The German Giants are trying to be the first team since Internazionale in 1965 to win the European Cup on the home ground which brings its own pressure for the favourites, Bayern are a best priced 5/4 with Skybet.com to win the match in 90mins.

Chelsea have been very, very good under Roberto Di Matteo losing just twice in 12 matches a run that has delivered the FA Cup two weeks ago when they beat Liverpool 2-1 in the Final at Wembley and has seen them best the mighty Barcelona over two legs winning at the Bridge 1-0 and drawing 2-2 at the Camp Nou and that was without John Terry being sent off with an hour left of the game. Chelsea can be backed to win inside 90 mins at a best priced 4/1 with Betfair.com.

Bayern Came through the incredibly tough two legged tie with La Liga Champions Real Madrid to make this the final “that no one wanted” according to Bayern’s ex-Chelsea star Arjen Robben. Munich lead from their home leg 2-1 going into the return in front of an expectant Santiago Bernabeu crowd witnessed Real fly into a 2-0 lead thanks to Christiano Ronaldo with a brace of early goals within the first fifteen minutes but a Pepe foul on German International in the penalty box gave Arjen Robben the opportunity to bring the Bundesliga Giants back into the tie and he didn’t fail from the spot!

For this match to go to the dreaded penalties on the night you can take 6/1 with Bet365.com. Bayern to win on penalties can be backed at 12/1 with betvictor.com and Chelsea are also 12/1 with betvictor.com but are 14/1 with Williamhill.com.

There were no more goals in the second half or extra time so it went to the dreaded spot kicks, Christiano Ronald stepped and the 60 goal man missed, Kaka then followed that Ronaldo miss with one of his own and the home side were seriously on the back foot. Real didn’t monopolise the market for missed pens as Lahm and Kroos failed for Bayern but when it came to Bastien Schweinstigers chance to seal the home final at the Allianz he didn’t miss it and here we all are.

Chelsea Team News
David Luiz and Gary Cahill are winning their individual fitness battles for the final in Munich but they are beset by suspensions with John Terry, Raul Mereilles, Branislav Ivanovic and Ramires all suspended following the semi final win over Barcelona .

Bayern Munich Team News
Bayern’s Luiz Gustavo, David Alaba and Holger Badstuber will also miss the final, which is being played at their home ground, the Allianz Arena, through suspension.

Betting Tips
Bayern are 2/5 to lift the Champions League trophy tonight in front of their expectant crowd and they are indeed a formidable opponent but so are Di Matteo’s Chelsea who already have that Cup winning feeling this season with the FA Cup already secured at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea are underdogs though and are 2/1 to win the Champions League.
Our Prediction must be Bayern 2-1 Chelsea due to home advantage and Chelsea without John Terry and Branislav Ivanovic may have rushed back Luiz and Cahill so may be a little light at the back.
Bayern Munich 2-1 Chelsea paying out 9/1 with Betfair.com.

This match is considered to be worth around £90 million for the winner with big income guaranteed over the next four seasons even if you are relegated straightaway due to parachute payments. It could be a tight tense affair so the draw after 90 mins is on offer at 13/5.

West Ham finished fully eleven points infront of the Lancashire club over the regular season but that counts for absolutely jack when kickoff arrives, that eleven point gap is helped in no small part by West Ham’s two big wins over Blackpool as the scored four goals against them both home and away. West Ham to win 4-1 over Blackpool again would pay out 28/1 whilst a repeat of the Hammers 4-0 win over the tangerines is also on offer at 28/1.

The Hammers are playing really well at this stage of the season and are a clear favourite to gain promotion back to the EPL after their one sided victory over Cardiff City in the semis winning 2-0 at the City of Cardiff stadium before sticking three past the same opposition at Upton Park just a few days later.West Ham to win over 90 mins is backable at 10/11.

