Manchester United - Galatasaray Betting Preview: Old Trafford win for Kagawa & Co.

Sep 19, 2012 4:55:00 PM

Sir Alex Ferguson will be anxious to avoid last year's sloppiness in the Champions League, which saw the Reds suffer an early exit. Adam Bate expects a strong display on Wednesday

Manchester United begin their 2012-13 Champions League campaign with a home tie against Galatasaray in Group H.

The Red Devils have been given a less than daunting group with Braga and CFR Cluj their other opponents but they will be determined not to slip up after last season’s struggles, which saw them knocked out at the group stage.

That should focus the mind and Sir Alex Ferguson will surely have his team motivated for this one after resting key personnel in the 4-0 Premier League win over Wigan at the weekend.

Man Utd are 1/3 (1.33) with Paddy Power to pick up three points here and that is the industry-best price available.

Galatasaray are back under the watchful eye of Fatih Terim in his third spell in charge and the experienced coach has already brought the Turkish title back to the club for the first time in four years.

Money has been invested to strengthen the squad for this European campaign and the team is littered with experienced players.

Indeed, the likes of Tomas Ujfalusi, Hamit Altintop, Johan Elmander, Cris, Felipe Melo and Milan Baros should relish this sort of occasion.

Galatasaray are 10/1 (11.00) with Paddy Power to cause a considerable upset and beat United at Old Trafford. The draw is available at 4/1 (5.00).

In the goalscorer markets, Robin van Persie should start and is the favourite to open the scoring at 3/1 (4.00).

The best bet and main goalscoring threat for Galatasaray is new signing from Trabzonspor, Burak Yilmaz.

The 27-year-old striker was the top scorer in Turkey last season with 33 league goals and has kicked off his Galatasaray career with two in his first three games.

Yilmaz is 11/1 (12.00) to get the first goal at Old Trafford on Wednesday.

But Shinji Kagawa might be the better option. The Japan international has a good scoring record and is likely to be positioned in an advanced role.

He is 7/1 (8.00) to get the first goal but with the home side expected to get a few in this one, the industry-best price of 23/10 (3.30) for Kagawa to score and United to win is the value bet here.

The pick of the bets is another industry-best offering from Paddy Power. United will be keen to show there will be no more sloppiness in Europe this season, so expect them to hit Galatasaray early.

Back United at half-time and full-time at 5/6 (1.83) with Paddy Power as the best bet here.

BET

OF THE

DAY

BEST BET

VALUE BET

Man Utd at HT/FT at 5/6 (1.83) with Paddy Power

Shinji Kagawa to score and United to win at 23/10 (3.30) with Paddy Power

Sign up with Paddy Power for up to £250 in free bets and back Adam's selections for this game

Adam Bate is a professional freelance journalist who specialises in football and betting. He is editor of GhostGoal which can be found here - you can also follow Adam on

Live!

Champions League final - LIVE!

German giants Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund will battle it out at Wembley for European glory. Get involved by sending us your thoughts via Twitter or Facebook! Hosted by Mark Doyle.

8:55 PM BST

Franz Beckenbauer is never one to mince his words and he's been disappointed - yet not in the least bit surprised - by Arjen Robben's finishing tonight.

"It just seems like Arjen Robben can't score in decicive matches," the legendary libero told Sky Germany during the break.

8:53 PM BST

The latest from the Bayern bench is that centre-half Jerome Boateng is struggling with a slightly bruised thigh. He's keen to play on, but that's obviously one to watch. Should he be forced off, one imagines Van Buyten will come on in his place.

8:49 PM BST

The second half is just under way, but just to give you the thoughts of three-time World Referee Of The Year Markus Merk, who is working the game for Sky Germany tonight. He feels that Ribery's elbow on Lewandowski during the first half could easily have been construed as deliberate by match official Nicola Rizzoli.

"Ribery was very lucky," he argued. "If the referee judges this as an intentional act, he can easily give a red card. I cannot understand why a player like Franck Ribery behaves like this in a Champions League final."

8:43 PM BST

Jay Jaffa is watching the game surrounded by German fans and he's picked up what he has described himself as a tremendously "precise" prediction from one supporter.

"We've had boos, moans and groans throughout the half from fans unhappy with Bayern's resurgence. The loudest cheers of all have been saved for Roman Weidenfeller though, after two exceptional saves from Arjen Robben. There's no doubt, in this pub at least, that the support lies with Dortmund and a friendly chap named Andreas believes BVB will come out on top, insisting: 'We will get stronger as the game goes on and Lewandowski will score in the final 10 minutes.' About as precise a prediction as you can get!"

8:40 PM BST

Bayern have really come into the game and have had some great chances, but, for my money, Dortmund shaded that opening 45 minutes. They also shaded the poll Goal ran on Facebook earlier. We asked you who would win at Wembley tonight and 55 per cent of you sided with the underdogs. It really will be fascinating to see if Klopp's men can pull this off in the second half, which is just five minutes away.

Inside Goal.Com

Neymar's choice: How he saw all this coming
Santos' star forward spoke to Goal's Sebastian Garcia a year ago about the fight for his services between Spain's two top teams and his insight was revealing
Top 10 all-time Champions League scorers
As the competition moves within days of its much-anticipated conclusion at Wembley, Goal profiles the most prolific players in its history
Top 10 Champions League Final Moments
As Europe braces itself for an all German classic at Wembley on Saturday, Goal.com takes a look back at some of the iconic moments in the history of Uefa's showpiece event since its rebranding in 1992.
Transfer Talk: Mourinho wants Isco at Chelsea
Get your daily dose of all the speculation from around the globe as clubs cast their eye towards summer reinforcements
Higuain can take Juventus to the next level
The Argentine striker looks set to swap Madrid for Turin in the coming days after six years in Spain - and he is just what the Bianconeri need to challenge in Europe next season