Champions League Betting Tips 18/3
Our Johnny Cash has a preview of the two games taking place in the Champions League on Tuesday night.
Chelsea v Galatasaray
This tie is poised after a 1-1 draw in Istanbul and Galatasaray will feel they have every chance of making it through to the quarter-finals. However the problem for them is that they don’t have a great away record in the competition and Chelsea are very strong at Stamford Bridge.Galatasaray have not kept a clean sheet in their last 16 away games in the Champions League which means that they will probably need to score two or more goals if they are to progress.
I don’t see that happening as Roberto Mancini’s sides are generally not set up to score goals and I’m not sure he has the tactically ability to make the required changes during the game. He got his starting tactics wrong in the first leg and won’t be able to afford such mistakes on Tuesday.
Chelsea haven’t been overly convincing in recent games and are especially sluggish in the first half with them failing to lead at half-time in four of their last five games. They need time to break through partly because of the way Mourinho sets his teams up to control games. The key to this game is the Chelsea defence which has been very good in recent weeks with only three goals conceded in their last 5 games. Terry and Cahill have established a very good partnership in central defence although they are protected by a hard working midfield.
I see Chelsea winning this in the same way as they have recent games, level at half time before finding the goals they need in the second half. At odds of 1.40 to win, we need to find a different way of backing Chelsea and the 2nd Half to be the highest scoring half at 2.15 makes plenty of appeal with BetVictor.
Real Madrid v Schalke
Real lead 6-1 from the first leg so this will be an opportunity for Carlo Ancelotti to rest some of his key players ahead of their weekend clash with Barcelona. This will hardly make much difference to Schalke as there is a major depth of talent in the Real squad and they have players such as Morata and Jese who will be keen to impress their manager.
Real also haven’t lost a game since back in October and are closing in on a club record. Offensively Real Madrid won’t be weakened but defensive changes could leave them vulnerable and I think we could see goals in the Bernabeu for both sides. Both teams to score at 1.95 with Stan James is very generous with other firms as short as 1.67. Over 3.5 goals at 1.91 is also worth doing given the attacking options available to the home side.
Recommended Bets
Chelsea v Galatasaray – 2nd Half to be Highest Scoring @ 2.15 (BetVictor)
Real Madrid v Schalke – Both Teams To Score @ 1.95 (Stan James)
Real Madrid v Schalke – Over 3.5 goals @ 1.91(Coral)