Blackpool had a much tougher route to Wembley against another team hoping to return to the top flight at the first time of asking in Birmingham City, Blackpool took a fortuitous 1-0 lead down to St Andrews with a deflected shot. To many onlookers that didnt look to be enough for Blackpool as Birmingham had only lost once at St Andrews all season, the game that followed was a brilliant 2-2 draw which saw Blackpool clinging on at the end after being 2-0 and seemingly strolling into the final. For Blackpool to go up within 90 mins it would pay out 3/1.

Ian Holloways knows all about winning the Championship play-offs when he guided through it two years ago culiminating in a 3-2 win over Cardiff at Wembley and most of his squad from that day are still around, that is experience that West Ham cannot call on.
West Ham to lift the trophy is very short at 8/15 whilst Blackpool are 6/4 to repeat their glory of two years ago.

Team News
Midfielder Jack Collison has handed West Ham a major fitness boost ahead of the Championship play-off final with Blackpool on Saturday. The 23-year-old has recovered from the dislocated shoulder he suffered in the semi-final secong leg against Cardiff. Collison has been a key figure for the Hammers and scored both their goals in the first leg of the semi in Wales.

Betting Tips
We think there will be plenty of goals in this game and would get on the over 2.5 goals on offer at 3/4. Blackpool beat Cardiff two years ago 3-2 and we would go that way again paying out 33/1.

The Ukrainian authorities are still working round the clock to get their host cities ready for the visiting teams even with just four weeks to go so it will be a close run thing for everything to be ready on time but that isn’t the concern of the players they just need to concentrate on staying fit for the big kick-off against Sweden on the 11th June in Kiev.

They have automatically qualified as hosts so there is hasn’t been any tense away games at a group rivals to call on for us, just a string of friendlies that cant really give an indication on how a teams is performing, but that’s all we have so lets take a look. For The Ukrainians to qualify from group D it would pay out 11/8.

Last time out they managed to beat Israel 3-2 having thrown away a 2-0 lead at halftime, before that they grabbed a last minute win over Austria in Lviv which was just four days after arguably their best recent result which was a 3-3 draw with tournament favourites Germany, a game they lead 3-1 with 25mins to go. Ukraine to win the group in thei debut appearance would pay out 5/1.

First up for the Ukrainians are the talented Swedish side lead by head coach Erik Hamren and goalscoring skipper Zlatan Ibrahimovic, they finished second in their group to the mercurial Dutch. Sweden were only 3pts behind the Netherlands at the final reckoning but suffer a battering at their hands in match three losing 4-1 in Amsterdam. The Swedes to qualify from group D is on offer at 7/4 which makes them the outsiders.

Wins over Moldova and San Marino followed by a 5-0 hammering of neighbours Finland eased Sweden to the brink of qualification which they rubber stamped by gaining sweet revenge over Holland by a 3-2 scoreline on home soil, that was a first defeat in 17 for the Dutch so no mean achievement!

Unlike their hosts Sweden have played in the Euro finals on many occasions since hosting the event 1992, they reached the semis that year which remains their best showing, they have qualified for every tournament bar 1996 since their debut and they will be dangerous in the group stages. Sweden are an 11/2 shot to win the group.

1998 World Cup Winners and 2000 European Champions France are always going to be a dangerous opponent with their pedigree and should be no different this time round, they have at least made the finals with a minimum of controversy unlike their South Africa 2010 campaign but least said about that the better.

The two times European Champions are now under the leadership of former captain Lauren Blanc following their debacle of a World Cup campaign in 2010. They are serial qualifiers for major tournaments and in the Euros their record is fantastic, they have qualified on all but one occasion since 1984 when they hosted and won the tournament.

Last time in the Swiss-Austrian competition they failed to make it out of the group stage, which was their worst showing for 16 years. If they better their last Euro performance and win the group that would pay out 13/8 making them joint favourites with England.

