A busy night of football...

With eight Champion's League matches, and a full Championship, League 1 and League 2 programme this could turn out to be a very busy night!

Start at the top with the Champion's League:

Celtic v Benfica

Celtic at home and Celtic away may as well be two different teams. An almost perfect record at Parkhead means if they could transfer even some of their form to away games they'd be right up there every year. As it is they lost the away game against Benfica, despite holding out for most of the match, meaning anything but a win here means their Champions League run is all but over for another year.

I'm not usually one for backing teams that "need" to win games but one look at Celtic's home record, including a great win against Milan only a few weeks back, and a 3-0 victory against Benfica last season mean that at odds against Celtic must be backed. I do think it will be a tight game though, Benfica know a draw would be a good result for them, but I think Celtic will break them down in the end, and if they do, Scott McDonald with 13 goals in the last 14 games may be the man to do it.

3pts Celtic to beat Benfica 2.16
0.5pts Celtic to win 1-0 @ 7.6
0.5pts Scott McDonald FGS @ 7


Lazio v Werder Bremen

A really hard match to call either way. Bremen won the home game 2-1 and go into this as only slight outsiders. Both teams need the win to help their chances of qualifying and it's a match I'd hate to bet on. So I'm not. Gun to my head score? 1-1, but there is no gun, so it's a no bet.


Liverpool v Besiktas

Liverpool, Liverpool, poor hapless Liverpool... still up there in the league after scraping lucky wins and somehow still undefeated... however they seem to be found out in the Champions League. Is tonight the night the night that the fat Spanish waiter loses his job?

A reprieve may be his as I think Liverpool will win tonight, it won't be easy, and I'm definitely not touching any of the 1.27 so generously offered on Betfair. Instead I'll try and hunt out a bit of value. As I think Besiktas can frustrate Liverpool the bet for me has to be HT/FT Draw/Liverpool at far more attractive odds. I'll also have a speculative point on 1-0

1pt HT/FT Draw/Liverpool @ 4.8
0.5pts Liverpool to win 1-0 @ 7.4


Olympiacos v Real Madrid

The main issue for Olympicos here is they are missing 3 of their first choice defensive players through a combination of injury and suspension. This does not bode well against most sides, but against a team with the attacking prowess of Real, who only need one more win to qualify, this means only one thing to me - a Madrid win, and a good one.

2.5pts Madrid to beat Olympiacos @ 2.2
0.5pts Madrid to win 3-0 @ 23


Porto v Marseille

Marseille are struggling in the French League but they seem a different team in Europe, winning 2 and drawing 1 of their matches so far and sitting pretty on top of Group A. However, I think they may struggle tonight against a Porto side that should have beaten then last gameweek. I think the odds on the Porto win are a little on the short side and am struggling to find the value. I'd imagine this will be a pretty close game, finishing either 1-0 or 2-0 to Porto who should do it on home turf.

0.5pts Porto to win 1-0 @ 6.6
0.5pts Porto to win 2-0 @ 7.4


Schalke v Chelsea

Another match where the value is so hard to find. I don't think Chelsea will concede in Germany, but can they go out there and score? Chelsea sit in prime position while Schalke need the win to improve their chances of qualifying. It's a hard one, will Chelsea attack or will they sit back and hope to catch Schalke on the break? There are too many unanswered questions in this game. I think it will be low scoring though - IF - it stays level for a while. An early goal from Chelsea (or to a lesser extent Schalke) could mean quite an open game.

The only bet that catches my eye here is an in form Lampard to score first at a reasonable 8/1

0.5pts Lampard FGS @ 8.8


Shaktar v Milan

Thankfully a simpler match. Milan won the return of this match scoring 4 goals and will know a win will more or less secure their progression through the group. The previous 3 matches between these two teams have all been won by Milan, and even though Shaktar have improved this season, I think Milan will have too much for them again, but with Shaktar being so much improved I'm keeping stakes to a minimum

1pt Milan to beat Shaktar @ 2.34


Valencia v Rosenborg

All signs here point to a Valencia win, except the fact that Rosenborg beat them in the return match.... The odds are far too short on Valencia and in my eyes would be more of a lay at the current price of 1.26/1.27 than a back. But I don't expect much movement in price for the first half, unless Rosenborg score so the lay would be a bit of a waste. I'm going to leave this match well alone, unless Rosenborg do score first and early, when I can hopefully get a good price on the Valencia comeback.



Moving into the lower English leagues, and a couple of bets and once again all these teams I have layed to win 2pts (1.9 after 5% commission)

2pts lays of
Colchester @ 2.64
Preston @ 2.28
QPR @ 2.48
Cheltenham @ 3.05
Gillingham @ 2.94
Huddersfield @ 2.82
Nottm Forest @ 1.88
Tranmere @ 1.94
Bradford @ 2.66
Hereford @ 1.86
Morecambe @ 2.34
Rotherham @ 2.26

2pts Swansea to beat Millwall @ 2.4
1pt Chester to beat Bradford @ 2.9


Additionally I've also gone for a small accumulator of Celtic, Madrid, Cardiff, Swansea, Chester, West Brom & Watford... utter mug bet... but there is 0.5pts acca @ 179.96