UEFA Champions League ( 28-29 April )

[Bagzi]

Tuesday 28 April 2009	Home	Draw	Away	bookmakers margin on event. however they do not take account commissions that may be charged.>BPP
Barcelona v Chelsea (19:45BST)	1.74	3.85	5.80	100.69 %		Details »
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Wednesday 29 April 2009	Home	Draw	Away	bookmakers margin on event. however they do not take account commissions that may be charged.>BPP
Manchester Utd v Arsenal (19:45BST)	1.90	3.65	5.00	99.78 %		Details »

[Thomas_Craig_Morrison]

Re: UEFA Champions League ( 28-29 April ) Strongly like the look of the Catalans to progress over the two legs, however I worry that the first leg may prove to be a cagey affair. Both Barca and Chelsea have shown in the past that they have the capabilities to score barrelloads of goals, however due to the nature of these 2 legged ties. The first leg, especially in a semi final tends to be a low scoring affair with little given away so I will be backing under 2.5 goals TCM

[Mozzi]

Re: UEFA Champions League ( 28-29 April ) I reckon people will overrate Barca like they did when Madrid played Liverpool. The gulf between English football and Spanish football is growing, which is a shame because as a United fan, I used to love the old clashes between United and Barca that usually ended 3-3. I think Chelsea are going to burst Barca's bubble and either draw 1-1 or perhaps even sneak a 2-1 victory. English sides know that to defend against Barca, you put men behind the ball - Liverpool knew it 2-3 years ago, United knew it last year, and I expect Chelsea to do the same. The only man that can change that is Lionel Messi; the rest of Barca's players can be restrained by extreme defensive tactics and tight marking, which can even lead to Barca's shaky defence being torn apart on the counter-attack. I'd go as far as to recommend laying Barcelona for this one. Man United vs Arsenal is always a game with lots of goals. Both sides are scoring goals for fun at the moment so it should be a great encounter, regardless of the result. However, Arsenal are weak defensively at the best of times and coming to Old Trafford whilst missing 2/3 of your starting back 4 is not a good thing. Young Kieran Gibbs will have the arduous task of marking the best player in the world. I fancy a lot of joy for the home side in that aspect. However, if Anderson doesn't start, Fabregas will see a lot of the ball. Evra needs to play and be on his game if Walcott starts. If Nani starts, whichever wing he's on will give Arsenal joy when attacking because he doesn't track back well. Also, bear in mind that Van Persie is injured and Arshavin is cup-tied. Bendtner is simply not good enough so Arsenal have to hope on Adebayor, who is a fantastic player - on his day. In my eyes, this will be 3-1, but the only safe bet here is surely an over 2.5 goals bet, perhaps even over 3.5 if you're gutsy.

[ABhoyoFromScotland]

Re: UEFA Champions League ( 28-29 April ) Extremely surprised at the lack of posts this thread has....:unsure something I missed..? Anyways....... My Picks.... Barcelona V Chelsea - Barcelona win @ 1.73 (Betfair) My reasoning for this pick is rather simple......I think Barcelona are a superior team to Chelsea. With Barca's midfield pairing of Xavi and Iniesta I feel they have far more passing ability and creativity then either Lampard or Ballack. Messi will terrorise the Chelsea defence and with Ashley Cole missing (Not that he is a big loss) the job of marking the Argentinian sensation will be most likely left to Portugal right-back Jose Bosingwa. I feel with talent such as Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, Eto, Henry, Dani Alves etc it will take a huge effort for Chelsea to avoid conceding tomorrow night at the Camp Nou. Barca at the moment for me are the favourites to win this years CL and IMO are the most exciting team in Europe. Think on their night they could easily knock a couple past Chelsea's defence. Barca win for me :ok Possibly small stakes on Bacelona 2-0 Chelsea also and Messi FGS :ok

[JackJarvis]

Re: UEFA Champions League ( 28-29 April ) I shoved a few quid on a silly acca tonight only to find I am now waiting on Barcelona for a large payout tomorrow. In all honesty, I am not overly confident. Chelsea somehow seem to scrape results from nowhere. I just hope the real Barcelona turn up because if they do, they are easily the best side in the competition and could well thrash Chelsea. I am looking forward to the game now and one thing is for sure, I shall be cheering for the Forza Barca loud and clear!!!