They are unbeaten in their last eight matches with four wins and four draws coming from their qualification and friendly matches, they were mightily impressive in their last match with Germany at Bremen ’s Wesserstadion when they secured a 2-1 win over the Germans who waltzed through their own qualification group without a scratch. France to qualify for the knockout stages that would pay out 8/15 with most bookies.

Last but by no means least come the English team, quadrennial under achievers having to put up with unrealistic expectations of their fans when they travel en mass to each and every tournament whether it is the World Cup or the Euros and pretty much every time they fail to live up to those weighty expectations.

This year may very well be different in terms of expectations though, having qualified comfortably at the top of their group they have been beset with controversy over the conduct of some of the players with Captain John Terry being the main headline maker for all the wrong reasons.

Fabio Cappello left the England managers job after the successful qualifying campaign over the John Terry captaincy issue and has now been replaced on a full time basis by former West Brom and Liverpool head coach Roy Hodgson. For Roy’s boys to make the grade and qualify for the knockout stages it would pay out 1/2 which is a little short for us.

Hodgson has extensive experience both of the English game and international football as well so should be a safe fit for the Football Association however he has been put in post so late in the day that his first squad will be his Euro 2012 squad and that is why the expectation levels for England are lower this time round and we that can only be a good thing. England to win group D would give the brave punter a 13/8 return which, as we have said, makes them joint favourites with France.

As we have said England last welcomed the West Indies in 2009 and were on the back of a 1-0 defeat to them in the Carribean when Andrew Strauss’ men really started to turn their results around with a comfortable 2-0 series win which included an innings defeat at Durhams Chester-le-street ground where England made 550+ runs meaning they didn’t have to bat again. For England to win this series to a whitewash or 3-0 it would pay out 8/5 which consider our weather looks a little short?!

England have been in patch form recently following two tours on the sub-continent against Pakistan and Sri Lanka, the first series ended in an emphatic 3-0 whitewash thanks mainly to the fantastic spin bowling produced by the Pakistani team. England to lose another series 3-0 would pay out an impossible 300/1.

Following that disappointing test run against Pakistan behind them they travelled to Sri Lanka and immediately they were under the cosh in Columbo going 1-0 down in the two match series but finally they started to show why they are the Worlds number one side by roaring back to level the series 1-1 that victory was helped in no small part by England’s batsmen finally coming back into form with a first innings of 460 which was the first time they had made over 300 in any innings in those five tests against the two nations. England to draw a second series in a row would pay out 13/2.

England will be looking to score the bulk of their runs in the first innings and then hoepfully skittle out the Windies twice on days three and four of each test, for the first test England are clearly going to look at Kevin Pietersen to score big following his stint in the IPL and he is a 7/2 second favourite to be the leading runscorer at Lords just behind Alistair Cook who is 10/3 whilst Skipper Andrew Strauss is further down the betting at 9/2.

One facet of the England team that remained strong is the bowling department, main strike bowler Jimmy Anderson has been voted England’s player of the year and he is 11/5 to be England’s leading first innings wicket taker at Lords. Stuart Broad is next in line for leading wicket taker at 3/1 which is the same as Graeme Swann.

Betting Tips
England are big, big favourites in this test and series for the Lords series opener England are 4/9 to win whilst the Windies are 10/1 and the draw is 14/5. We cannot going against England at 4/9 but they are very short.
If West Indies can win the toss and take advantage of a first morning pitch they may be able to make inroads into the England batting Line up, we believe that Andrew Strauss is due a big innings and would take him to lead the line at 9/2 abley backed up by Ian Bell at 6/1.

Group C is a very competitive group with two of the World’s super power footballing nations going head-to-head in Italy and Spain alongside two other sides who are tough, determined and hard to beat but both have serious goal threats in the shape of Republic of Ireland and Croatia who both came through the play-offs to take their places at Euro 2012.

