Man Utd vs Barcelona set to go the distance
Barcelona are favourites at [2.0] to win the Champions League final in 90 minutes but the Reds - a fantastic [4.1] - haven't reached three finals in four years without learning from defeat. We'll get to the match odds when we provide a special preview later this week but, for now, here are a few bets to whet your appetite.
This final pits the competition's best attack against the best defence. In 12 matches this term, the Reds have conceded only four goals and none away from Old Trafford. They're the first team to go through the tournament without conceding an away goal. You can get [4.0] on them capping this phenomenal feat with another clean sheet. Will you back United to stop Messi and co?
About that diminutive Argentine: he's got it all - skill, guile, speed, strength, spring. We love the way he glided through Arsenal's defence in the last 16 and then muscled his way past Real Madrid in the semis. A great talent, with 11 goals in the competition this season, but there's always a way to stop players. Park Ji-Sung might be that way.
When the stakes are this high, you have to take into account the possibility of the match going into extra-time and penalties. The previous two Champions League finals have been settled within the 90 but United's 2007-08 triumph went all the way to sudden death. You can get [15.0] on a United win in extra-time and [14.0] for a Reds win on penalties - see the method of victory market on Betfair.
Javier Hernandez is United's top scorer in this competition with four and we wouldn't bet against him crowning an excellent first season with a final goal. Sir Alex will hope he can come flying out of the blocks as he did against Chelsea at Old Trafford a couple of weeks ago to give the Reds an early advantage.
Never trust anyone who uses their dreams to inform their bets. In fact, never trust anyone who tells you about their dreams as it's dead boring. So anyway, this correspondent dreamed that Paul Scholes scored the winner in the 2010-11 Champions League Final.
He did of course score the winner last time United beat Barca - in the semi-final three years ago - so even though he probably won't start we, at least, will have a final flutter on Scholes finding the net.
Discipline can often be an issue on big occasions - you can get [3.85] on a sending off - but neither side has had a player dismissed in this year's competition. In fact, there's only one player from either team in the top 20 for Champions League bookings so consider a bet on 6 to 8 pts at [2.68] in the Booking Index. Andres Iniesta has three yellow cards so he could be backed to be shown a card at M.
Published: 25 May 2011
Leave a comment