Bayern Munich vs Manchester United

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Today’s featured game is the UEFA Champions League game between Bayern Munich and Manchester United in Germany. This is the first leg of the tie and Bayern Munich are widely expected to put up a good showing tonight but I’m going to go against that (surprise, surprise!) because I don’t believe they will for a second.

Let’s cut to the chase; Bayern Munich have been unconvincing in Europe this season. They’ve played four home games in this tournament, drawing with Juventus and losing to Girondins de Bordeaux (both games without even scoring) and narrowly beating Maccabi Haifa and only just beating a resilient Fiorentina thanks to a late offside goal. They’ve been conceding far too many goals and not scoring enough, a record symptomatic of a side that are out of their depth. If you strip the Bayern Munich side down to basics and consider how many world-class players they have then you’re left with Robben and Ribery. Bayern are attempting to say Robben is injured and may not play; it’s bullshit. He will definitely play in this game because they know they haven’t a hope in hell without him. Bayern are particularly weak in defence and central midfield and it’s shown horribly in the Champions League this season, something which should be exposed tonight.

Sir Alex Ferguson has started the mind games by already singling out Robben and Ribery as Bayern’s best players, putting some pressure on them. I don’t envision it affecting the ever-reliable Robben but the tempremental, want-away midfielder Ribery may just buckle. Franz Beckenbauer has tried doing the same by claiming that the giants are afraid of Wayne Rooney so the old masters are certainly at their wily best!

However, any rational human being has to fancy Manchester United here. Bayern Munich were hyped last season after scoring eleven goals against Sporting Clube de Lisboa over two legs. They were dubbed as a potential upset for Barcelona, which was of course laughable as the Spanish giants deservedly crushed them 6-1 on aggregate, winning both legs comfortably. Bayern Munich are just a name nowadays with a tremendous past, simply. I’ve got a lot of respect for who and what they are but not the football that they play.

Manchester United enter this game absolutely on-fire at the moment. They’ve won seven consecutive games in all competitions whilst scoring sixteen goals – an average of over two goals per game. They’ve beaten an ageing but talented AC Milan side 7-2 on aggregate, winning both legs of their European tie. They strolled to victory in Bolton at weekend despite resting both Ferdinand and Rooney, winning 4-0 without ever having to get out of first gear. United can rest big players and still win tough away games like that comfortably. Is there a more experienced Champions League side than Manchester United currently? Excepting Barcelona, I’d say not. United have won their last six away games in the Champions League consecutively which is a sign of a side that is tactically astute in this competition as well as experienced. Ultimately, United are the real deal here – the ability, the variety in tactics, the potency, the defensive stability, the experience, and the composure – so it’s hard to consider anything but an away win tonight.

United will have to be wary down the flanks as that is Bayern’s most potent attacking method. However, Evra and Neville are experienced and talented enough to do the job on their respective players. Neville was poor earlier this season due to his ageing legs but has played very well lately and learned to deal without the pace by being more intelligent in his mind. United will most likely revert to their five midfielders with Park supporting Rooney, which was superb against Liverpool. Bayern don’t have the cental midfield to deal with United tonight and I expect them to be overrun as a result.

As a final point, consider that Bayern rested Ribery and Robben for their home game against VFB Stuttgart at weekend ahead of this match tonight. United employed a similar tactic by resting Ferdinand and Rooney. United won their tricky away game 4-0 without getting out of first gear. Bayern took the lead in their tricky home game and lost 2-1. Bayern are a side that cannot cope unless their wingers bail them out but they’re facing a side that knows how to deal with that issue and will pose a real problem for Bayern in attack. I honestly don’t expect Bayern to score tonight - I think they’ve been massively overrated by the bookies due to their prestigious past. I think United will win this game with real comfort – I may even back them with a cheeky -1.75 handicap too.

Verdict: Manchester United to win at  7/5.

Tuesday’s Picks

My tips:

As ever, below are my recommended value tips for today in no particular order:

Libertad Asuncion vs Lanus – away win at 5/2.

