Champions League Betting: Porto v Chelsea

Champions League / Mike Norman / 25 November 2009 / Leave a comment

Joe Cole celebrating a goal is a great sight for both Chelsea and England. Will this scene be repeated against Porto on Wednesday?

Porto and Chelsea have already qualified to the knock-out stages of the Champions League, but "Mystical" Mike Norman thinks both will be desperate to top Group D. Best Bet: Back The Draw at [3.4].

Best Bet: Back The Draw @ [3.4]

Also: Back Joe Cole in First Goalscorer market @ [14.0]; Back Joe Cole in To Score market @ [5.0]

Ignore the fact that these clubs have already qualified from Group D; Porto and Chelsea have history... and both will be desperate to claim top spot on Wednesday night.

It's an incredibly difficult match to call, which is backed up in the Match Odds market with Porto available to back at [3.0], Chelsea at [2.64], and The Draw - which is my 'best bet' selection - available to back at [3.4].

I don't claim to be a huge fan of Portuguese football - unlike betting.betfair editor Jamie 'The Pacman' Pacheco, but I am a fan of Porto and from the brief footage I've seen of them this season they have disappointed me slightly, especially on the road. They currently lie third in their domestic league, five points behind surprise leaders Braga, but they are unbeaten on home soil and should be capable of putting up a bold show against a Chelsea side that can do little wrong at present.

Carlo Ancelotti is likely to make a few changes to his starting 11 but is unlikely to risk 'returning-from-injury' players like Deco, Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba and Michael Ballack ahead of the Blues massive clash against Arsenal on Sunday.

I doubt we'll see many goals either, though I'm not interested in taking the [1.69] currently available about Under 2.5 Goals - that looks a little short to me. Over 2.5 Goals is available to back at [2.52] but personally I will be leaving this market alone unless the Under 2.5 price drifts to around [1.8] - my request is up if anyone wants to match me!

The last four meetings between these two famous sides have ended in either a draw, or one side winning by a single goal. I definitely think this is the way to play in the Correct Score market, and though I haven't got a huge feeling about the outcome, the 0-0 and 1-1 draws have to be considered at [9.8] and [7.2] respectively, as well as the 1-0 to Porto ([9.4]) and 1-0 to Chelsea ([8.6]) options.

I'd love to see the highly entertaining Joe Cole have a great second half of the season and more importantly, stay injury free ahead of the World Cup. If he starts against Porto on Wednesday night don't hesitate to throw a few quid his way in both the First Goalscorer and To Score markets. He should be available to back at around [14.0] and [5.0] respectively once these markets materialise.


*Porto v Chelsea is live on Sky Sports 2, Kick-off 19:45

Tags: Carlo Ancelotti, Champions League, Champions League Betting, Chelsea, Deco, Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard, Joe Cole, Michael Ballack, Porto