[Teabag]

Re: UEFA Champions League ( 28-29 April ) Barca vs Chelsea I disagree that Cole will not be missed...anyone who has the measure of Ronaldo will be missed;) Think both teams to score could be an interesting bet.... we all know about Barca going forward but can they defend? We shall get a closer look Tuesday evening Good luck to Chelsea:ok

[Mahno]

Re: UEFA Champions League ( 28-29 April ) I'm taking double: Barca/Man.U @3.11 bet365 I'm sure they will try to win at home.I'm not confident about it but it's all depends how good Chelsea and Arsenal will be ready for those games.Drogba is a moody striker,Chech playing shaky lately.Team didn't perform well in last two games against West Ham and Everton.Barca at home looks very good,i don't know how Chelsea defence wll stop Messi,Henry,Etoo.Also everyone keep saying Barca's defence is weak but what about Chelsea attack?When was a last time Anelka scored?If Drogba will be in a bad mood then he won't even try to score.Lampard can score 1 but will it be enough?I think Barca will win 2-0 or 3-1. Chelsea's away record in CL is not very good,if i remember: Juve 2-2,Cluj 0-0,Roma 3-1,Bordeaux 1-1.They only won once 3-1 against Pool :tongue2 In last 2 home CL matches Barca scored 9 goals. Arsenal plays very good football now but i think Man.Un will still beat them at home.Rooney,Ronaldo,Berbatov will be too much for gunners.Not very confident about this match but i think Man.U will win by 1 goal. GL:ok

[ollandos]

Re: UEFA Champions League ( 28-29 April ) I think all 4 teams will score! They have incredible power in the front all f them. my long shot will be: Double: Barcelona 2-1 or 3-1 correct score Man Utd 2-1 or 3-1 correct score The accumulator of this is 33:1 in betfair

[AJ]

Re: UEFA Champions League ( 28-29 April ) Barca are too short for me. I have serious doubts to the real strength of the spanish league compared to the EPL. Chelsea +0.5 on the aisan at 2.12 is where my money is.

[JimmyHarris1980]

Re: UEFA Champions League ( 28-29 April ) I am on Chelsea antepost @ 11/2 so its a watching brief for me tonight. I'm confident they can keep this tight and at the prices under 2.5 goals probably represents decent value. My main concern is Lionel Messi. Jose Bosingwa will be playing left back by all accounts and could be in for a torrid night. Nevermind the fact he is on the wrong flank, he is naturally one of the most attacking full-backs in the league and having to curb his instincts in an attempt to shackle the little maestro is going to be the tallest of orders. We have seen the evidence of what can happen when Barca build up a head of steam and if Messi gets at Bosingwa early my hopes could be up in smoke in no time at all. Hiddink is an excellent tactician and if anybody can come up with a plan to get something out of this game it's the big Dutchman :hope.

[thegaygambler]

Re: UEFA Champions League ( 28-29 April ) I been looking into these games, they are gonna be tight to predict, over and Under market isnt Easy to predict either.. Only logical bet I can think of is Messi to score anytime @2.50 looks good. He scores all the time..

[drawback05]

Re: UEFA Champions League ( 28-29 April )

Young Kieran Gibbs will have the arduous task of marking the best player in the world.

Surely you have this line in a round too early. Gibbs won't have to mark Messi until the final. Just pointing out the obvious error in your post. As regards the ties, they could be bookies satchel fillers, as I think they are both very close. With a gun to my head I think Man Utd have the best chance of reaching the final, but they could do that without winning at home like they did against Porto. So for these two games I'll be betting on corners and bookings, so back to the study for now and I'll return later.

[game2win2009]

Re: UEFA Champions League ( 28-29 April ) As someone said before, there is very intresting statistic, showing us that last 6 CL seasons, the team who defeat real madrid will be eleminated from the next champion in the CL ! Thats why i got the feeling that Chelsea will eleminate Barcelona ! And will won the CL ! About Manchester United : Arsenal, I am expection borring match here ... just a feeling. Anyway, in my opinion, Manchester United will continue whitout many efforts, no mather we are talking for arasenal ..

[discodave]

Re: UEFA Champions League ( 28-29 April ) this is a bit of a no brainer for me barca are going to have to attack as they wont be as confident of going to chelsea needing to win they know tonight is there best chance to qualify. chelsea know barca will give them chances to score and drogs and co will have to have their shooting boots on especially after what barca done to bayern and lyon at the nou camp ok these two arent in the same class as chelsea although bayern would run them close, cole not being there makes chelseas job even harder tonight theres no way barca are going to be happy with sitting back just cos its the first leg they know their strength lies at home chelsea know barca will be favs to qualify and sitting back didnt apply for them against liverpool in their first leg and hiddink will be thinking if we can get within a goal of barca then that will be a good nights work would you sit back and let messi eto and henry have free reign? barca have built their team around messi and tonights match is the most important for him out of all the games hew has played this season it will be his last big game at the nou camp this season and im positive he is going to turn it on big style i can see barca scoring at least 4 i just dont think chelsea will be able to contain mr messi tonight what bets would i do 4+ goals messi, henry and even drogba to all score goals goals and more goals hopefully barca to score a penalty i would not do barca outright becos of messi to score anytime looks a banker and gives you better odds

