MANCHESTER UNITED VS CELTIC IN TORONTO BETTING PREDICTIONS AND LATEST ODDS
We've got one of the bigger pre-season friendlies happening tomorrow at impressive-looking BMO Field in Toronto. Manchester United are kicking off their pre-season tour with a Champions League opponent in Celtic. These two sides have faced off against each other a few times over the past few years and I think that, even though this is a friendly without any World Cup stars, the match will still be quite competitive and the United players are out there auditioning for spots next season.
Remember- Canadian bettors are good-to-go with all European bookmakers.
Betfair is one of the few sites that actually has a comprehensive amount of betting odds on this one. A lot of traditional bookmakers tend to keep certain markets out of the way for up-in-the-air fixtures like this one, but the open betting market at Betfair really pays dividends in situations like this one.
Manchester United's odds to win are trading around the 1.65 margin at the moment amidst fairly light volume. Celtic are attractively-priced at a 4.8 margin while the draw is listed at 4.4. I think the draw is a very distinct possibility here as this will be the definition of a B Team from United, although we may see a few top stars for the first half.
The half-time draw is getting a very slight edge at 2.2 while United to win the first half is priced at a 2.24 margin and Celtic are a lengthy 4.0. I think they are a lot more likely to win 45 minutes than they are to win the full 90 and there isn't much difference in the odds, so if you're a Celtic fan I think that's a decent bet.
A sending off at any point in the match is priced at 3.6. A hat-trick at any point by anybody is trading at 11.0.
If you're looking for the goalscorer betting odds on this one though, you'll have to check out William Hill. Betfair isn't listing goalscorer ods, but thats pretty much all Hills has on this one. There are some fantastic offers available.
Dimitar Berbatov is priced at 10/11 to score a goal at any time and he's 7/2 first or last. You can back him at 20/1 for a hat-trick. Federico Macheda is expected to play some part in this one and he's trading alongside Mame Diouf, who will be looking for a break-out year, at a 6/5 anytime price and a 9/2 listing first or last.
Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes are along for this one and you'll find Giggsy trading at a 2/1 price anytime and a 7/1 margin to open or close the scoring. Gabriel Obertan is available and he's priced at 7/2 to grab a goal and 10/1 first or last.
In my opinion, if Darron Gibson gets a start then he is more than worth backing to score. You'll find him at an impressive 4/1 price tag and 11/1 to open or close the scoring. His long range shots could trouble Celtic. Darren Fletcher is well-priced at 11/2 anytime.
John O'Shea is also slated to be back for this one and I think if this is a scrappy affair that ends 1-0, then John O'Shea is your likely goalscorer. He's a lengthy 12/1 anytime and 33/1 first or last.
For Celtic, I think that if Georgios Samaras gets the start he will be looking to put on a show for the sizable Greek contingent that will likely be at BMO Field. He's a very-plausible 11/4 to score anytime with William Hill and he's 8/1 to score first or last. I think that United may opt to play a lower-profile keeper so backing a Celtic player to score is probably worthwhile. Marc-Antoine Fortune is listed at 11/4 as well.
I think this should be a very interesting affair which the United players will likely play at 70% while Celtic will be a little further along. Backing some of United's lower profile players is probably your best bet here if you're searching for a hefty pay-off.