone has an account and is betting on united in any of these it might be worth a bet here.[/quote'] Great bonus indeed. Especially since there is a 50euro free bet involved for new customers. There are so many options available for a system. I wanted to go for Rooney first goalscorer with a free bet on 1-1. BUT Paddy Power banns the Dutch for some reason, with means i cannot register. Does anyone know a way to circumvent this annoying limitation?

[stefanos56]

Re: UEFA Champions League Final: FC Barcelona v Manchester United - Saturday 28th May A hard match to call so I've considered first player to be booked (as decent odds in this market i.e. the favourite usually starts at about 8/1). Firstly, some things to consider (Stats in the Champions League): Bookings: Barcelona have received 13 bookings United have received 12 bookings Possession (team with least possession needs to tackle more): Barca average 62% possession United average 58% possession United's biggest foulers: Players in bold expected to start Nani (22 fouls) Evra (14) (20/1) Fabio (13) (12/1) Park (12) (20/1) Hernandez (10) (16/1) Barca's biggest foulers: Alves (28 fouls) (9/1 to be booked 1st) Messi (20) (28/1) Villa (16) (25/1) Busquets (14) (10/1) Keita (12) * Obviously, Masherano hasn't played much. Most booked United: Anderson (2) Scholes (1) (8/1 to be booked 1st) Fabio (1) (12/1) Hernandez (1) (22/1) Giggs (1) (22/1) Barca: Iniesta (3) (surprised me) (28/1) Pique (3) (10/1) Milito (1) (14/1) In conclusion

• Fabio features twice, so in theory looks a likely contender - going against him is he'll most likely be closest to (position-wise) the ineffective Villa.
• Looking at bookings, Iniesta has had the most and has largest odds so in that sense, best value
• Considering possession, I fancy a United player to be booked first as they won't want Barca to settle in to their tiki taka game (plus, Barca will dive)
• Evra up against Messi in the main so 14/1 looks decent

Refusing to be wooed by 28/1 for Iniesta, however, anytime booking is 6/1 First booking bet? I'm plumping Evra at 20/1 up against dangerous Messi and diving, cheating Alves and Fabio at 12/1

[stefanos56]

Re: UEFA Champions League Final: FC Barcelona v Manchester United - Saturday 28th May ^ Sorry, odds with StanJames.

[MrMal]

Re: UEFA Champions League Final: FC Barcelona v Manchester United - Saturday 28th May Coming from the same angle as Stefanos The Ref - Kassai, seems to be erratic with booking players and definitely doesn't like awarding penalties, just ask Arsenal. The stats below are just European Cup games. Europa League Spartak Mosc v Porto 1Yellow (1st = 25min) Champs League Inter v Bayern 5Y (1st = 21min) Braga v Arsenal 7Y (1st = 38min) Spurs v Inter 6Y (1st = 36min) Valencia v ManU 1Y (1st = 90min) Sampdoria v Werder Bremen 6Y (1st = 13min) Now as this is a high profile match I would be of the opinion that he will let things go early on. He is not 100% consistent which was shown in the Inter/Bayern match where some dubious decisions allowed players to stay on the pitch where other refs might have sent them off. As for the teams themselves, not many mistakes are made by both sides to force the ref to act as you can see from both their records in this seasons UCL. Teams & their Bookings in UCL (opposition bookings not counted) Barcelona v Real Madrid (H) 1Yellow (1st = 54min) v Real Madrid (A) 2Y 1R (1st = 44min) v Shaktar (A) 1Y (1st = 71min) v Shaktar (H) 1Y (1st = 59min) v Arsenal (H) 0Y v Arsenal (A) 2Y (1st = 30min) v Rubin Kazan (H) 0Y v Panathinaikos (A) 1Y (1st = 31min) v København (A) 1Y (1st = 50min) v København (H) 1Y (1st = 81min) v Rubin Kazan (A) 2Y (1st = 52min) v Panathinaikos (H) 0Y Man Utd v Schalke 04 (H) 3Yellow (1st = 31min) v Schalke 04 (A) 1Y (1st = 58min) v Chelsea (H) 2Y (1st = 19min) v Chelsea (A) 2Y (1st = 74min) v Marseille (H) 1Y (1st = 20min) v Marseille (A) 0Y v Valencia (H) 1Y (1st = 44min) v Rangers (A) 0Y v Bursaspor (A) 0Y v Bursaspor (H) 1Y (1st = 40min) v Valencia (A) 0Y **Kassai officiated** v Rangers (H) 1Y (1st = 90min) 24 Matches with 5 having the first booking up to & including 31st min. 7 of the matches had no team bookings (Barca 3 and ManU 4), but then most of those were in the early stages of the tourney. Going on the stats alone and the fact it is high profile, I will punt on a booking after 31 minutes and a card index of up to 3. First Booking - After the 31st minute @ 1.83 (7/10) Card Index - Up to and Including 30 points @ 2.1 (7/10) Both PaddyPower

