Champions League Betting Tips: Our Final Predictions

Champions League Semi-Final Tip:

• 30 minutes betting - Liverpool at 6/5 with Betfair

We are down to the last four in the Champions League and the best betting sites reckon there are two clear favourites in the race to be crowned champions of Europe.

There was no shortage of drama or excitement in the quarter-finals and we saw even more in last night's semi-final first leg as Manchester City beat Real Madrid 4-3 in an absolute classic.

The Champions League continues to deliver season in, season out – and the best of this year’s competition still lies ahead.

Liverpool welcome Villarreal to Anfield tonight for the first leg of their semi-final, as two English teams and two Spanish sides battle it out with a place in the Paris showpiece up for grabs. Check out our tips for the game below.

Liverpool vs Villarreal

Wednesday 27 April, 8pm, RTE

Two things are simultaneously true: Villarreal are the weakest team remaining in the competition and Liverpool could be in for a shock if they underestimate them.

The Yellow Submarine qualified for the Champions League by winning the Europa League last term, when they deservedly beat Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Manchester United in the final.

They advanced to the knockout rounds of Europe’s premier competition by finishing as Group F runners-up (behind United), before dispatching Juventus in the last 16.

Their most impressive achievement was a 2-1 aggregate triumph over Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals. To only concede one goal across 180 minutes of action against a side with the attacking quality of Bayern is no mean feat.

This was not a case of all-out defence, though: Villarreal created the better chances in the first leg on home soil and posed a threat to Bayern on the break in the return fixture at the Allianz Arena.

Jurgen Klopp and his staff will be intensely watching those matches against Bayern in the build-up to the first leg.

A glance at Villarreal’s domestic record would suggest they are no great shakes: Unai Emery’s men sit seventh in the standings at the time of writing, with a top-six finish now hugely challenging for them. However, Villarreal tend to raise their game for the big occasion.

Emery’s first objective in this tie will probably be getting to half-time at Anfield this evening with the score still level.

The away goals rule has been abolished, so Villarreal will be content to sit in and look to absorb pressure in the opening 45 minutes.

We will not see the visitors commit too many bodies to attack. If they do have a chance to break forward in transition, it will probably be only two or three players pushing high up the pitch.

Even if Villarreal wanted to get men forward, they would struggle to do so. Klopp will instruct his players to fly out of the traps.

Liverpool’s counter-pressing will pin Villarreal back and the hosts will dominate possession. In front of a raucous atmosphere, the Reds will look to establish a lead in the first half of the first leg.

There is a good chance they will do so. In six of their 10 Champions League games this season, Liverpool have led after 30 minutes.

In five European matches at home, they have held an advantage at the half-hour mark on three occasions.

Villarreal can be difficult to break down at times, but we are backing Liverpool to make an early breakthrough in the first leg of this semi-final.

Tip: 30 minutes betting – Liverpool at 6/5 with Betfair.