Croatia are lead by Slaven Bilic in his sixth year as head coach and with English Premier League players like Niko Kranjcar, Luka Modric and now Nikica Jelavic to call on he has got some fantastic talent to call upon for this tournament. Croatia look like the major threat to a Spain Italy one-two in this group but may still come up short but we will see next month. Croatia to win Group C would pay out 7/1.

They had to come through a very tough two legged play-off with Turkey to make it to Poland-Ukraine 2012 but they pretty much killed the tie off in the first leg in Istanbul when they won 3-0 thanks to goals from Bayern’s Ivica Olic, Mandzukic and defender Corluka. That first leg win meant they could take it easy for the return leg in Zagreb which ended 0-0 and that was clearly more than enough for the Croats. Croatia to qualify from Group C is on offer at 7/4.

Like Croatia the Republic of Ireland had to come through the play-offs having finishing second in the group to Russia during their qualification group, the Irish are also the first opponents for Croatia on June 10th in Poznan. If Trapattoni can produce a miracle and get Eire to top the group it would pay out 14/1 but lets face it that is a longshot.

Giovanni Trapattoni has done a wonderful job in getting perennial nearly men Eire to a finals for the first time since 2002, they were drawn against Estonia in the Play-off and this time they were not going to let the chance slip ala france for the World Cup 2010.

The Republic of Ireland completely took the sting out Estonia being at home in the first leg, won 4-0 in Talinn before they sealed the deal for the Irish with a 1-1 draw at the Aviva Stadium Dublin. Eire will once again be looking for their Captain and record goalscorer Robbie Keane to add to his tally of 53 International goals, if he doesn’t we think they will struggle to ge through this group and we think they are a good bet for the Group C wooden spoon. For the Republic of Ireland to qualify from Group C it would pay out 7/2.

The Italians will always be one of the favourites when it comes to Internation football competitions being multiple World Cup winners and are a serious threat to the Spanish in this group but its 44 years since they have won the European Championships which is far too long for such a major nation, their last World Cup Triumph came in Germany 2006.

The one thing we like about the Azzurri squad is that all but three of their players are all based in Italy’s Serie A with Juventus contributing seven players from their title challenging squad including the massively experience Andrea Pirlo who has 82 international caps and 9 goals. Italy are second favourites for the group and are backable at 16/5 to finish top.

Italy won their qualificationg group at a canter from Estonia in the end but were really in a group without a real threat of anyone finishing above them, the finals however will be a different story as waiting for them are the World and European Champions Spain, a team the Azzurri have played many times over the years and they have a very even record, Spain have won eight times to Italy’s ten with eleven matches finishing level. Italy are short priced 8/13 to qualify from Group C.

The defending European Champions and 2010 World Cup winners Spain are of course the favourites for the top spot in Group C against Ireland, Croatia and the Italians but they will have to be at their best as all three teams will pose different questions of Vincente Del Bosques fantastic team of Champions lead by goalkeeping Stalwart Iker Cassillas who as 128 International Caps to his name. Spain are strong favourites to win this group at 8/15.

This side is so talented and strong they likes of Arsenal FC’s Mikel Arteta gets nowhere near a call up when he has Fabregas, Villa, Silva, Iniesta, Mata and Busquets all in front of him and five of their current midfield choices have over 50 caps each meaning they have been playing superbly well with each other for years. If you think the Spanish are short to win the group then prepare yourselves for the odds to qualify from it, 1/10! Totally unbackable in our opinion.

It would take a supreme young talent to break the stranglehold of the older guard in this set up and they do have one just about coming through in Athletico Bilbao’s teenager Iker Munian who has just grabbed his first Spanish Cap.

Spain are two-times European Champions, they won in Austria-Switzerland 2008 and also way back in 1964 when they hosted the tournament, it is damn near impossible to see them crashing out at the first hurdle considering the talent, belief and winning mentality within the squad we would make them a nailed on bet to make the knockout stage.

