Barcelona Still Clear Champions League Betting Odds Favourites Ahead Of Man Utd

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It has taken a massive effort to knock Barcelona out of the Champions League in the last few years, over the past three years Barcelona have either won the Champions League or gone out to the eventual winners and so far they are looking good to continue that record.

Barcelona face Real Madrid in what could be the most exciting Champions League Semi Final in years and there is no surprise that it is once again Barcelona who are favourites to progress as they are the favourites to win the entire tournament. Barcelona are just even money with most bookies to win the Champions League, the fact that Real Madrid have been drawn against the favourites means they are now only the third most likely winners in the Champions League odds at around 10/3.

Progress in this semi final still won’t guarantee Champions League victory so a bet on either team to qualify for the final will offer a better bet for some punters, Barcelona are just 1/2 to progress in this tie whilst Real Madrid, who secured their place in the Semi Final by beating Tottenham twice, are 15/8 to reach the Champions League Final at Wembley this season.

It looks as though there could be English representation in this year’s Wembley Final, Man Utd who are the only remaining English team in the competition after they beat Chelsea in both legs of their Quarter Final, have been handed a favourable tie against Schalke who have been the surprise package in this year’s competition. Man Utd are now second favourites to win the Champions League and can be backed at 5/2 to win the tournament, Schalke are very unfancied despite their great results against Inter Milan in the Quarter Finals, Schalke can be backed at 14/1 to pull of a majot shock by winning the Champions League.

It is therefore no surprise that Man Utd are major favourites to reach the final, they can be backed at just 2/7 to progress against Schalke and should be a good bet to win both legs of the Semi Final whilst those who aren’t fans of Man Utd this season will get big odds on Schalke reaching the Champions League Final, the Germans are 11/4 to make it through.

The Champions League Semi Final First Legs take place in the last week of April. You can keep up to date on the latest Champions League odds and tips from the experts at OLBG.co.uk.

FA Cup Odds Make Manchester Clubs Favourites Ahead Of Quarter Finals

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The FA Cup Quarter Finals take place this weekend and there look to be some interesting ties, the highlight of which is no doubt the meeting of the current top two sides in the Premiership, Manchester United and Arsenal. That is not the only game to look forward to in Manchester, the only remaining Championship side left in the competition, Reading, take on Man City on Sunday.

The early kick off on Saturday sees Carling Cup winners Birmingham return to cup action against Bolton. Birmingham slipped into the bottom three last week but they have largely been solid at home, losing just over a quarter of their games at St Andrews. Bolton have struggled away from home in the league but seem to manage ok in the FA Cup, their last two wins in the competition have come on the road. This should be a very tight game and a draw might be the best call at around 23/10.

The evening game on Saturday is the game that is most likely to involve the winners of the competition. FA Cup favourites Man Utd, who are 12/5 to go all the way this year, play host to Arsenal who are rated at 7/2 with the bookies to win the FA Cup. If they can beat Man Utd they would surely become the favourites but that is a tough task at Old Trafford, where Man Utd have dropped just two points in the league all season. Despite two recent losses United are fancied to win the match at just over even money.

The first of the Sunday matches is Stoke versus West Ham and this looks possibly the most open of all the Quarter Finals. Stoke are generally very good at home but they have struggled for results recently, winning just once in six league matches. West Ham meanwhile are starting to pick up wins and with both sides looking to have good claims the draw is probably the best option at 12/5. The other Sunday game will see Man City take on Reading. City go into this game as strong favourites at just 2/5, Reading have proved themselves a tough team to beat in the competition but their great run is likely to come to an end.

For up to the second odds and tips on value bets, check out the football pages on Valuechecker.co.uk.

Pietersen claims confidence back ahead of Ashes

Posted on October 21st, 2010 in Sports Betting Blog

Kevin Pietersen is not a man whom you would expect to be brimming with confidence right now; he has seemed out of form, low in spirits, apparently out of love with cricket, and without a test century since way back in March 2009. However, the player has now claimed that his spell in South Africa has given him the opportunity to reclaim the confidence that he will need if he is to show his class in the upcoming Ashes series against an Australian side which is going to be looking to win back the urn that the players let slip in 2008.

With the Australian bowling attack being tipped to be stronger than the English one, the English batsmen such as Ian Bell and Kevin Pietersen will need to avoid a top order collapse if the English team is going to stand a chance of allowing its bowlers to get used to wickets that English bowlers have rarely performed well on.

However, with the England team having looked to use a variety of techniques to boost their chances of overcoming the current Ashes betting odds that have them down has underdogs, Pietersen may have been the man to come up with the best solution to his own problems by returning to his homeland for a short while.

If this move has indeed proved successful and the player has found a way to overcome the blues he had been left facing, then the England team may well find itself ending the series with people left scratching their heads and wondering why they came into the Ashes 2010 series with such low expectations of the team, leaving egg on the faces of many experts in the process.

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Simcock Dreams Ahead to Middle Park Stakes

Posted by Leigh on September 30, 2010 · Leave a Comment 

Trainer David Simcock is looking forward to the prospect of more rain at the Newmarket track, which has been forecast on Friday, making the conditions more testing for some, but suitable for his star charge Dream Ahead when attempting victory in the Shadwell Middle Park Stakes.

Victory on Dream Ahead for Buick

Posted by Leigh on August 22, 2010 · Leave a Comment 

The move up to Group One company was no problem for Dream Ahead giving a stylish performance for a victory in the Darley Prix Morny at Deauville.