[captaincool]

Re: UEFA Champions League Final: FC Barcelona v Manchester United - Saturday 28th May

Coming from the same angle as Stefanos The Ref - Kassai, seems to be erratic with booking players and definitely doesn't like awarding penalties, just ask Arsenal. The stats below are just European Cup games. Europa League Spartak Mosc v Porto 1Yellow (1st = 25min) Champs League Inter v Bayern 5Y (1st = 21min) Braga v Arsenal 7Y (1st = 38min) Spurs v Inter 6Y (1st = 36min) Valencia v ManU 1Y (1st = 90min) Sampdoria v Werder Bremen 6Y (1st = 13min) Now as this is a high profile match I would be of the opinion that he will let things go early on. He is not 100% consistent which was shown in the Inter/Bayern match where some dubious decisions allowed players to stay on the pitch where other refs might have sent them off. As for the teams themselves, not many mistakes are made by both sides to force the ref to act as you can see from both their records in this seasons UCL. Teams & their Bookings in UCL (opposition bookings not counted) Barcelona v Real Madrid (H) 1Yellow (1st = 54min) v Real Madrid (A) 2Y 1R (1st = 44min) v Shaktar (A) 1Y (1st = 71min) v Shaktar (H) 1Y (1st = 59min) v Arsenal (H) 0Y v Arsenal (A) 2Y (1st = 30min) v Rubin Kazan (H) 0Y v Panathinaikos (A) 1Y (1st = 31min) v København (A) 1Y (1st = 50min) v København (H) 1Y (1st = 81min) v Rubin Kazan (A) 2Y (1st = 52min) v Panathinaikos (H) 0Y Man Utd v Schalke 04 (H) 3Yellow (1st = 31min) v Schalke 04 (A) 1Y (1st = 58min) v Chelsea (H) 2Y (1st = 19min) v Chelsea (A) 2Y (1st = 74min) v Marseille (H) 1Y (1st = 20min) v Marseille (A) 0Y v Valencia (H) 1Y (1st = 44min) v Rangers (A) 0Y v Bursaspor (A) 0Y v Bursaspor (H) 1Y (1st = 40min) v Valencia (A) 0Y **Kassai officiated** v Rangers (H) 1Y (1st = 90min) 24 Matches with 5 having the first booking up to & including 31st min. 7 of the matches had no team bookings (Barca 3 and ManU 4), but then most of those were in the early stages of the tourney. Going on the stats alone and the fact it is high profile, I will punt on a booking after 31 minutes and a card index of up to 3. First Booking - After the 31st minute @ 1.83 (7/10) Card Index - Up to and Including 30 points @ 2.1 (7/10) Both PaddyPower

I love the time you've taken over this BUT it's flawed. As important as it is to check the number of cards for each team, it is also vital to see how many the opposition received. Barcelona, for example, have proven adept at both drawing fouls and play acting, which can both see players carded. It's also worth noting that United's average has increased as the games become more important. I'd argue that this is the most important of all the stats. You also have to consider the possibility of time wasting related cards. The Porto v Braga final saw a huge flurry of cards at the end due to Porto players either time wasting or cynically fouling in non-dangerous areas of the pitch. If one team is 1-0 up with 5 mins to go, they will waste time like mad and i wouldn't put it past either side to make professional fouls to break up attacks. I probably won't bet on this market but if I was I'd probably go over 45 at 11/8.

