Champions League Second Leg Soccer Betting Preview
On Tuesday Soccer Betting Premier League, Manchester United hosts Barcelona and a win will put them into the Champions League final. Chelsea is in even better position as they host Liverpool on Wednesday, as either a win or a draw will have them advancing. Manchester United is a half goal favorite with a total of 2.5 under at SBG Global against Barcelona. The three-way line has United at -105, Barcelona at +300 at the draw at +220.
Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson rolled the dice and took a huge gamble on Saturday by resting stars Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez for Tuesday’s match. He had better hope that his team wins its next two Premier League games and that decision doesn’t come back to haunt him. He also better hope his team wins on Tuesday at home against Barcelona. United is facing injuries to striker Wayne Rooney (hip) and defender Nemanja Vidic (face). “We’ve got to pick ourselves up,” said winger Ryan Giggs, “There’s no bigger game than Barcelona. We want to win the league and we want to reach the Champions League final, and it’s still in our hands.” United is expected to take out Barcelona and advance to the final. Ronaldo was just recently named player of the year for the second straight season and he will be playing with a vengeance on Tuesday after missing a penalty kick in the first leg against Barcelona last week. “I look forward to Tuesday against Barcelona; it is the biggest game of the season in my opinion. If you win, you are in the final,” Ronaldo said, “It is a good motivation for me, for my colleagues, for my friends, everyone. I hope to win and the two league games are very important as well.”
Barcelona faces a difficult task since United has won their last 11 home games. “If we can get past their first line of pressure and play with the same intensity as the first leg, we have a lot of possibilities,” said Barcelona’s Deco, “(United) will pressure us more, but we will have more possibilities when we have the ball.” Barcelona will be getting captain Carles Puyol back from suspension. Coach Frank Rijkaard also rested his top players this weekend and it didn’t work out as his team lost at Deportivo La Coruna in the Spanish League, taking them out of any chance for the title. Forward Lionel Messi and Samuel Eto’o were rested. “We need to improve what is not working. We need solutions, we need results,” Rijkaard said. Barcelona has also been without Ronaldinho, who is out with an injury for the rest of the season.
Chelsea manager Avram Grant had no such luxury to rest players on Saturday as he needed everyone to defeat Manchester United. Chelsea does get an extra day of rest though as they don’t play Liverpool until Wednesday. One question for Grant on Wednesday will be whether or not to recall Frank Lampard, whose mother died last Thursday. He did not play in Saturday’s game against United but was back in training on Sunday. Many of the Chelsea players were talking about Lampard and how much he means to the team. “The victory is for Frank and his family,” Michael Ballack said. “It is a difficult time for everybody, especially his family, so we do not forget this.”
Lampard has not trained much during the past week but Grant may put him right back into the lineup. “Frank wants to play all the time,” Grant said. “When I put him on the bench after many years of playing, he didn’t feel good with it. He wants to play but we need to respect his situation.” Grant has said he will leave it up to Lampard as to whether he can handle the big game pressure on Wednesday. “We will leave the decision about Wednesday to him,” Grant said. “I will respect any decision he makes. Football is exciting, but there are things that are more important. I say to the players that on the way to excellency you need to be human, so I think we need to respect what has happened to him.”
Chelsea is the favorite on Wednesday against Liverpool. They just need a draw to advance since the teams tied 1-1 in the first leg. The away goal could be important for Chelsea. The Blues haven’t lost at home in over a year and Liverpool has had no success at Chelsea in recent seasons. “A win gives us confidence,” Ballack said. “We have it and we have shown that we can play very well, but on Wednesday it is a very different game - it is the Champions League. So on Wednesday, we are expecting a very different fight. But I think we look fresh, we look better than all other teams have in the Champions League now, so we will see. We want to get to the final.” Chelsea is a half goal favorite at SBG Global with a total of 2 under. The three way line has Chelsea at +125, Liverpool +250 and the Draw at +200.
