[pavyracer]

I would be trying this double for tomorrow:

Man Utd pk -133 & Lyon pk -162

I can't see a scenario where these two lose tomorrow.

[JRLM8]

Bordeaux already beat Lyon 0-1 in Lyon earlier this season. I don't know if Lyon is that much a sure thing.

[Wilforth]

Man Utd +140 for me. Lyon/Bordeau is a toss up, IMHO.

[bluefish]

good luck

[lauritz]

Don't like any sides this round... But Munchen - United could be an entertaining match, how about over 2,5 @ 2.07? United will probably go for an away goal like in Milano, and you would think that Ribery could give Neville a hard time?

[Sportslover]

This is a really tough set of fixtures to cap.

I like Lyon on the spread, pk and -0.5, however, I don't like the juice on this pick so will pass it up, unless it goes up to at least -111. Bordeaux might have been on fire at the beginning of the season but they've struggled of late. In their CL group they got a lot of praise and that's fair enough because they did well. However, both Juve and Bayern were having a lot of struggles domestically when their group games with Bordeaux were being played so its perhaps not surprising that Bordeaux was able to take advantage of this.

Bordeaux's form has also waned in the Ligue 1, their big lead from earlier in the season is gone and they struggled to get past Olympiakos in the last CL round. Remember, that Bordeaux's players don't have a lot of CL experience, particularly at this stage of the tournament. I think Lyon's greater CL experience will shine through in this first home leg, I also feel that Lyon has a bit more quality in their squad, even though they've slightly underachieved in Ligue 1 this season.

If you're happy with the juice that's been offered on this line, I would take Lyon, on the spread.

As for the Bayern/Man Utd spread, I think Man Utd has a bit more quality about them but I think they might settle for a score draw, if they manage to get an away goal. If the score happens to be 1-1 after around 70 minutes, I can't see Man Utd being desperate to chase another goals. If Man Utd has an away goal or two, I think they will back themselves to finish off the tie at Old Trafford, even if they end up drawing in Munich.

Bayern certainly has the capability to score against Man Utd, Evra likes to bomb forward and Neville has lot some pace in his later years so its possible that Bayern's speed on the wings could give Man Utd some trouble. If Man Utd sits back, Bayern looks good on the handicap because it could end in a draw. However, if Man Utd attacks they leave themselves exposed to Bayern's wingers on the counter attack so, again, I'd like Bayern on the handicap because they could snatch a score draw or even a win if things go really well.

Bayern tend to play with at least 3 players in central midfield as well so Man Utd will probably play with 3 in the middle to match up against Bayern. If this is the case, Man Utd will lose a little bit of their attacking thread, which would also help make a draw more likely. If Man Utd sticks with a 4-4-2 shape then they risk being outnumbered by Bayern which would give Bayern an advantage in this match, if both teams play at their best. In either situation, I like my chances of playing Bayern Munich on the Asian Handicap.

It might be a little bit of a surprise but my only play in the Champions League is Bayern Munich pk and +0.5 -110.

Good luck everyone.

[RedDevil11]

Nice write up Sportslover. Just wanted to point out, United almost never play away legs using a 4-4-2...it's usually 4-5-1 with Park on the left and Valencia or Nani on the right side on the wings. If you think our back 4 will have problems (yes, our weakness is at RB), have you seen Bayern's defence? Rooney should be able to expose their centre backs who lack real speed.

This game should be decided on the wings and so long as we contain Ribery and Robben (if one or both plays...Schweinsteiger suspended), then United should at least get a draw. Easier said than done, but Park, Fletcher and Carrick are excellent defensive midfielders and both Robben and Ribery are not 100%. If Robben is out, Fletcher can just concentrate on Ribery. I can't see us conceding more than one and with Rio and Vidic back together provides some stability.

Not saying this will be an easy game by all means...can never underestimate Bayern who can score goals without having to create any real build up, but I think we are getting them at the most opportune time and we have an excellent record in European away competitions since 2007. Can see this going 1-1 or 2-1 United. Good luck.

[Sportslover]

Nice write up Sportslover. Just wanted to point out, United almost never play away legs using a 4-4-2...it's usually 4-5-1 with Park on the left and Valencia or Nani on the right side on the wings. If you think our back 4 will have problems (yes, our weakness is at RB), have you seen Bayern's defence? Rooney should be able to expose their centre backs who lack real speed.

This game should be decided on the wings and so long as we contain Ribery and Robben (if one or both plays...Schweinsteiger suspended), then United should at least get a draw. Easier said than done, but Park, Fletcher and Carrick are excellent defensive midfielders and both Robben and Ribery are not 100%. If Robben is out, Fletcher can just concentrate on Ribery. I can't see us conceding more than one and with Rio and Vidic back together provides some stability.