The Warriors are currently top of the Superleague and have beaten their most bitter rivals this season as well, that was at Saints new Langtree Park stadium where Wigan dominated the Saints in the 28-10 victory which is the only defeat Saints have suffered in nine league and cup games under interim coach Mike Rush after the sacking of Aussie Royce Simmons.

For the straight win Wigan are a strong favourite in the betting at 4/9 whilst Saint Helens are 9/5 to take the victory at the DW Stadium, if you like a punt try the draw at 20/1! Whoever gets through this round will be one of the favourites to win this tournament outright but as it stands Wigan are a 5/2 shot whilst Saints can be backed at 7/1.

As we have said the Wigan Warriors under headcoach Shaun Wane are top of the league alongside the Huddersfield Giants on 20 points having won 10 of their thirteen Superleague matchs so far, Wigan are fully five points clear of Saint Helens who are down in sixth place on 15 points with a middle of the road seven wins and a draw from their first thirteen matches. Saints are +6pts in the handicappers opinion and that is on offer at 10/11 as well.

Team News
Wigan prop Paul Prescott has recovered from a back injury and returns for his side’s televised Challenge Cup quarter-final clash with arch-rivals St Helens. Anthony Gelling is expected to continue to deputise for Pat Richards (knee) after scoring two tries last week. Wigan are without the undoubted kicking talent of Pat Richards, the Ireland international kicker and winger has been ruled out for 12 weeks following an operation.
Saints expect to have back rower Jon Wilkin (shoulder) available after a five-match absence, while Josh Perry and Gary Wheeler are close to fitness. Only prop Tony Puletua and winger Ade Gardner remain on the sidelines.

Betting Tips
Wigan to make home advantage count over the Saints and win despite the -6pt handicap at 10/11 or to be more specific we take the Warriors by 11-15 points paying out 11/2.

They have a very good record over the Milton Keynes Dons since they met in 2004, they have won six of the twelve matches played between the clubs, drawn twice and lost just four times. They are also unbeaten against the home side since 2008 winning four and drawing the other three enocunters in that unbeaten run. Huddersfield Town to qualify for the final would pay out 5/6.

In the regular season these two sides are even-steven with a couple of 1-1 draws both at Stadium MK and the Mcalpine Stadium (or whatever it is called nowadays!) Milton Keynes came into being in 2004 when they moved from Wimbledon and have been a League One club for the last four years which is a great achievement but they are desperate to go one better and make the Championship for the first time in their young history. Milton Keynes to win this home leg would pay out 6/5.

This is the fourth time they have made the end of season play-offs for Leagues One and Two and it is the second season in a row at this level unfortunately they have failed at this stage on their last three attempts at it but there is a first time for everything. For the Dons to qualify for the final it would pay out 5/6, which is exactly the same as for Huddersfield Town.

Team News
MK Dons boss Karl Robinson is hoping to have defender Gary MacKenzie back following an illness. Former Leeds United and England forward Alan Smith is likely to retain his place behind a front two of Dean Bowditch and Charlie MacDonald.
Huddersfield are set to recall striker Jordan Rhodes after resting him for their last two matches, with Lee Novak or Kallum Higginbotham to miss out. Fellow striker Alan Lee (knee) is back in contention.

Betting Tips
Town Boss Simon Grayson has previously won the League One play-offs with Blackpool in 2007 and given the attacking threat of Jordan Rhodes and Co they will be favourites to make it through this time round but may have to settle for a third successive 1-1 draw with the MK Dons which would pay out 5/1.

Crewe had recorded their league double over teh shrimpers in 2010-11 season but that was out of character, from their head-to-head record with Southend they have won just 9 compared to 19 Southend United wins and the other six were drawn. A draw in the first leg would pay out 9/4.

Crewe Alexandra are unbeaten in the last sixteen League One matches as they enter the play-off picture for the first time in fifteen years, their last day draw gave them the point they needed to secure seventh place, it isn’t all good news though as the team finishing in the final play-off spot has only gone on to gain promotion four times since 1987. Crewe to win the first leg at home it is backable at 11/8 whilst Southend are 2/1 to win at Gresty Road.