[TheImp]

Re: UEFA Champions League Final: FC Barcelona v Manchester United - Saturday 28th May I do think that this match has the potential for lots of cards for the following reasons: -Barcelona's style of football with quick passing in and around the box, short runs and lots of possesion will draw in defenders with the likes of Ferdinand/Vidic/Evra/Fabio or Rafael attracting cards when dealing with play like this -Players like Dani Alves, Rafael/Fabio, Vidic, Giggs, Scholes etc often on the receiving end of cards -This being a cup final, if one team gets an early goal then you can expect time wasting and/or keeping the ball near the corner flag attracting challengers -This being a cup final, frustration from the losing team manifesting itself in various ways -Even when winning, Man Utd still attract cards (3 against Schalke even when they were 2-0 up) Over 45 Booking points @ 6/4 (William Hill) UPDATE: Just found that Coral are doing 46+ Booking Points at 7/4 which is the same bet as above. Will definately be having some of that!

[Dumyat]

Re: UEFA Champions League Final: FC Barcelona v Manchester United - Saturday 28th May This PP offer of money back on a BARCA win is prob their most generous ever refund terms. Just going by current BARCA price of about 2.1 there over a 45% chance on losers refunded. This makes almost everything they offer favorable even if miles away from top price. I would have tried a £100 correct score this morning but they were restricting to £50 on phone - so I didn't bother. Will see if their shops take it live.

[Paddy13]

Re: UEFA Champions League Final: FC Barcelona v Manchester United - Saturday 28th May 50 is the max stake they will refund it states it in the terms and conditions.. Although if you did two 50 stakes in two seperate shops how are they to know.

[Mr.Europe]

Re: UEFA Champions League Final: FC Barcelona v Manchester United - Saturday 28th May yeah I'm on the cards as well. The individual Utd players are on lower odds to receive a card but that is natural given that the Barca midfield and attack will dominate possession and you can see loads of mistimed tackles & acts of frustration coming in from the likes of Vidic, Evra, Rafael and probably other players further up the field too. I'll go for Vidic because of his natural aggression and im sure he'll be out to give Villa, Messi et al a hard time. Vidic to be shown a card @ 2.8 (Betfair)

[Dumyat]

Re: UEFA Champions League Final: FC Barcelona v Manchester United - Saturday 28th May

50 is the max stake they will refund it states it in the terms and conditions.. Although if you did two 50 stakes in two seperate shops how are they to know.

I checked again a moment ago. Money-Back Special If Barcelona win this match in normal time, Paddy Power will refund all losing 1st/Last Goalscorer, Correct Score and Scorecast singles on the match. Conditions. When you click the "Conditions" button it brings up a message which says the max refund is 100 pounds/euros per customer.

[Delahicka]

Re: UEFA Champions League Final: FC Barcelona v Manchester United - Saturday 28th May Why is it the bigger the game the more shite talking that goes on around here ? There have been 3 games this week played in the Nations Cup in Dublin between teams in the British Isies who most people on here are really familiar with and all 3 games were easy to call regarding straight wins ,I won money on 2 out of 2 bets placed and on the forum for these matches there was hardly any post. This match between United and Barca is so hard to call yet people are gonna throw money away on it just because they want to have more of an interest in the biggest game of football on the planet this year. Anyway I'm going to be a big hypocrite now and tell you the bet I'm going for. (I'm not placing this bet because I want to have more of an interest in this massive game, no , my motive is to win money and I am really familiar with these 2 teams and also the competition) Too hard to call a winner because I feel SAF is more prepared this time, United more experienced this time and are definitly worth a goal. Barcelona just don't fail to score even when they play bad (0-0 with depor don't count, had their B team out) , so Both Teams To Score , Evens @ Paddys Good Luck to everybody:ok

[DoobleDutch]

Re: UEFA Champions League Final: FC Barcelona v Manchester United - Saturday 28th May

Why is it the bigger the game the more shite talking that goes on around here ? There have been 3 games this week played in the Nations Cup in Dublin between teams in the British Isies who most people on here are really familiar with and all 3 games were easy to call regarding straight wins ,I won money on 2 out of 2 bets placed and on the forum for these matches there was hardly any post. This match between United and Barca is so hard to call yet people are gonna throw money away on it just because they want to have more of an interest in the biggest game of football on the planet this year.