Not saying this will be an easy game by all means...can never underestimate Bayern who can score goals without having to create any real build up, but I think we are getting them at the most opportune time and we have an excellent record in European away competitions since 2007. Can see this going 1-1 or 2-1 United. Good luck.

Yeah, you're absolutely right, 4-5-1 is United's preferred system in the big away games. Milan away and Arsenal away are 2 recent examples where they employed this system with great success, away from home. Nani had a cracking game on the wing in that match against Arsenal. Park has become quite a useful player for United in these big matches, due to his high work rate in defence. Valencia has also become regarded as a good asset to have on the wings when defending, United have strong players that are useful in defence in the wing positions but seem to be a little weaker in the fullback areas in defence. Normally its the other way around!

If Valencia/Park spend a lot of time looking after Robben/Ribery (if both play), then it might negate United's attacking threat, leading to a better chance of a drawn game. When playing with a defensive midfielder and 2 central midfielders, you rely a little bit more on your wingers to support the frontman, if the two wingers are tied up defending too much then United might struggle to get service to Rooney. If the two wingers attack too much, they could leave their fullbacks exposed to the pace and quality of Bayern's wingers. Its all about finding the right balance, Park will probably defend more and Valencia will bomb forward more often, however, that still leaves United's weakest defensive link, Gary Neville (now that he's a bit past his best), exposed. As an alternative, United could play Park on the right hand side to help Neville and then play Nani on the left and have Valencia waiting to come off the bench, if needed.

I certainly accept your point that Bayern's defence has weaknesses, as well as United's. Bayern probably has those weaknesses in a much more dangerous area too, in the centre where they lack a lot of pace. The question for me is whether United can get the service in behind to Rooney, in order to take advantage of this. With United playing 3 in the centre (potentially) Rooney might have to drop deep a lot to pick up the ball, hold it up and link with the midfielders. United will then have to play the ball around in midfield to give Rooney time to move into dangerous areas in behind the Bayern defence. By the time this happens, Bayern might already have had time to organise themselves defensively. The key will be to get at least 1 winger to make runs ahead of Rooney so that Rooney can lay it off to a midfielder, then the midfielder can play a through ball ahead of Rooney and in behind to a United winger, who has cut inside towards goal.

There's a lot of angles to look at in this match, I just feel that a lot of these angles point to a possible draw. We might have a situation where both teams cancel each other out - United has the extra quality but, as the away team, they might be happy with this type of situation. Both these managers have won the Champions League and have managed in at least 2 CL Finals. They have a lot of experience and tactical knowledge so that's another reason why I feel they might cancel each other out. I think getting Bayern at pk and +0.5 gives me the best chance of cashing on this game.

Good luck, this is a fascinating match up and I can't wait to see how this one turns out!

[RedDevil11]

Yeah, you're absolutely right, 4-5-1 is United's preferred system in the big away games. Milan away and Arsenal away are 2 recent examples where they employed this system with great success, away from home. Nani had a cracking game on the wing in that match against Arsenal. Park has become quite a useful player for United in these big matches, due to his high work rate in defence. Valencia has also become regarded as a good asset to have on the wings when defending, United have strong players that are useful in defence in the wing positions but seem to be a little weaker in the fullback areas in defence. Normally its the other way around!

If Valencia/Park spend a lot of time looking after Robben/Ribery (if both play), then it might negate United's attacking threat, leading to a better chance of a drawn game. When playing with a defensive midfielder and 2 central midfielders, you rely a little bit more on your wingers to support the frontman, if the two wingers are tied up defending too much then United might struggle to get service to Rooney. If the two wingers attack too much, they could leave their fullbacks exposed to the pace and quality of Bayern's wingers. Its all about finding the right balance, Park will probably defend more and Valencia will bomb forward more often, however, that still leaves United's weakest defensive link, Gary Neville (now that he's a bit past his best), exposed. As an alternative, United could play Park on the right hand side to help Neville and then play Nani on the left and have Valencia waiting to come off the bench, if needed.

I certainly accept your point that Bayern's defence has weaknesses, as well as United's. Bayern probably has those weaknesses in a much more dangerous area too, in the centre where they lack a lot of pace. The question for me is whether United can get the service in behind to Rooney, in order to take advantage of this. With United playing 3 in the centre (potentially) Rooney might have to drop deep a lot to pick up the ball, hold it up and link with the midfielders. United will then have to play the ball around in midfield to give Rooney time to move into dangerous areas in behind the Bayern defence. By the time this happens, Bayern might already have had time to organise themselves defensively. The key will be to get at least 1 winger to make runs ahead of Rooney so that Rooney can lay it off to a midfielder, then the midfielder can play a through ball ahead of Rooney and in behind to a United winger, who has cut inside towards goal.

