Champions League betting preview: Easy group could mean gols for Lewandowski
By SOCCER AUTHORITY
The UEFA Champions League makes its much-anticipated return on the 15/16th of September. The group stage gets underway on these dates and all the drama that goes with it, here’s some of our favorite bets ahead of the action.
Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich) Top Goalscorer
Bayern should enjoy themselves in a relatively easy group that consists of Arsenal, Olympiacos and Dinamo Zagreb, with only the Gunners likely to test the Germans.
This bet is a tasty 17.0 with Skybet. Bayern should progress deep into the tournament following this group as they are likely to top the group and having the Polish finisher to end as top scorer may well be worth a punt at this price.
Benfica to Qualify from Group C
The Portuguese side are short odds to qualify from their group, a group that includes Atletico, Galatasaray and Astana of Kazakhstan.
The Portuguese side have won the domestic league title for the past two seasons, but also managed to do a domestic treble last year.
Group D winner – Juventus
It has been dubbed ‘the group of death’, however, many are tipping the Italian Giants to be the winner of this group, though they will have to out-perform the likes of Gladbach, Manchester City and Sevilla, hence the inviting odds.
Juve cruelly fell at the last hurdle in the Champions League final last year, but their run to the final showed their strength on the European stage, this group will certainly be one to watch.
Lyon to qualify
Lyon are in Goup H and many people see this as a group that could be anyone’s.
Zenit, Valencia and Belgian side Gent make up the group. You could argue that Valencia will be a stern test but the French side are on a high after last season’s second-place finish, narrowly losing in title-race to PSG by just four points.
Lyon have managed to hold onto much sought-after striker Alexandre Lacazette, the 24-year-old youth academy graduate hit an impressive 31 goals in all competitions.
All-in-all, Hubert Fournier’s side at very least will be hoping to nick second place in the group, but topping the group isn’t impossible either.
Bayern’s Top Goal-scorer
The best-priced Bayern forward that we fancy is Robert Lewandowski at 2.75. Many think that the Polish forward didn’t hit the heights he did as he did with Dortmund, but he still managed 19 goals in 34 games (more than a goal every other game!). We think this year he’ll look to do it on the European stage for the German giants.
Arsenal to be eliminated in the Round of 16
Arsenal, Arsenal, Arsenal. Where do we start?
Tipped to be serious league contenders prior to the BPL season kicking-off, but with NO outfield additions at all, the London club look to have stagnated somewhat.
The defense has been shaky at times, so couple that with Arsenal’s record in Europe in the last few seasons.