Bad draw for Spurs, Chelsea and Man Utd
The chances of a Premier League team winning this year's Champions League have diminished considerably after Chelsea and Manchester United were paired with one another and Tottenham were matched with Real Madrid in Friday's quarter-final draw.
What was previously a [3.45] prospect is now rated at [4.0], while unsurprisingly odds of [9.2] are offered on two English sides colliding at Wembley.
The price of all three Premier League clubs have also shot out accordingly, with Chelsea drifting from [7.6] to [8.2], Manchester United falling from [10.0] to [10.5] and Tottenham flying out from [19.5] to [29.0], as even if they somehow see off Real Madrid, either Barcelona or Shakhtar Donetsk await.
The biggest movers are dark horses Shakhtar, who have fallen from [32.0] to [55.0] after getting the draw that everyone dreaded against favourites Barcelona - who have come in from [2.34] to [2.26] - compounded by a semi-final tie with Real Madrid or Spurs if they somehow do the unthinkable.
Holders Inter Milan are the side punters are now having second thoughts about after they were paired with [60.0] outsiders Schalke in the quarter-finals - their third German opponents of the campaign. The Nerazzurri will face either Manchester United or Chelsea if they survive that test.
Leonardo's men are [10.0] having been [12.5] before Gary Lineker worked his magic, and the other consequence is that Jose Mourinho got his wish of avoiding former employers Inter and Chelsea until the final, though he perhaps would have been equally keen to dodge Spurs and Barcelona.
The most successful team in the competition's history are out from [5.3] to [5.8] to go all the way on their first appearance in the final stages of the tournament in seven years, however the Special One did of course manage to topple Barcelona in the semi-finals last season at Inter.
Real Madrid v Tottenham
Chelsea v Manchester United
Barcelona v Shakhtar Donetsk
Inter Milan v Schalke
Inter Milan/Schalke v Chelsea/Manchester United
Barcelona/Shakhtar Donetsk v Real Madrid/Tottenham
Share your predictions as to how things will unfold in the box below...
Published: 20 Mar 2011
felix (March 18, 2011 11:39 AM) said:
the draw is not that bad for the likes of chealsea,but as for tottenham ?it's a tricky one against the spanish giants
Betfair Football (March 18, 2011 11:51 AM) said:
You have a good point felix, as whoever progresses from the Chelsea versus Manchester United tie will be confident of defeating Inter or Schalke over two legs (and if it's Chelsea and Inter, the Blues will be even more motivated) but I'm sure they will have hoped to avoid each other this early on, and at the time of writing both clubs' prices had drifted, though interestingly Manchester United's is on the way back in.
Horace Horlicks (March 19, 2011 12:52 PM) said:
I think Inter, Barcelona and Real Madrid will be happy with the draw. I think the indications are that it could be a Real Madrid v Inter Milan final. I will be looking round the various bookmakers to see where I can be best accommadated for the eventuality of that outcome. Could it be Betfair?