I can’t fathom these odds. Libertad Asuncion have done very well in Copa Libertadores this season but are they really better than Lanus? No. They caught them off guard in Argentina when they won the reversal of this fixture but since then both sides have catapulted in opposite directions form-wise with Lanus winning games without conceding of late and Libertad Asuncion struggling to score goals and thus struggling to win games. Lanus have won their last three games consecutively without conceding a goal so bring strong momentum into this game. They’ve had a dismal Copa Libertadores campaign so far but it’s now make-or-break as they have to win this game tonight. Libertad have scored once in their last four home games in all competitions so why they’re such favourites to win this game is beyond me. They’ve got home advantage, admittedly, but they’re not playing well and they’re not the better side here so it should be an interesting game. Either way, Lanus are too long for this game and could be a good bet tonight.

Verdict: Lanus to win at 5/2.

Cardiff City vs Leicester City – home win at evens.

Cardiff City appear to have shaken off their barren spell by going on a four-match unbeaten run, winning three of those games. We all know how capable Wales’ biggest side are but they had started to falter prior to this morale-boosting run. Cardiff have scored eight goals during those four games – an average of two goals scored per game – and have even won the tricky trip to Coventry City along the way. Cardiff are generally reliable at home with nine wins in ninteen games and average scoring over 1.5 goals per home game whilst boasting the fourth best defensive record in the Championship on their own turf. I’m a little concerned that Cardiff keep conceding irrespective of who they’re playing but whilst momentum is on their side, they keep outscoring sides so I think we’ll see a similar outcome tonight.

Leicester City are a tough side to break down but struggle more than most when out of form as they don’t score many goals. Leicester don’t even average scoring a goal per away game but their impressive goals conceded record of just over a goal per away game is the reason that they’ve only lost six away games out of nineteen this season in the Championship. However, no wins in their past three games and two consecutive defeats leading into tonight’s game leaves Leicester looking a little shaky, particularly as two of those games were at home, which is naturally their stronghold. They’ve played some hard games, don’t get me wrong, but the fact is that they’ve not handled their opponents well nor the pressure of expectancy and yet they’re set to face even more tonight against fellow promotion hopefuls Cardiff. Cardiff are just as good as the other sides that Leciester have faced and lost against so I can see Leicester struggling tonight.

I don’t want Leicester to score the first goal tonight or this bet could be in real jeopardy. Cardiff are a good side when they can attack against a side that will venture out of their own half on occasion but a Leicester side with a lead would not do that which leaves Cardiff frustrated more often than not. I think Cardiff are likely to concede tonight at somepoint given their shaky defensive record of late but if they get the first goal then they should win this game. Either way, I rate Cardiff as the better of these two sides and they’re generally good at home so odds of evens on the home win look good to me tonight.

Verdict: Cardiff City to win at evens.

Accumulator fodder:

Kashima Antlers, Veendam, Aberystwyth Town.

Recommended bets:

Manchester United, Kashima Antlers, Veendam, and Rangers at

Bunyodkor, Jeonbuk Motors, Aberystwyth Town, and Cardiff City at

As ever, if there any questions/explanations required then please feel free to post a comment! For the complete picks listing, see below!

UEFA Champions League:

Olympique Lyonnais vs Girondins de Bordeaux (5) 0-0
Bayern Munich vs Manchester United (8) 0-2

Copa Libertadores:

Libertad Asuncion vs Lanus (4) 0-1
Juan Aurich vs Estudiantes De La Plata (5) 2-1

Asian Champions League:

Persipura Jayapura vs Kashima Antlers (10) -1.75 handicap
Jeonbuk Motors vs Changchun Yatai (7) 2-0
Sanfrecce Hiroshima vs Adelaide United (6) 2-1
Shandong Luneng vs Pohang Steelers (5) 1-1
Bunyodkor vs Zob Ahan (7) 2-0
Mes Kerman vs Al Sadd (6) 1-1
Al Ahli vs Al Hilal (6) 0-1
Al Ittihad vs Al Wahda (7) 2-0

Belgian Eerste Klasse – Play-Offs:

Germinal Beerschot vs Racing Genk (6) 1-1

English Championship:

Plymouth Argyle vs Barnsley (4) under 2.5 goals
Cardiff City vs Leicester City (7)
Watford vs Crystal Palace (7)

English League One:

Oldham Athletic vs Brentford (5) under 2.5 goals

English League Two:

Accrington Stanley vs Barnet (4)

Dutch Eerste Divisie:

Veendam vs Omniworld (8)

Russian Division 1:

KamAZ Nab Chely vs Rotor Volgograd (7) under 2.5 goals
Volga Nizhnyi Novgorod vs Volgar Gazprom Astrakhan (4)
Ural Sverdlovskaya Oblast vs FK Niznhyi Novgorod (6)
Irtysh Omsk vs Mordovia Saransk (6) under 2.5 goals
Baltika Kaliningrad vs Krasnodor (7)
Dinamo St.Petersburg vs Zhemchuzhina Sochi (5)

Scottish Premier League:

St.Johnstone vs Rangers (8) 0-2

Singaporean S-League:

Beijing Guoan vs Gombak United (5) 0-1

Welsh Premier League:

Welshpool Town vs Aberystwyth Town (8) 1-2

Enjoy your free betting tips!

73 thoughts on “Bayern Munich vs Manchester United”

  1. Can anyone find a market for kashima antlers? Bookies seem not to want to cover it. Ian where are my line ups :O

  2. Gombak @ evens looks sweet considering home advantage doesnt mean anything in singapore when like 50 ppl attend a game.

  5. i fancy al hilal @ 4/5 and surely dundee will get back to winning ways @ dunfermiline (oh dear mkw please stay away from the scottish league)
    i like the look of aberystwyth @ techno welshpool but cant find any odds yet but if they are 4/5 or above (which i doubt they will be) then i will jump on – i had a minor success with a £250 double of el ahly & man city @ 2.15 which was a bonus as pot had dwindled from £5000 to £800 after a piss poor run and a couple of home purchases/presents – need to kickstart my career starting with yesterday – good luck all

  7. Right my bet for the day is….

    Man Utd, Cardiff, Luton, Peterhead, Livingston @16.47

    Stake £100

    Return £1747

    Good luck everyone

    COME ON UNITED!!

  8. blimey phil you have money to burn – you do long accumlators like my brother but he puts on £2.50 at a time (he is poor) – good luck mate but at least one of those will let you down (luton are very short at 1/3 – i know they hit 8 at the weekend but salisbury are a funny side)

    • Im not even using 10% of my bankroll on this bet so it doesn’t even bother me and the return is good (it is a long shot). To be honest im poor aswell but im up £1485 on top of my original £1000 in a couple of weeks so im having a good time at the mo… long let it continue!

    • Salisbury are on a poor run of form at the mo 1 win outta 5 i think and conceding quite a few goals whilst Luton have won the last 5, murdered everyone scored a bagfull almost every game, Luton im not worried about….

  9. al hilal backed to 8/13 – looks like i will have to look elsewhere for value – they are surely much better than al ahli but 8/13 away doesn’t do it for me – what a crap day looks like it’s the scottish first division minefield tonight

  11. i just bet on something really random

    1 Gary Neville @ 101.00 (first goalscorer)
    Stake: 5.00 Single
    Potential Winnings: 500.00

    gogogo

  12. Alrite lads. Sorry if anyone listened to my advice yesterday on AIK. They certainly did end up pissing on my fire big time. 1-1 and could have won but 5 million record signing Wenderson certainly blew the reigning champions away and 3-1 final score. Sigh. :(

    Don’t really like betting on Champions League but United DNB looks far too tempting to turn down. Here’s what I think Fergie will play tonight:

    —————Van der Sar———-
    -Neville–Ferdinand–Vidic–Evra-
    ———–Fletcher—–Carrick—–
    Valencia—-Park-Ji Sung—-Nani
    —————–Rooney————-

    I think Fergie will try to get that all-important away goal and considering Bayern’s absences it shouldn’t be a problem. But then again United always seem to do it the harder way in these big occasions.

