This week, we're looking at the Champions League winner and top goalscorer markets ahead of the last round of Group matches. Over in Visakhapatnam, India play New Zealand in a cricket T20I that could have further significance with the World Cup just around the corner.
Champions League: Last Round of Group Stage Matches
- Start: Wednesday, 28 January at 20:00
- Venue: Stadiums all over Europe
- Coverage: TNT Sports
- Fun fact: Of the top 8 teams currently in the table, four of them are from the Premier League: Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea.
Betting
Curiously, after seven games, only Arsenal and Bayern Munich have already secured a place in the Round of 16, restricted to the teams finishing in the Top 8. Arsenal are 4.5 to win the whole thing, Bayern are 5.5.
A further 14 teams are guaranteed a place in the Playoffs at worst, with six of these 14 also joining the two already mentioned automatically in the Round of 16.
They are: Real Madrid, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Paris Saint-Germain, Newcastle United, Chelsea, Barcelona, Sporting CP, Manchester City, Atlético Madrid, Atalanta, Inter, Juventus, and Borussia Dortmund.
Of those, Real Madrid (odds of 9.5 to win it) and Liverpool (10) are the most likely to join them, as the team currently in third and fourth position, but they’re not the next in the betting.
PSG, last year’s winners, are 8.0, while Barcelona are 8.5.
One price that catches the eye is the 26.0 on Inter Milan. Sure, they’re not guaranteed a place in the Round of 16, and given they’re currently in 14th, there’s no guarantee that they will, meaning they may have to do it the hard way via the Play-offs.
But still. They’re top of the Serie A table, five points clear of AC Milan, and were last year’s Champions League finalists, so that looks a mighty big price on a side with their European football pedigree, who are in fine form.
Mind you, they have a far from straightforward game on Wednesday away at Borussia Dortmund, who, as we know, are also guaranteed a place in the Playoffs at worst, so plenty to play for in that one. It’s 2.7 that Dortmund win that one, 3.0 the draw, while Inter are 2.25.
And if Inter going all the way seems a step too far for you, you can instead take the 15.0 that they just made the final, which, as we know, they managed to do last year. In the ‘Make the Final’ market, it’s the usual suspects who are the favourites, with Arenal 2.8, Bayern 3.1 and Man City 4.2.
On the top goalscorer market, it’s that man Kylian Mbappe who is the red-hot 1.4 favourite. Hardly surprising given he already has 11 goals and that Real are expected to go deep into the tournament.
Next up is seven-goal man Harry Kane of Bayern Munich at 6.5, while no Top Goalscorer market would be complete without mentioning Erling Haaland, who has six goals and is 9.0.
For many clubs, the difference in money between making or not making the next stage or, worse still, not making the Playoffs at all, could have a huge bearing on their finances for the whole year. All games are played on Wednesday night at 20:00 UK time, so no team knows what they need to do in advance to progress.
India - New Zealand 4th T20I
- Start: Wednesday 15:30
- Venue: Visakhapatnam, India
- Coverage: TNT Sports 1
- Fun fact: India is one of only three teams to have won the T20 Cricket World Cup twice, England and the West Indies being the others.
Betting
In isolation, this doesn’t seem like a particularly important cricket match. It’s the fourth match of a five-game Series and India have already won the Series given that they’re 3-0 up with just two matches, including this one, left to play.
And the bookies certainly aren’t expecting a different outcome in Wednesday’s match.
India are just 1.25 with New Zealand 3.75.
The key difference between the two sides so far has been the red-hot form of India’s batsmen, especially opener Abishek Sharma and skipper and middle-order superstar Sky Yadav. For the record, Sharma is 4.0 to be India Top Batsman in this match, with Yadav 4.5.
In the New Zealand top batsman market, Devon Conway is the 4.0 favourite, while Finn Allen and Tim Seifert are both 4.5.
No, this match isn’t hugely important in its own right, but it could provide further clues as regards the chances of these two teams when the T20 Cricket World Cup starts on February 7.
For the record, we here at Ask Gamblers will be providing some insights, stats and betting tips for that competition over the next week or so.
The tournament will be taking place in India and Sri Lanka, so if India carry on in the sort of form they’re in, at home, they’ll be extremely hard to beat.
The bookies agree, making India just 2.38 to go all the way. New Zealand, who are generally very reliable in World Cups but look like they’re struggling at the moment, are 14.0.
But let’s not forget the golden rule of any Cricket World Cup: never rule out Australia.
Mitch Marsh’s men are 4.5, with England 5.5 and South Africa next at 7.0.
Bet of the Week: Back the Draw in Borussia Dortmund - Inter Milan
Another good win last week, with under 2.5 goals coming in at 1.85 in Juventus - Benfica, which finished 2-0.
We’ve already mentioned Dortmund v Inter Milan, and these look like two well-matched teams, separated by just one point in the table.
Given all that, a draw could well be how it ends. It would pay out at 3.0, and that looks like a decent bet.
