ALL FREE FOOTBALL TIPS

Manchester United will look to put behind them what has been an out-of-sorts Champions League group campaign when they go up against Basel in Switzerland on Wednesday.

United have been uncharacteristically nervy in European competition so far this season and looked particularly vulnerable at the back, recording a 3-3 draw last time they met Basel thanks to a late equaliser by Ashley Young,  and a 2-2 draw in their last encounter against Benfica that looks to have handed the Portuguese outfit top spot in Group C.

Sir Alex Ferguson’s side sit level on eight points with Benfica at the top of the group, however Jorge Jesus’ side have the advantage in that their final game is against bottom of the group Otelul Galati, who have yet to pick up a single point in their five games so far, meaning if United have any hopes of topping the group and securing an easier draw in the final 16, they will have to hope for a shock result in that game.

Otherwise, they require at the very least a point at St Jakob Park in order to ensure they make it out of the group at the expense of their Swiss opponents who have already demonstrated to the reigning Premier League champions they have the firepower to cause a major upset.

United have plenty of injury concerns going into the game, add Ferguson’s misery was added to this week when striker Dimitar Berbatov was ruled out of the game with an ankle injury.

Berbatov’s injury compounds a bad week for United that has seen fellow striker Javier Hernandez stricken with a ankle injury he picked up in the 1-0 win over Aston Villa on Saturday. He joins Michael Owen – who will be out until the new year with a groin complaint – on the sidelines, meaning Ferguson will be forced to rely on Danny Welbeck to partner Wayne Rooney in attack.

Welbeck has only made on substitute appearance since picking up a muscular injury while on international duty with England.

Ferguson has also indicated he may have to move Phil Jones, scorer of United’s only goal at Villa Park, into midfield with Michael Carrick suspended with Anderson and Tom Cleverly both out injured for some time.

To make matters worse for Ferguson, both Da Silva twins are also out of the game after picking up injuries in the Carling Cup quarter final defeat against Crystal Palace.

Match Winner

United know they can take all the permutations out of the equation by simply picking up maximum points on Wednesday, and the visitors are placed at 1.62 (8/13) with Bet365 to claim a much needed win.

Basel meanwhile are certainly worth considering at 6.50 (11/2) with VC Bet while a repeat of the draw the last time the two sides met is 4.00 (3/1), also with VC Bet.

First Goalscorer

With Manchester United’s depleted forward line, Danny Welbeck and Wayne Rooney will shoulder the responsibility of scoring the goals to fire their side through to the next round.

Rooney is 5.25 (17/4) with VC Bet while Welbeck is placed at 6.00 (5/1) with Bet365.

Basel have the talented Alexander Frei in their side who tormented United last time round, land having scored twice last time is well placed at 10.00 (9/1) with VC Bet

Recommended Bets

Correct score: Manchester United, 3-2, 26.00 (25/1) SportingBet

First Goalscorer: Danny Welbeck, 6.00 (5/1) BetFred

View the rest of this betting tip at: http://www.bigfreebet.com/previews/2011/basel-v-manchester-united-champions-league-betting.html

All literature on display is taken from http://www.bigfreebet.com/previews and all copyrights to it belong to them

Comment »