2 further Champions League Quarter Finals tonight with Bayern visiting Oporto to take on former champions Porto while Barcelona and PSG rematch once again with the first leg coming from Paris. I don't have quite the same enthusiasm for the Champions League this season due to a lack of British involvement and also what seems to be a never ending cycle of repetitive rematches. The competition really needs a new format as we are seeing far too many of the same matches being repeated year in and year out. This is the 3rd time in 2 years that these two sides have been drawn to face each other, which means 6 matches in less than 18 months, and while the previous ties have been exciting, it does begin to dilute the flavour of the competition when we are seeing the same fixtures over and over again. There are a couple of games from the Championship as well to consider with Forest v Watford and Fulham v Rotherham but it's a small card and I'm not convinced there is too much to go on tonight so states will certainly be smaller than last night. Here are my previews, predictions and best bets. UEFA Champions League
20.45 - Porto v Bayern - Prediction 1.1- Best Bet - Porto not to lose @17/20, BTTS @10/11 Bayern travel to Oporto for the first leg of their quarter final tie for what could prove to be a difficult encounter Porto are very strong at home and are undefeated in 10 matches at their impressive Dragao arena and while they will be underdogs tonight, i expect them to push Bayern hard. The home side have injury concerns over key men Jackson Martinez and Christian Tello and much depends on whether they can get these 2 on the pitch tonight. Ricardo Quaresma and Vincent Aboubakar are on standy to fill in. Bayern have their own injury problems with 5 key men already ruled out of this one. Schweinsteiger and Ribery are confirmed to miss the trip to Porto, along with Martinez, Alaba and the supeb Arjen Robben. I don't think Porto will lose here, and I will be tempted by BTTS if Porto get their key forwards fit, and I would not be surprised to see a a low scoring draw here. Porto are a best price 17/20 not to lose this tie and perhaps that's what I will be on here. BTTS is priced @10/11 and I will also consider this market, depending on the teamnews. 20.45 - PSG V Barcelona- Prediction 1.1- Best Bet - BTTS @8/11, Draw @12/5 Goals are usually the order of the day when these 2 sides meet with the BTTS market appearing in each of their last 4 meetings. Laurent Blanc is without key suspended trio Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Serge Aurier and Marco Verratti, which should see Gregory Van der Wiel, Edinson Cavani and Yohan Cabaye start at their expense while Thiago Motta is also sidelined, which is certainly a major blow for the French champions. David Luiz has been included in the squad, but the Brazilian is a major doubt as well and for PSG it could be tough to get a good result tonight without some of their major players, not least Zlatan. However, PSG did beat Barca 3.2 the last time the sides met in Paris and Zlatan did not play on that ocassion either and with the history being what it is, I'm pretty confident that BTTS will appear again tonight Paris are still full of quality and they will know that it's vital they try to take some kind of advantage to the Camp Nou next Tuesday. In the last 2 years, PSG have been knocked out twice by Barca, with 15 goals shared between the two sides over the course of the 4 legs. While I am not convinced that this one will be quite as exciting, I still fancy the BTTS outcome in what should prove to be a very competitive tie once again between these 2 super powers. I will be backing the BTTS selection at 8/11 and also quite fancy the possibility of a draw. England - Championship 20:45 Nottingham Forest vs Watford - Prediction 1.2 - Best Bet, Watford to score 2 or more @5/6, Watford to win @23/20 Promotion chasing Watford travel to Nottingham to take on a Forest side that are beginning to level out after a fantastic run under their new boss Dougie Freedoman. Watford are in terrific goalscoring form and it's hard to see past them tonight witbh promotion very much an achievable target. The hornets have scored at least 2 goals in their last 7 away matches, scoring 17 in the process while leaking 10 (5 of the 7 finished with BTTS) with 8 of their last 11 away games also finishing with over 2.5 goals. Forest had won 5 in a row at home before successive home defeats at the hands of Wolves and Huddersfield and with nothing to play for except pride, I don't think they will stop Watford tonight who are a decent looking 23./20 to claim the 3 points here and given their attacking style, the possibility of BTTS is pretty high. I'm looking at 4 bets for this one with BTTS @4/7, OVER 2.5 goals @13/20, Watford to win @ 23/20 and Watford to score 2 or more @5/6. All 4 have a good chance and I expect a pretty entertaining fixture at the City Ground tonight. 21:00 Fulham vs Rotherham - Prediction 2.1- Best Bet - BTTS @8/13 2 of the divisions strugglers meet at the Cottage tonight with Fulham looking to secure their safety in the division with a rare 3 points. In a fixture such as this, there is no chance of me gambling on an outright winner but the BTTS market does appeal here with 8 of Fulhams last 10 at home have seen BTTS with 8 also going over 2.5 goals. Rotherhams stats are less prolific but in Matt Derbyshire they have a good striker who is capable of hurting any opponent at this level and I fancy them to score tonight as most sides tend to do at the Cottage. Both of these sides are amongst the poorest defences in the league with 139 goals shipped between the 2 sides and I expect that could continue tonight although i am not sure I want to put this kind of fixture into my best bets for today. Other fixtures tonight: 20.45 - Celtic v Kilmarnock - Prediction - 3.0 - Best Bet - Celtic to win -2 @4/5 Celtic are in top form and have won 5 of their last 7 at home by at least a 2 goal margin and 4 of those would have beaten the -2 handicap and that's the bet I fancy here against a poor Killie side that have lost 3 on the bounce. Possibly a choice for an acca but not my best bets. 20.45 - Burton v Carlisle - Burton to win @8/13 Burton bossed by the legendary Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink are being tipped up in various posts today and while I cannot claim to follow this league, it does look like a solid enough bet with the hosts priced at 8/13 to claim the win. Burton are top of the league and are within touching distance of a promotion and championship celebration and will be more than confident of claiming the spoils against a Carlisle side sitting 21st in the division, a full 40 points behind tonight's opponents. Burton have won 10 of their last 13 at home and should take a big step toward the title tonight although I do have reservations about backing any teams from the lower leagues so I remain undecided if this one will make it in to my best bets for today. Bo's Best Bets PSG V Barcelona - BTTS @8/11 Porto not to lose @17/20 Watford to beat Forest @23/20 Burton to beat Carlisle @8/13 Watford to score 2 or more @5/6 Forest v Watford = over 2.5 goals @ 7/10 Celtic - 2 to beat Kilmarnock @4/5 Fulham v Rotherham - BTTS @8/13 PSG V Barcelona - draw @12/5 Porto v Bayern - draw @11/4 Comments are closed.
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