    10/10 stakes on United DNB and I’ll have a cheeky gander on Rooney anytime scorer. Also very tempted on in-play betting because I think Bayern will frustrate them till half-time atleast and the value will almost certainly be tempting for me.

    I’m looking at the Hacken game right now as well but not going to post a massive preview like I did with AIK yesterday because I almost certainly know it’ll come back to bit me in the ass. What a fucking lousy comment I made yesterday “AIK have NEVER lost to the opposite team in the Allsvenskan”..I knew that was my cue to bet on the other side haha :) Oh well. We all learn from our mistakes.

    Good luck fellas.

  13. Rooney to score first and a United win at 13/2!! taking that one

    £100 stake

    £750 return

    by the way Rooney to score anytime is evens

    Good luck everyone

  14. with the ‘decent’ scottish fixtures falling foul to the weather tonight i am going for an oldham athletic single and i might throw in york city later if i get overpowered by urges at the bookies

  15. Rushden 5/4 is the stand out bet for me 2nite. 25pound. Look forward to my 30pound tax free lol

  17. Hm I appear to have missed off that game, sorry guys! Should be a Hacken win, 6/10 confidence and under 2.5 goals

    • Gone for 3 bets in this game. Main stake on Hacken win and cheeky bets on correct scoreline 1-0 and 2-1.

      Good luck guys.

  18. Good luck with Hacken mate. I like them to win it but they’re too short for me to take.

    • cheers fella. Got them on bet 365 today at 1.88! Odds before the game were 1.6 which I find a bit fishy. Watch them fuck up now..I won’t be surprised!

  19. Nice one! I’d have taken them at that – just not at the crap they’re at now haha.

    • Something wrong with the United odds as well. Been rising up all day which can only mean one thing – Robben is fit to play or will play some part in the game.

      Rooney anytime scorer at evens against Butt. Ugh. Might as well take him on first scorer for a better value.

  20. I’ve stuck a large wedge on United and had a cheeky punt on them to beat the -1.75 handicap too

    • Brave brave man! What odds did you get for the handicap fella?

      Just found an unbelievable bet that i’ll most certainly be taking.

      United HT/FT @ 8.50!!!!! Worth a shot.

      • Got ‘em to win at 7/5 – was 13/8 a few days ago, damn it! – and 4/1 on the handicap.

        I’ve absolute faith in United winning this game, all bias aside – Bayern are not as good as people think.

        I didn’t see that!! Good call mate

        • I really thought you out of all the people in the world would have got on United as early as possible! Mate of mine got it at @2.8 which I found astounding.

          I don’t rate Demichelis and Van Buyten whatsoever so I won’t even stick up for Bayern in the slightest. Ribery has been far from his best and like I said in a few posts earlier it looks like Robben might be their only saving grace.

          So long as Trelleborg score in the 90th+ minute I’ll be fine! :D

          Lyon under 2.5 goals “looks like a banker” but the odds are truely shocking and I might actually go for over 1.5 goals in-play because Alou Diarra is missing. He’s a brilliant player who screens that Bordeaux defence well and both teams have quality upfront in the likes of Chamakh and Lisandro so the odds may get tempting. We’ll just have to see! :)

          • Eh, I was gonna do it but didn’t have the money in the coffers at the time so left it ’til I did.

            No Robben tonight and for some inane reason Pranjic starts ahead of Tymoschuk in central midfield – absolutely crazy.

            I’ve been thinking about the Lyon game all day and the more I think on it the more I reckon Bordeaux are going to nick it 1-0. Contradicting myself, perhaps, but I’ve decided Bordeaux might just win this against a Lyon side not scoring many goals

          • That’s exactly what I wanted to hear mate! Pranjic starting! :D He makes Lucas look world-class!

  21. £400 double on Oldham & York city including 10 percent bonus would bring £1520 return heres hoping good luck all

    • Oldham becoming a public bet eh. Fingers crossed on that one.

      Quite fancy Luton tonight actually.

