English four look forward to Champions League draw
Published:The Champions League draw takes place tonight at 5.00pm and second seeds Real Madrid have a 50/50 chance of being drawn against any of the English clubs.
Teams from the same countries cannot face each other until the quarter finals, ruling Spurs out of a potential derby with Arsenal, but they are certain to be drawn against one of the European giants.
As a third seed, Spurs could potentially face a group of death involving Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Rubin Kazan, which would see their current 33/1 odds to win the Champions League lengthen considerably.
Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United are all seeded in the top pot along with Inter, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, AC Milan and Lyon.
Sir Alex Ferguson has identified Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid as the team to avoid, but other strong opponents in pot two include Werder Bremen, Roma and Marseille, whilst away trips to pot three teams Schalke and Spartak Moscow will prove tricky.
Manchester United and Chelsea are both 6/1 to win the Champions League and punters are unlikely to see much movement in their odds after the draw even if they were to find Real Madrid.
The draw has proved kind to Arsenal in recent seasons and a repeat of previous years would mean a group that includes Panathinaikos, Rangers and Turkish side Bursaspor.
Bursaspor and MSK Zilina are unknown quantities in pot four but Aston Villa fans won’t have fond memories of their 2008 Europa League tie with Zilina, when they lost 2-1 at Villa Park and exited the competition.
Barcelona are current favourites for the Champions League at 3-1 and are stronger than ever with the capture of David Villa. See the full UEFA Champions League football betting market here.