[gersfandownunder]

Re: UEFA Champions League ( 28-29 April ) "Hiddink is an excellent tactician" i was thinking the same, as good as everyone says Barcelona are, i can see chelsea getting something from this game. i dont see spanish clubs as being ahead of the top clubs in the epl. expecting a big game from drogba you would think. under 2.5 goals 2.04 @ betfair.

[DRAVIDIAN]

Re: UEFA Champions League ( 28-29 April ) Barcelona have been pLaying wonderfull football this year but today is where we wll know their real force because excuse me spain spanish league is nothing compare to epl and even their victory against bayern munich cant be taken as a reference.The liverpool that play chelsea in cl was a very strong side may be better than barcelona but even that chelsea manage to win and qualify. I think today chelsea is capable of bringing a victory from Nou Camp or at least a draw

[Monty Hall]

Re: UEFA Champions League ( 28-29 April ) The questions are can Chelsea stop Barca? quick answer is no. can Barca stop Chelsea? quick answer is Probably a lot better than Liverpool Chelsea changed it's tactics under Hiddink for the 1st time using it's assets and going all out forward vs Liverpool but Liverpool has major problems in it's defense. Barca are no longer just a team with tons of talent, they are organized, tactically prepared and well aware of Chelsea's threat. I think Chelsea will be lucky to score an away goal. 1-0 or 2-0 for me. Barca -0.75 Barca to score 1st Barca to win to nil Good luck

[Diggidy Diggidy]

Re: UEFA Champions League ( 28-29 April ) I think Barcelona will win this one to be honest! Chelsea haven't been any where near invincible of late even the 'mighty' Bolton gave them a scare. Barca will be at full strength with the luxury of being able to rest players in recent weeks. I think Barca will be really up for this and hope to prove how much of a fortress the Nou Camp is. Also i'm going for an early goal in the game, before 26 mins (10/11 PP). In the champions league this year there has been so many early goals with teams going for it early. I know being a semi final, teams may be cautious but with 2 teams full of goalscorers i can see a goal early, possibly before 10 mins! Barca (8/10);) First goal before 26mins (8/10);)

[ABhoyoFromScotland]

Re: UEFA Champions League ( 28-29 April )

Barca are too short for me. I have serious doubts to the real strength of the spanish league compared to the EPL. Chelsea +0.5 on the aisan at 2.12 is where my money is.

Dunno if I'd use this as a basis for making a judgement on tonights game AJ. Bareclona can only play in the league that they are in, they can only beat whats put in front of them. IMO if Barca where to play in the EPL they would split the top 4 English clubs for sure. Just something to think about :ok

[discodave]

Re: UEFA Champions League ( 28-29 April )

Barca are too short for me. I have serious doubts to the real strength of the spanish league compared to the EPL. Chelsea +0.5 on the aisan at 2.12 is where my money is.

problem with this aj is are barca in a league of their own one things for sure this should be a cracker the only problem for barca will be their mentality as they havent beaten an english team for some time and it seems chelsea have targeted this competition as their main aim this season at least since hiddink arrived anyway

[game2win2009]

Re: UEFA Champions League ( 28-29 April ) Well, no mather Barca is the favorite, there is no doubt that, this match is hiding a lot of surprises! Anyway, i am expecting a great football, with manny goals + beer :)

[Jackflash]

Re: UEFA Champions League ( 28-29 April )

problem with this aj is are barca in a league of their own one things for sure this should be a cracker the only problem for barca will be their mentality as they havent beaten an english team for some time and it seems chelsea have targeted this competition as their main aim this season at least since hiddink arrived anyway

Good point Dave. The difference between these two clubs is that Barca have one eye on the Champions league trophy & the other on the Primera whilst looking over their shoulder for Real Madrid. Chelsea on the other hand have both eyes on the champions league trophy as they are out of the Title race & already safely qualified for next years champs league. I'd expect Chelsea to nick a goal & play for the draw.

