Champions League Betting Tips

Several big names face the very real prospect of bouncing out of the Champions League at the first time of asking this season but some of the surprise results last week present some cracking betting opportunities this time round. Here’s my pick of the bunch.

Celtic v Braga (0-3)

Hoops fans have become accustomed to watching their side fall to embarrassing defeats on the road in Europe. Equally they’ve also enjoyed some incredible European nights at Celtic Park in the last decade so despite the 3-0 scoreline it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that this tie is not dead, as insisted by Neil Lennon. However since 2008 Celtic have won just once in six games at ‘fortress’ Parkhead. The days of hob-nobbing with Europe’s elite appear to be over for the foreseeable future and qualification to the next round would constitute something of a minor miracle at odds of 8/1 (Bet365, Blue Sq).

That said, this is a game that Lennon’s men can win. He admitted that his side approached the game defensively last week; a tactic that ultimately backfired as Celtic lost one soft goal after another. Goals that could so easily have been prevented and served to add more gloss to Braga’s scoreline than perhaps their performance deserved. Of course, Braga don’t need to win on the night and without TV coverage of the game a near-capacity Celtic Park should be roaring on the Bhoys. All of which makes me think that a more attack-minded, albeit McGeady-less Celtic can win in the 90 minutes at odds of 5/6 (Totesport).

Red Bull Salzburg v AC Omonia Nicosia (1-1)

Last week I highlighted the fact that I fancied Red Bull to get a result in Cyprus. Only a 92nd minute penalty prevented them from bringing a 1-0 first leg lead back to Austria but I fancy they’ll finish the job off comfortably tomorrow night. Match reports suggest they dominated large spells of the match last week and at 4/6 (betChronicle) they’re worth adding to tomorrow’s bets.

Last season’s European performance suggest that the Austrians (who have a very multi-national squad) are capable of mixing it with better quality sides than Omonia  and it’s also worth noting that Red Bull are two games into the Austrian season (Omonia have yet to start) and so they could be just a little sharper.

PAOK v Ajax (1-1)

One of the surprise result last week saw Greek side PAOK hold 4-time champions Ajax to an unexpected draw at the Amsterdam ArenA in a game in which Ajax spurned chance after chance. They eventually paid the price when they were pegged back in the 73rd minute and and never managed to restore their advantage. That means they must go to Greece and win (or score more than one in a draw) and I think they have to be backed to do so at a generous 11/10 (Totesport).

Compare either side’s record in front of goal last season; Ajax scored a staggering 106 in 34 games versus PAOK’s miserable 41 in 30. That firepower alone makes 11/10 a very attractive proposition. Add into the mix the experience of Ajax head coach Martin Jol versus that of his counterpart Pavlos Dermitzakis who has been just under 2 weeks in the job, as well as the fact that Ajax went unbeaten on their Europa League travels last season and for me everything points to an away win.

• Best Bet: 3 x Doubles & 1 Treble on Celtic, Red Bull & Ajax. (Best treble odds; £10 pays £62.30 at Totesport).

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