Champions League Soccer Betting: Manchester United v CSKA Moscow
Mike Norman explains why he can't see past an easy victory for Manchester United in the Champions League tonight but is undecided as to whether or not the EPL champions will be able to keep a clean sheet.
A win for Manchester United tonight will wrap up qualification to the knock-out stages of the Champions League and will also put them in a strong position to win Group B.
A home win is almost inevitable. Only a crazed and disillusioned bettor would consider backing CSKA (+1100) to triumph at Old Trafford. Sir Alex Ferguson's men last lost a home game in this competition back in the 2004/05 season, the same season that CSKA last won an away game in Europe. Manchester United are available to back at just -263 in the Match Odds market; the draw can be backed at +410.
United are once again expected to be without defensive duo Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, which does make the 'No' option in the United Clean Sheet market tempting, although the odds on offer of +106 are far less than what I'd hope to get matched at.
Other than his defensive problems, Sir Alex should field a strong side capable of beating a CSKA Moscow side that are in a bit of a mess at the moment. Ex-Tottenham Hotspur boss Juande Ramos has been relieved of his duties after failing to put CSKA in contention for the Russian title and, rather alarmingly, the new man at the helm - Leonid Slutski - has only one previous European tie to call upon for experience... and that ended in defeat to Ireland's Saint Patrick's Athletic!
Not surprisingly then, a win for Manchester United is an easy selection to make and I'd urge anyone wanting to get rich quick to snap up the -263 currently available. +104 to back Manchester United/Manchester United in the Half Time/Full Time market also looks a decent opportunity to cash in.
Because of my fear of CSKA snatching a goal I'm not going to make a precise selection in the Correct Score market; instead, I'm going for Any Unquoted score (either team to score at least four goals) at +580 and I'm also backing Over 3.5 Goals at +260. If you're a little wary of the latter then you can back Over 2.5 Goals at +102.
Assuming Sir Alex doesn't mess around with his team selection, two players appeal to me in the First Goalscorer market.
Dimitar Berbatov has had a lot of shots on target this season but has been unlucky in coming up against some inspired goalkeepers, whilst Nani is always capable of breaking into the box or shooting from long range. These two will be available to back at around +500 and +900 respectively once the market materializes and I'm splitting my stakes between them.
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