Love it or loathe it, the Champions League is back. Tonight, Chelsea will play Italian club, Napoli, at the Stadio San Paolo, while La Liga team, Real Madrid, take on CSKA Moscow in Russia.

Tomorrow, the first phase of the round of sixteen comes to a close, when Marseille take on Inter Milan at the Stade Velodrome, and Swiss club, Basel, host German giants, Bayern Munich, at St Jakob-Park.

A good result for Andre Villas-Boas’ Chelsea is absolutely vital if their young manager is to earn his keep at Stamford Bridge. Villas-Boas has presided over the least successful period in Chelsea’s recent history, all beneath a billionaire owner – Roman Abramovich – who is notoriously unforgiving of failure. Those following the Betfair football betting odds will be wondering if his job is safe.

With Villas-Boas’ recent plea to his boss to show some support in his vision for the future, the former Porto chief appears unsure of his own place in Chelsea’s long-term plans. Villas-Boas says that he “cannot keep saying” that he has the backing of the club’s brass, without a word “from the top”.

Chelsea have scraped together just two victories in six league matches. They did, however, qualify top of Group E with three positive results from six, a tally that will give the Blues added confidence ahead of tonight’s clash with Napoli. Veteran striker, Dider Drogba, hopes that a victory, later today, will help turn around Chelsea’s fortunes. People looking at the Champions league betting need to remember this.

“In football there is always another game to change the bad moment or the difficult moment”, the Ivorian player said, adding that tonight’s fixture is “one of those”. Drogba intimated that Chelsea will be underdogs in Italy: “I think we can feel that nobody believes in us. We are going to have to show we deserve to be here.”

Napoli are the favourites to win at the San Paolo, at 13/10 in most betting shops. Chelsea come in at 23/10. The bookies believe that Napoli’s Edinson Cavani will be the biggest threat to Villas-Boas’ team, at 5/1 to score the first goal.

Stoke manager Tony Pulis was left feeling proud after watching his side go down 1-0 against Valencia in the two club’s Europa League round-of-32 clash at the Britannia. The Spanish giants took the advantage in the tie courtesy of a stunning Mehmet Topal strike, ensuring Valencia head back to the Mestalla as the overwhelming favourites to progress to the next round.

The Stoke boss made it clear he was pleased with how his side had conducted themselves against such a talented Valencia side. Despite being a goal down in the two-legged tie, Pulis has been quick to insist Stoke still have a chance of getting themselves back into contention when the Premier League club head to Spain this week. People looking at Betfair.com should remember this.

“We knew we were playing a top-quality side and I think we acquitted ourselves pretty well and were a little bit unfortunate we didn’t get the bounce that we needed.”

“If can play the same way when we go there we’ve still got a chance. We’re going to give it our all again. These opportunities don’t come along very often.”

“We hope it’s a great occasion and that the fans enjoy it. We enjoy the support, we know they’re there and I hope we can turn things round for them.”

There was a clear gulf in class between the two teams at the Britannia, with Valencia’s experience clearly evident as they completely controlled nearly all aspects of the game. Stoke’s unique style failed to upset the Valencia defence and the Spaniards will be confident of handling the English club again this week. Fans of the Betfair Europa League need to bear this in mind.

Valencia, who sit third in La Liga behind Real Madrid and Barcelona, will be hoping to have leading goalscorer Roberto Soldado available to start at the Mestalla, following the striker’s recovery from a hamstring injury which forced him to start the first-leg as a substitute.

The FA Cup, in the past, has always been perceived as the more glamorous tournament over the Carling Cup, with the League Cup invented as a route for clubs to travel down in order to earn a bit more money with a midweek fixture or two, but has the time come when the FA Cup is starting to lose some of its glamour, with the early season nature of the Carling Cup encouraging more clubs to go along with it?

Although the Carling Cup is not covered in glory and history of teams from non-league football reaching the latter rounds, the games are held so early in the season that clubs who have fears about relegation or ending up floundering in mid-table obscurity are perhaps more prepared to give it a go in order to generate some early season form to blood the squad players and boost confidence. www.betfair.com

When you compare this attitude to those of the top teams, who worry about the games competing with valuable Champions League fixtures, you can see how there is real potential for upsets and exciting games between sets of players desperate to win. Anyone looking at the Carling cup betting should remember this.

When you contrast this to the FA Cup, you can see a competition that is pretty exciting at the start, but (although it has its worldwide legendary status and history) gets worse and worse depending upon how many shocks you see in the earlier rounds, a fact evident this year with the current round of FA Cup games about as inspiring as dirty dishwater.

Ultimately, it’s a difficult question to answer, but one thing is undeniable: the fact that we can have such a close debate can only be good for the long-term future of both competitions.