There's a lot of angles to look at in this match, I just feel that a lot of these angles point to a possible draw. We might have a situation where both teams cancel each other out - United has the extra quality but, as the away team, they might be happy with this type of situation. Both these managers have won the Champions League and have managed in at least 2 CL Finals. They have a lot of experience and tactical knowledge so that's another reason why I feel they might cancel each other out. I think getting Bayern at pk and +0.5 gives me the best chance of cashing on this game.

Good luck, this is a fascinating match up and I can't wait to see how this one turns out!

I like the score draw myself, but will be interesting to see what Bayern's starting lineup will be. Everything you have said is very reasonable and well put (which I appreciate), but if Robben doesn't play then we only need to focus on Ribery which should allow our other midfielders to create for Rooney. And if Robben doesn't play, I would assume that would mean Ribery will be forced to start the match as he's been coming off the bench since his ankly injury so we'll see how he handles the full 90 minutes on a wobbly ankle. With Neville in there, there's definitely a good chance Ribery's ankle will be tested with one of his classic challenges!

good luck on the bet...staying away from it myself and will just enjoy the game.

[akerber]

I love pk manchester united but the price is no good

anybody like over 2/2.5 too?

can anyboody confirm if Rooney will play?

[Sportslover]

I like the score draw myself, but will be interesting to see what Bayern's starting lineup will be. Everything you have said is very reasonable and well put (which I appreciate), but if Robben doesn't play then we only need to focus on Ribery which should allow our other midfielders to create for Rooney. And if Robben doesn't play, I would assume that would mean Ribery will be forced to start the match as he's been coming off the bench since his ankly injury so we'll see how he handles the full 90 minutes on a wobbly ankle. With Neville in there, there's definitely a good chance Ribery's ankle will be tested with one of his classic challenges!

good luck on the bet...staying away from it myself and will just enjoy the game.

Yeah, a lot will depend on whether Bayern can get both Ribery and Robben onto the pitch. I suspect that both will play, which is why I booked my play earlier (took a bit of a risk perhaps) as I feel the odds might drop on the spread for Bayern. It's a big game so if they are semi-fit, I think they'll play just to have them do their work on the counter attack, even if its with less defensive responsibilities, perhaps. It's one of those games that could go either way, its a really tough one to cap. We might even see something surprising happen that neither of us expected.

Enjoy the game.

[RedDevil11]

I love pk manchester united but the price is no good

anybody like over 2/2.5 too?

can anyboody confirm if Rooney will play?

Yes, Rooney will be playing...so will Ferdinand.

[Toronto-boy]

man utd will win tht my fans

[RoagBettor]

Man U/Bayern over 2.5 is the best bet of the day.

[Karayilan9]

Man U cruises to a comfortable win

[lakerboy]

Everyone is on Man U. Interesting. I like Bayern Munich to win.

[RoagBettor]

Everyone is on Man U. Interesting. I like Bayern Munich to win.

Yep that's possible, but I like the draw better; I'm thinking 2-2 which is why I'm only playing the over.

[Arsenal]

I already bet United a few days back. With seemingly the whole forum on them, I am now nervous.

[Karayilan9]

Don't look too much into it, Alex Ferguson will know what to do here, trust him whatever we are going over he's gone over 100 times already.

[bostonbruins]

Got on Man U pk from the start , let's get it

[minet123]

Man U/Bayern OVER will be close but look for late Rooney GOAL

[905prodigy]

I'm watching Sky Sports News right now and they just said Robben as well as Ribery are Doubtful..

[samitarian]

man utd win with over 3 goals scored is my bet right now

[pouroupoupou]

Man.Utd ML
Lyon-Bordeaux Under 2

Good luck to all

[diamond]

Good luck Pavy.

[RoagBettor]

Lyon/Bordeaux over 2.5 is a system play for me

[w3coyote]

once again very good write up, Sportslover. Bayern -0 for me.

[pavyracer]

Both teams up by 1-0 early. Still a lot of game to be played on.

[Totolover1409]

Easy cash on the Lyon over Roag.

[BatemanPatrickl]

Need Manu/Bay to score a couple more goals.

[Totolover1409]

I think you'll def see another Man U goal. bayern will be more aggressive which will open another hole/goal for Rooney