Congratulations on your two winning bets, but what's with the lecture? Of course this is a very tough game to call, and bookies priced it correctly, but if we are willing to gamble on the result and perhaps give up some value to be involved in the big game, what's the problem? The over-round isn't too bad, and I think the booze will cost me more tonight anyway. FWIW I believe BTTS is correctly priced too, like all markets for this event, which is normal considering the attention and the volume at stakes. Just my 2 cents.

[chala]

Re: UEFA Champions League Final: FC Barcelona v Manchester United - Saturday 28th May Bet365 are giving away a free inplay matched bet of up to £50 if you place a bet on the game before kick-off. Another good offer, particularly for anyone who wants to back Barcelona.:ok

[DoobleDutch]

Re: UEFA Champions League Final: FC Barcelona v Manchester United - Saturday 28th May I'm considering Under 1 AH HT @1.65 (bait365, can't shop around); any opinion? >60% 0-0 HT for

[Striker]

Re: UEFA Champions League Final: FC Barcelona v Manchester United - Saturday 28th May To score at any time Alves @ 10-1 [bet365] Giggs @ 9-1 [unibet] a bit of value by avoiding the obvious bets in Messi or Rooney

[Irefutabilul]

Re: UEFA Champions League Final: FC Barcelona v Manchester United - Saturday 28th May

Sport	Football (Champions League)
Event	Barcelona v Manchester United
Selection	Over 3.5
Strength	10/10
Date	28/05/2011
Bookmaker/Price	Unibet @ 4.60
Reasoning	We've got a Champions League final tonight! Arguably, this the most important match of the season for any European club and both would do anything to lift the trophy. I'm not touching the sides. I think that Barcelona are probably the best team in the world but United can make it tight too and win the trophy. The Red Devils have got plenty team chemistry lately, and I would say that they're even better than they used to be a few years ago when Ronaldo was playing. Barca, on the other hand, are well-known for their striking force and their "tiki-taka" that usually stuns their opponents. The match is of a crucial importance, that's not an issue, but we've got two striking forces on the other hand. Messi & co can score anytime, against any defence. United defence is hugely overrated in my opinion. They should have conceded more goals so far in this competition and their defence has been flimpsy at times, as well as in the Premier league. But they can score. According to some news, Rooney will start up front while Nani and Hernadez will start from the bench. I think I know exactly what Sir Alex is interested to do. He wants to rest them for the first half when nothing will be decided yet, and throw them in attack later in the second half when Barca players will be more tired and these guys will run more fast thus, hiting on the break and creating mess up-front. Barca, on the other hand, is such a team that can score even from the first minutes. Anything can happen and it will be down to a lot of things. One thing I am sure is that this total has been set too low. 2.25 is not a total for Barca - United. No matter how important the match is, but the losing team will throw everything up-front in order to equalize, and this could lead to even more goals. Possesionally, or on the break, but one of them will score.

[mandrew420]

Re: UEFA Champions League Final: FC Barcelona v Manchester United - Saturday 28th May Imo everyone reasoned everything in thi match so far so here are my picks without the deep analysis :tongue2 Half Time score 0:0 @BET365 :hope 2,5 Full Time score 1:0 @BET365 :hope 6 Full Time score 1:1 @BET365 :hope 6,5 Barca Win @BET365 :hope 2 Halftime/Fulltime Draw/Barca @BET365 :hope 4,5 or 4,75 dont remmember By the way I heard that Puyol will start...any info about that???? Very short reasoning....Imo barca wont score many goals cause Man Utd has a good defence...It will be a midfield TIGHT battle which will barca win cause they got greater power in midfield than man utd...man utd will be hard to crack which hopefully barca wont crack till halftime...but with building pressure barca will manage to score in 2nd half and I am RICH :ok What do u think about my picks??? cheers :beer