Champions League
2013-03-05 - Manchester United vs Real Madrid
A Sports Betting Pick by ROzsolt
Football : UEFA Champions League: Round of 16
Venue: "Old Trafford", Manchester
Tueday 5th March – Kickoff time: 20:45 GMT+1
Manchester United
Manchester United managed to build up a huge lead in the Premier League and also booked a place in the FA Cup quarter finals, but they are now in front of an important test that could put an end to one of their main objectives, winning the UCL trophy.
The “Red Devils” may seem to be holding the upper hand after playing out a 1-1 draw in Madrid, but bookies and not only them still think that Real Madrid is the favorite to progress, especially after beating Barcelona twice in a week.
However, there are enough reasons for United fans to be optimistic before the second leg, their favorites have won nine of the 12 UEFA competition ties in which they recorded a first-leg away draw. They also hold a decent home record against Spanish opponents (W8 D9 L3).
Rio Ferdinand will return to the starting line-up to partner Jonny Evans after missing the league win over Norwich at the weekend, the only important absence is Phil Jones’, he’s out with an ankle injury.
Real Madrid
Jose Mourinho seems to have found the key against Barcelona after that first clash from 2010 which ended in a total fiasco for his side (0-5 at Nou Camp) and lead his side to a double victory within one week against their rivals.
These wins will surely make their fans forget about the poor La Liga season Real Madrid is having, especially if they’ll confirm their good form with a victory against Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Mourinho even had the luxury to rest some of his key players in the league victory over Barcelona which makes their win even more impressive, so Alvaro Arbeloa, Sami Khedira, Angel Di Maria, Mesut Ozil and Cristiano Ronaldo should all return to the starting line-up.
Real Madrid holds a modest W4 D3 L5 record in England, drawing their previous match in the UK against United’s rivals Manchester City in the group stage. However, under Jose Mourinho, Madrid have lost just two of 15 away fixtures in the UCL.
The Betting Verdict
Everyone expected another memorable clash between these two giants, like the one in 2004 when Real Madrid overcame United 6-5 on aggregate, but we’ve not seen much of that in the first leg, so let’s hope this second game will produce more goals.
I have initially thought that Real Madrid will travel to England with an advantage after the first leg and will seal the deal at the Old Trafford, but Manchester United looked solid in Spain and against all odds they’ve managed to avoid defeat.
At 1-1 after the first clash things may get difficult for Real Madrid, they’ve allowed Manchester to create a lot of danger on counter attacks in the first leg and now when they must score in order to stay alive they are likely to commit the same mistakes all over again.
Luckily for them Manchester United’s defense should not be too hard to crack either, Alex Ferguson’s side have managed only two clean sheets in their last 10 home Champions League games. A key battle may be the one between Ronaldo and Rafael, I doubt the Brazilian defender will manage to annihilate him during the entire game.
The odds for an away win are a bit short considering what’s happened in the first leg and what Manchester United are capable of when playing at home, so I’ll back the Premier League side to score two goals here, although that may not be enough to qualify.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Manchester United 2-2 Real Madrid
BEST BETTING TIP :
Take Manchester United team total - over 1.5 goals at 2.25 at Bet365Confidence: 6/10
