All eyes on planet football focus on the Principality Stadium on Saturday evening as Real Madrid and Juventus clash in the final of the 2017 Champions League. The kings of the continent will be decided on Welsh turf, and fans look set for a thrilling contest.
There are also matches of note going on the international football scene, and a busy night in MLS, gifting accumulator players a shot at winning big. We offer our views on five sides worthy of your trust, with every £5 bet paying £112.35. That’s sure to spice up your weekend.
Real Madrid beat Juventus
You’ll find our in-depth look at the Champions League final on the football section of our site, but, to summarise, the stats come down heavily in favour of Real Madrid. It rarely pays to oppose the Spanish sides in this competition, with five of six teams in the last three finals being from La Liga – Real Madrid x2, Atletico Madrid x2 and Barcelona. It’s also true that each of the last three titles have been won by a Spanish side.
The spare team in the last six sides playing at this level was, of course, Juventus, when The Old Lady were soundly beaten by Barcelona in Berlin. Ronaldo bagged a hat-trick in the semi-finals vs Atletico, and will be expected to lead the line for Los Blancos again, playing his part in breaking down that famous Italian defence. CR7 has a phenomenal scoring record against Juventus, and should be the proud owner of a winners’ medal at full-time. Back Real Madrid at Coral’s 13/8.
Portugal beat Cyprus
Seeking support in the international friendlies, and Euro winners Portugal need only turn up to get the desired result, that’s certainly the case judging by the pre-match betting. The hot favourites have won their last four outings in World Cup qualifying Group B, scoring an incredible 19 goals in the process. They won’t be at full-strength here, but really won’t have to be. Cyprus have conceded eight goals in Group H, meaning our 1/7 on Seleccao looks about right.
USA go into this tie on a solid run of form, going unbeaten in their last four. That run includes a hard-fought win over Jamaica and 5-0 hammering of Honduras in a recent World Cup qualifier. Opponents Venezuela haven’t had the same luck, last seen going down 3-1 to Chile in the same competition. They are winless in three, have managed just one victory in five, and leaked 13 goals during that miserable run. Team USA make sense at 4/7.
Kansas beat Minnesota
Taking the first of two from Major League Soccer, which goes on Saturday night, and we support Sporting Kansas to do the business vs Minnesota United. The selections are second in the Western Conference, but find themselves on the back of a couple of poor results. They’re trusted to return to winning ways vs a United side who have lost two of their last three, and already show -11 in the goal difference tally. Sporting at 4/9.
Atlanta beat Vancouver
Finishing up with a bet on Atlanta United from the Eastern Conference, and they are given a chance on the back of a three-game unbeaten run, winning each of their last two. Opponents Vancouver Whitecaps have suffered defeat in two of their last three, and have been looking rather shaky. Atlanta go in as the value pick at 23/10 – this should be much closer than expected.
