CHAMPIONS LEAGUE BETTING TIPS FOR STUTTGART VS BARCELONA

Barca travel to Germany today looking to drive a stake through the heart of their opposition to end the tie in the 1st leg. I think that Barcelona are the justifiable favourites at their 8/13 price, but they have been surprised more than once in Europe this season. I think Stuttgart will be buoyed by the presence of their home fans and, if things go their way, they could make a real statement here.

Surely the Germans will be looking to play defensive and avoid conceding the important away goal that we all know Barcelona will be looking for early. OPTA sports data points out that 6 of Stuttgarts 9 goals in the group stages came in the first 18 minutes of a match. Should the Germans score in the first half, you’re looking at an 8/5 margin.
The home side are expected to turn to Pavel Pgrebniak and Jeronimo Cacau who trade at 11/4 anytime and 8/1 first or last. Alexander Hleb will be taking to the field today and he is 6/1 to score anytime and 16/1 first or last. Former Chelsea player Khalid Boulahrouz trades at 20/1 anytime to score.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Lionel Messi are both listed at evens to score anytime and 4/1 to score first or last. Bojan trades at 5/4 to score anytime while Thierry Henry can be backed at 7/4. Andres Iniesta can be backed at 10/3 while Xavi is listed at a solid 7/2.
If you think Barcelona can come out strong and win the tie in one match, try backing Barcelona (-2.0) at 4/1. Barcelona (-3.0) is a massive 19/2.
Barcelona are 6/4 to score in both halves while Stuttgart trade at 5/1 for the same result. Both teams to score in the match pays out at 4/6 while Barcelona trade at 6/4 to win to nil. A goal between the 1st and 15th minute rewards at 15/8.
A penalty is 11/4 to be awarded and it pays 11/1 if somebody misses that penalty. A penalty conversion pays out at 10/3.
Personally, I think that this one is definitely Barcelona’s to lose. If they allow an early goal, they could get in some trouble and I don’t think Stuttgart will be pushovers by any means. Barcelona need to play a bit more defensively than they usually do in the opening stages as I expect the Germans to be hunting for the opener.