      • Oldham really need a win brentford have not alot to play and are poor away – as you say toffee they are a bit public as now 11/10 from 11/8 but I got 11/8 from coupon so good enough for me – after phil said earlier I am finding Luton appealing but still a bit shott but anyway I’ve handed over my hard earned so que se ra as they say in chateroux (possibly)

  22. I couldn’t take Oldham against a well-marshalled Brentford side, sorry guys – hope I’m wrong!

    • I’m actually starting to see value in Oldham to be honest mate! Brentford have jack shit to play for but Oldham are fighting against the drop so I expect them to show that little bit more motivation/determination.

      Oldham DNB is a possibility but at very very low stakes for me.

  24. Bayern Munich: Butt, Lahm, Van Buyten, Demichelis, Badstuber, Altintop, Van Bommel, Pranjic, Ribery, Muller, Olic.
    Subs: Rensing, Gorlitz, Klose, Contento, Alaba, Gomez, Tymoschuk.

    Man Utd: Van der Sar, Neville, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Fletcher, Carrick, Scholes, Nani, Park, Rooney.
    Subs: Kuszczak, Berbatov, Giggs, Rafael Da Silva, Jonathan Evans, Valencia, Gibson.

    No Robben!

  25. Well my line-up wasn’t that far off. Scholes starting instead of Valencia. Not going for width obviously then..

    • for fuck sake Hacken. 2-1 would have been perfect for me @ 15/1 but nooooo you have to go and bloody score soon as I type that eh :(

  28. Hmm soso first half York clear and cruising – Oldham looking unlikely to give me the cash I so richly deserve from mr ladbroke – on guys pull your fingers out !!!

    • Shit, I was so caught up in that game I completely forgot I’ve just lost £300 this evening. Fuck Bayern.

      • I’m not pissed that they lost, thats football, but im back home and theres a delay between the actual match and what they show on telly ( about a minute). I was about to put a cheeky punt on bayern to win to cash out at 30/1 and it went blank as i was about to click. GAY.

  32. What a lousy lousy day.

    4-1 to St.fucking.Johnstone.
    2-1 (karma) to Bayern AND Rooney injured.
    3-2 to Brentford after Oldham leading as well!
    3-1 to Lyon. So much for being as tight as a virgin.
    3-1 to Palace AWAY? What the fuck.

    Un-fucking-believable. I knew I should have stayed away from today :( then again I’d also be a bloody millionaire by now if hind-sight was allowed.

  34. Oh well rest till the world cup Wayne in the meanwhile rapid Vienna and scumhampton double I suppose tomorrow night all off to lick my wounds

  35. Gah, apologies guys – what a horrendous pick. United deserved to lose and were fortunate it wasn’t more. It reminded me of Chelsea vs Inter where the better side made the average side look very good indeed. The result was quite good in the end with the away goal but concerned about Rooney. I think we’ll beat Chelsea without him and I think we’ll beat Bayern without him but I don’t think we’ll win the league or the Champs League without him which is what we’re facing if it’s his Achilles.

  36. U think a bet on Carl Zeiss Jena, Inter & Koper @ 3.41/1 is a good bet 2moro night? £100 on it for £441.00

  37. Having a cheeky bet on Lanus + 1 @ 1.8 – the Argies have to win tonight and were undone in the first leg harshly. Libertad put 4 past in the previous game but before that had failed to score in 3 home games which is truely appalling. Small stakes for me. Good luck lads.

    • Oh fuck Lanus will you. Grow a pair of bollocks and learn how to defend rather than zonal mark. You’re not Liverpool! 2 mins in and 1-0 down already. Fucking typical.

      • This referee has been bribed for sure. And why do all these South American teams reckon that getting a red card will benefit them and their ability to win a match..

        1-0 down and a red card. Need a miracle.

        • looks like we’re on the same ship, dont worry ill sacrifice a goat to the gambling gods at half time

          • Marz I don’t know what you or your goat did but I fucking love you! What a goal from Lanus. 1-1 and could have won it right at the death.

            Well that recoups a bit of the money Shrek lost me earlier.