Cameron Jerome has insisted Stoke are handling the pressure of competing on so many fronts this season. The Potters reached the fourth round of the FA Cup – a tournament the club reached the final of last season – with victory against Gillingham, and also find themselves in the last-32 of the Europa League.

While the Europa League may not be everyone’s favourite particular brand of vodka; Stoke won’t need any motivation for their upcoming clash against Valencia in the competition’s last-32 clash.

Not many will give the Premier League side much hope when taking on the Spanish giants, however, it’ll be doubtful that Valencia will have come up against many opponents who adopt the style in which Stoke go about their business. People looking at the Europa League betting need to remember this.

Jerome has maintained the tournament is one in which the club are determined to do well in, as well as insisting the squad were handling the pressure of being in the competition.

“I think it’s quite manageable,” he said.

“We are through to the last 32 of the Europa League after no-one gave us a prayer before the competition started.”

“It’s something the manager wants to do and something the players want to do.”

On top of that, the club are challenging for a place in the upper echelons of the Premiership, with Tony Pulis looking to establish Stoke’s place as a top half side.

Currently eight in the league, Stoke will need to balance their other commitments properly in the second half of the season if they are to maintain their place in the top half of the table. People looking for Betfair online betting tips should bear this in mind.

Jermone has found the back of the net only four times since joining the club from Birmingham, with two of those coming in Europe, and Stoke fans will be hoping to see a lot more from the 25 year old in the second half of this season.

Wigan chairman Dave Whelan wants the club’s fans to help them through a difficult festive period and says if the Latics show the same spirit they did at West Brom then they will have no problem moving clear of the relegation zone in the second half of the season.

Wigan are off the bottom of the Premier League table after what was an important 2-1 victory at fellow strugglers Albion on Saturday and Whelan was impressed with what he saw – both on the pitch and also in the shape of the backing the players received from the travelling fans.

“We sold out our away allocation and I’d like to say to every fan who made the trip a massive thank you – they gave us great support and the lads really appreciated it,” he said.

“I went into the Dressing Room at the end of the game and the players all commented on how fantastic the fans were, and now we want them to turn out again for the next big match against Chelsea because with their support anything is possible.”

Wigan now take on Chelsea and Liverpool at home before a Boxing Day trip to champions Manchester United and the Premier League football odds they are in for a tough time. However, Whelan knows says if Wigan play like they did at the Hawthorns then more points can be theirs as they look to move clear of the relegation zone.

He added: “The message to the players and fans ahead of this tough schedule and the rest of the season is simple; keep fighting, keep running and keep playing like we have been – do that and we’re bound to get results.

“It’s the Wigan way and the only way we know. The three points takes us off the bottom of the table and we’re going in the right direction considering the games we have coming up.”

Despite the club’s problems this season, Whelan has also publicly backed Latics manager Roberto Martinez who, he says, would not be sacked even if they did go down, something the football online betting suggests is a possibility.

However, if they continue to pick up wins like they did on Saturday, Martinez will certainly have no worries about his long-term future at the DW Stadium.

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has insisted he will not be rushed into a “scatter-gun approach” to making new signings in the January transfer window.
Ferguson has seen his creative options depleted in recent times with Anderson joining Tom Cleverley on the treatment table.

The Scot has long held off making New Year signings, with the best players already tied up in the Champions League, and stressed he would not change his policy of taking the long-term view on new arrivals. Those looking at the football odds should remember this.

“We don’t have a scatter-gun approach to signing anyone because we think it may work. We want to think it will work. There is a distinction,” he said.

“It is dead easy to say you are going to buy a player but it is not easy to buy players for Manchester United, particularly in January.

“I don’t see anyone who could make us a better team from the ones who are possibly available. I could choose two or three players who I would like to have at this club but they are not available. There would be no point even going there.”

Match-going United supporters take the view Ferguson has not addressed the issue of finding a suitable replacement for the now retired Paul Scholes and those following the Premier League betting may well agree.

A Champions League group campaign which has so far yielded three disappointing draws would back up the suggestion that the Premier League champions are a marquee signing short of competing at the highest level.

The likes of Luka Modric, Samir Nasri and Wesley Sneijder have all been credited with moves to Old Trafford, but Ferguson, who has used striker Wayne Rooney in a more withdrawn midfield role, said his search would continue for the next superstar signing.

“We have a great scouting department,” he said. “They have proved it over the years.

“That is where we are in the sense of identifying and assessing footballers.

“It is an ongoing process. Sometimes it takes two years to find someone.”