[Jase82]

Re: UEFA Champions League ( 28-29 April ) I'm confused. Surely this is the Champions League semi final betwee 4 of the best teams in Europe at this time? Odds on the home teams are really pathetic. At this stage of the tournament any team can beat another team. Each has strengths and weaknesses, which should be exploited. Barcelona don't know how to defend but, as we are all aware, are fantastic going forward. Chelsea have looked shaky at the back recently, especially Cech in goal. I don't buy the under 2.5 goals argument, at this stage of the tournament anything can happen and I expect Barcelona to attack with real purpose. It would be a miracle for Chelsea to keep them out for 90 minutes at the Nou Camp. However, Chelsea played extremely well on the counter against Liverpool at Anfield, so I can definitely see them scoring here. I think Hiddink must realise that if they are to progress they would need an away goal because Barcelona could very well beat them at Stamford Bridge anyway. Over 2.5 goals @ 1.92 is the call for me. Some firms go 1.66 on Barcelona to win. That's rubbish. They haven't won anything yet!....and they are not unbeatable!

[The Pope]

Re: UEFA Champions League ( 28-29 April ) I wouldn't take the relative strength of each league into consideration too much (not that La Liga is much worse than the EPL anyway), because Barcelona have the most talented group of players in the world. Judge each team on their own individual merits when making your selection. Anyway, the bet of the round to me would seem to be Man U - Arsenal over 2.5 goals @ 6/5 (various bookies). Whilst these ties tend to be cagey affairs, I really don't think that Arsenal have the ability to just sit back and play out a 0-0. Couple that with United's increasingly shaky looking defense (2 goals conceded at home to Spurs) and there looks to be good value in the overs tomorrow.

[ABhoyoFromScotland]

Re: UEFA Champions League ( 28-29 April )

Good point Dave. The difference between these two clubs is that Barca have one eye on the Champions league trophy & the other on the Primera whilst looking over their shoulder for Real Madrid. Chelsea on the other hand have both eyes on the champions league trophy as they are out of the Title race & already safely qualified for next years champs league. I'd expect Chelsea to nick a goal & play for the draw.

Dunno if this will make any difference JF. Barcelona will want to win the CL as much as they do the Primera Liga, so much so that they have had the luxury of resting some top stars in recent weeks in preperation for this match up, Henry is prime example of this. Barca remain 4 points ahead of Madrid in the title race and for a club as good as Barca this should be enough to see them through to the end as champions. I dont think the fact that Barca are still fighting on two front as opposed to Chelsea's one will have any effect in this match up what-so-ever.

[ABhoyoFromScotland]

Re: UEFA Champions League ( 28-29 April )

Barcelona don't know how to defend but, as we are all aware, are fantastic going forward. Chelsea have looked shaky at the back recently, especially Cech in goal.

Barca have only conceded 10 goals at home in La Liga all season mate. For me that aint a bad record. They have actually conceded the least amount of goals at home in La Liga all season and the second least amount away from home (16) only behind Madrid at 15. Puyol and co certainly do know how to defend

[discodave]

Re: UEFA Champions League ( 28-29 April ) i dont think barca give a monkeys about the spanish title they can even afford to lose to real madrid next week and they would still be in front. the winner of the champions league get 100million euros, now im not sure if this is throughout the tournament or an outright prize for winning it but money rules these clubs

[discodave]

Re: UEFA Champions League ( 28-29 April )

Barca have only conceded 10 goals at home in La Liga all season mate. For me that aint a bad record. They have actually conceded the least amount of goals at home in La Liga all season and the second least amount away from home (16) only behind Madrid at 15. Puyol and co certainly do know how to defend

lol, no team has been able to get the ball of barca so noone knows how good their defence is

[ABhoyoFromScotland]

Re: UEFA Champions League ( 28-29 April )

lol' date=' no team has been able to get the ball of barca so noone knows how good their defence is[/quote'] Know what your saying here and its a fair point, but I think a defence with a guy as good and experienced as Puyol at the back will definatly know how to defend. Marquez and Alves are also rather experienced and quiet handy when defending ;)

[Jackflash]

Re: UEFA Champions League ( 28-29 April )

Dunno if this will make any difference JF. Barcelona will want to win the CL as much as they do the Primera Liga, so much so that they have had the luxury of resting some top stars in recent weeks in preperation for this match up, Henry is prime example of this. Barca remain 4 points ahead of Madrid in the title race and for a club as good as Barca this should be enough to see them through to the end as champions. I dont think the fact that Barca are still fighting on two front as opposed to Chelsea's one will have any effect in this match up what-so-ever.

Well Bhoyo, we'll see wont we. One things for sure though, I wont be betting a lot on it! Barca are the favourites, so I guess the pressure is on them. They are well equipped to brush Chelsea aside & Chelsea have made quite a few defensive errors of late. No Cashley Cole either. Can't wait for kick off.