Top Tips in Football's Most Lucrative & Most Glamorous Finals
This weekend marks the finale of a fantastic Champions League campaign, with Atletico and Real facing off in the second Madrid derby in three years in the final of European club football’s grandest stage. While the meeting between the two Liga rivals may be the most glamorous of the season in terms of reputation, earlier in the day - whetting the appetite for the showdown in Milan - its the most lucrative as Hull and Sheffield Wednesday meet in the Championship play-off final.
To mark both occasions we’re wrapping up our betting tip battle for the club season with Bookmaker Ratings with a special double edition. It’s all to play on all fronts then. With two tips apiece and the scores at 9-7 in WhoScored’s favour, a point for each correct bet means our opponents could level the scores if both of their predictions come in, though we are confident of reaching double figures to secure victory.
This week we are taking on two experts, firstly Thomas Giles ahead of the Wembley showdown between Hull and Sheffield Wednesday, before the Champions League final, up against ESPN journalist Gabriele Marcotti.
Thomas’ tip - read in full here
Not only do the Tigers have an experienced manager, they also have experienced players and none more so than Michael Dawson and Curtis Davies at the back, who I do not think Sheffield Wednesday will be able to find a way past.
There is no real value in backing a straight Hull win so I would go with ‘Only Hull to score’ at 9/4.
Gabriele’s tip - read in full here
If Real Madrid take the lead, which certainly isn’t out of the question, then things could open up for them. We could see a much different Atletico if they are tasked with chasing the game as opposed to protecting a lead. I think Real Madrid, if they’re on it from the start, might just have too much firepower and therefore I’m going with Real Madrid to win by two or more goals, or -1 handicap. At odds of 9/2 with William Hill this looks a good bet.
WhoScored’s say
If the two meetings between Hull and Sheffield Wednesday in the regular season are anything to go by, I certainly understand Thomas’ reasoning in terms of a lack of goals at both ends. Both matches ended in a draw - 1-1 at Hillsborough and 0-0 at the KC Stadium - and Hull in particular boast an impressive defensive record, with only Middlesbrough having conceded fewer goals (35). The Owls, however, have only failed to score in one of their last 12 matches, so Steve Bruce’s men will do well to keep them at bay.
In terms of the Champions League final, I’m not so sure that Real Madrid are capable of breaking down Atletico’s resolve too often, at least not without response from Diego Simeone’s men. Los Colchoneros’ organisation is so strong and has thwarted their capital city rivals so often in the past, with Los Blancos only scoring more than once in one of their last 10 meetings with Atleti since the final this time two years ago.
WhoScored’s tips
Hull vs Sheffield Wednesday - full match preview
As is generally the case in games of such significance, with so much at stake for either side, things can be a little cagey early on. With just one goal apiece across the two meetings between the sides this season that looks likely to be the case once again, but as legs tire and stakes rise later on in the match I’d tip this one to open up at both ends. When considering no side scored more second half goals in the regular Championship season than Sheffield Wednesday (45), and the fact that Hull weren’t far behind (38), I’m backing over 1.5 goals in the second half @2.62 with William Hill.
Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid - full match preview
In making it this far Atletico have had to overcome the two pre-tournament favourites in Barcelona and Bayern Munich, so few could argue that they deserve their place in the final, with the chance to complete a clean sweep of giant killings against rivals Real Madrid. With Simeone’s men entering the game in good shape compared to the final two years ago, with both Diego Costa and Arda Turan injured, the underdogs with the bookies will fancy their chances.
If you don’t have complete faith in the fact that Atletico may win outright though, there is a tempting bet to take advantage of. Having held the lead for so long when these sides met in Lisbon, Simeone will hope his side can get the upper hand again and the odds @2.10 on Atleti to win either half are enticing. If you need justification, in the last 12 meetings between these sides Los Colchoneros have won one half or another on 8 occasions.
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Hey Whoscored! It would be really great if you added the possibility of filtering and ordering player statistics by position, both within and across leagues. With Dani Alves seemingly set to leave Barca, I visited the site to get an answer to the question "Who is the best right backs out there?". Turns out to be hard to find. I've had the same problem before. Given that you do have the data, it should be easy to do. Jus a tip.
@urbanix this is possible using the position filter dropdown via the detailed stats tab on each player page across leagues and on the overall statistics page to compare across Europe's top five leagues.
the better team lost