Michel Vorm’s arrival at Swansea wasn’t one of the summer’s biggest transfer stories, although it looks to be like one hell of a piece of business by the newly-promoted side. The Dutch stopper has been in sensational form for the Swans so far this season, filling the shoes of the departed fellow countryman, Dorus de Vries, more than adequately.

Vrom has been one of the Welsh club’s stand-out players so far in their debut season in the Premiership, with his latest man-of-the-match award coming in his side’s 0-0 stalemate at Anfield. The former Utrecht keeper was delighted with how his team-mates had performed, when speaking after the goalless affair, insisting the result had proved the newly-promoted club didn’t fear anyone. Those looking at the football online betting should remember this.

“If we carry on playing like this I think we can win a lot of matches this season,” he said.

“It was a good opportunity for us to let everyone know that Swansea City can play good football. As a team we’re improving every week and we’re not afraid of anyone.”

Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez were the latest Premier League striker who were left wondering just quite how they hadn’t managed to score past the Dutch international. The 6ft keeper may not be the biggest around, but his agility and reflexes seem to more than make up for his relative lack of height. People placing Premier League bets should bear this in mind.

If Brendan Rodgers’ men are going to achieve the impossible and actually survive this season, then it’s fair to say that Michel Vorm’s continued form is going to be essential to those hopes.

Tomasz Kuszczak has risked the wrath of Sir Alex Ferguson by accusing Premier League champions Manchester United of treating him like a “slave”.

The 29-year-old has slipped down the pecking order at Old Trafford, behind David De Gea, Anders Lindegaard and Ben Amos, and has not made a single first-team appearance so far this season. Those looking at the online betting football will know he is unlikely to start any time soon.

The Poland international revealed recently he was denied the chance to join United’s cross-Pennines rivals, Championship promotion-hopefuls Leeds, and fears he now risks missing out on representing co-hosts Poland at Euro 2012.

“I’ve talked to Sir Alex [Ferguson] lately,” said Kuszczak. “I asked him to let me leave the club before the January transfer window. I told him I want to get back into the national team, because Euro 2012 is just around the corner, but it seems he doesn’t care. The possibility of two months’ loan to Leeds came two weeks later. The club blocked it. It was a glimmer of hope for me. It would have reminded the Poland manager about me.”

The former West Brom stopper, who signed a contract extension in 2008 which will expire next year, reiterated he was prepared to leave Old Trafford in January to push his claims for a place at next summer’s showpiece tournament in Poland and Ukraine. Those who bet Premier League money will be wondering if he can make the squad.

He added: “Do they do it maliciously? I’m sad they behave like that. I’ve become a slave to Manchester. I’m frustrated but I don’t want to slander or criticise Ferguson. It’s not my style. I have respect for him because, for me, he’s a great manager but I hope he will let me go in January.”

The Krosno Odrzanskie native has played 61 times for United since his arrival from The Hawthorns in 2007.

The coveted Belgian teenager, Andreas Hoelgebaum Pereira, has revealed he will leave PSV Eindhoven to sign a three-and-a-half-year deal at Old Trafford on January 1.
“PSV knew that I was talking with some clubs and they respected my choice,” Pereira said. “I had some doubts but at the end Manchester United is my dream team to play for. Manchester United is obviously a great club.

“I am an offensive midfielder, a real 10. Setting up my team-mates, scoring and a good shot are my qualities.”

Kenny Dalglish says victory over Manchester United at Anfield on Saturday will have no bearing on the Premier League title race in the long run.

His great rival from the other end of the East Lancs Road, Sir Alex Ferguson, has openly declared this meeting of two of English football’s most celebrated clubs as the stand-out domestic fixture of the season.

United will head to Merseyside looking to snap a three-game winless run in all competitions at Anfield – but Dalglish rates the visit of the champions as just another game. Those who bet on football may disagree.

The Reds bounced back from successive defeats – their first of the season – to beat Wolves and near-neighbours Everton prior to the international break and Dalglish is more concerned with his players picking up another three points.

He said: “People say this is the biggest game of the season but I don’t look at any game as being big or small.

“It’s another game, another three points for a win. The only difference this time is the fact that, if we win, we will move a bit closer to them.

“It’s an opportunity to help yourself and dent their chances at the same time.”

The rivalry between the two Glaswegian football die-hards dates back to when Dalglish was first in charge of Liverpool in the mid-1980s.

However, the Anfield boss insists Saturday is not about personal gains and simply wants his players to prove they can compete against the best and the Premier League betting shows they will be in for a tough game.

“I’m not egotistical, I’m not in this to get one over anyone else,” he added.

“I don’t have any individual contest with Fergie. This football club is more important than me and always will be.

“Head-to-head (against Ferguson)? I wouldn’t have a clue what the score is in that and it doesn’t really matter to me.”