For Crewe to make the final they will have to do it the hard way and have the away leg second, if the Alex make it passed Southend it would pay out evens withmost bookies whilst Southend are slight favourites at 8/11.

Team News
Crewe Alexandra are again sweating on the fitness of skipper Dave Artell for Saturday’s play-off semi-final first-leg visit of Southend to Gresty Road. Artell has recovered from the hamstring strain that has kept him out for the last three matches, but has now suffered a new foot injury in training.
Southend boss Paul Sturrock has a near fully-fit squad to choose from. Keeper Cameron Belford has shaken off the dead leg he picked up in last weekend’s 2-0 win over Macclesfield. Sturrock is still without long-term absentees Liam Dickinson (ankle), Jean-Paul Kalala and Barry Corr (both knee) and Christian Dailly (toe).

Betting Tips
We fancy Southend to make it through and it will pay out 8/11 but just as a one off match we think this will end in a 2-2 draw paying out 12/1. Neil Harris generally a good bet to score for the shrimpers at 15/2 for the first or last goal and 9/4 to score at anytime.

This the second part of our build up were we will be looking at the initial group chances for those teams in Group B. The two teams to qualify from group B will be pitted in the first Knockout round against their Group A counterparts and unlike group A this one is full of European heavyweight footballing nations so much so that the 1992 Champions Denmark look to be easily the weakest nation of the four.

We will start with the Danes in that case and we are pretty much ruling them out of coming through this group but refering back to their glorious triumph 1992 they beat Netherlands on penalties, who were defending Champions from 1988, in the semis and then went on to beat the 1990 World Cup Winners Germany in the final by a 2-0 scoreline and two of those sides are in Group A along with them. Denmark to win the group is backable at 16/1 which makes them big outsiders.

The Danes failed to make it to Euro 2008 but came roaring back this time by winning the group which included the Portuguese , a rivalry that has been put back on the fixture list as Portugal are the fourth team in this veritable group of death. Despite out-qualifying the Portuegese and finishing three points in front of them we still think Denmark are still the outsiders of the group and they will finish bottom. We dont believe Denmark will come through this group but if you disagree you can take them at 9/2.

Portugal come into the tournament not as qualification group winners as they fell behind Denmark but had to come through a tense two legged play-off match with Bosnia this is depsite having Christiano Ronaldo in their side and the team scoring 21 goals during the eight qualifying matches. Portugal are on offer at 4/1 to win the group.

The Portugal squad is undoubtably talented group of individuals but they are definately a nearly team they reach the knockout stages of tournaments quite often but then seem to stall however this time they may struggle to get out of this group and will be heavily reliant on Captain and Talisman Christiano Ronaldo who will need to be at his brilliant best to drag them through this group of death. Portugal to finish in the top two is on offer at 6/5.

Next up for our Group B are the mercurial Dutch team lead by Arsenal FC’s talisman Robin Van Persie who is having his best ever season, scored a bucket full of goals in the English Premier league and has been voted Player of the Year for 2011-12 season. Holland are second favourites to top the group at 15/8.

The Dutch swept through qualifying with just one blemish on their otherwise perfect record, they won nine out of their ten matches suffering just one defeat , they scored 37 goals in their ten matches which is extremely healthy and conceded just eight so they have the great mix of a potent strike force and solid defence.

They were three points in front of runners up sweden who were that team to beat the dutch in the qualifying group, it was a 3-2 reverse for Holland at the Rasunda Stadium with Kuyt and Huntelaar scoring for the Orange men. Holland to just to qualify is on offer at 1/2 with bet365.com

last but by no means least are the favourites in the betting for the group, Germany, they were nothing short of perfection in qualifying for the finals in fact apart from our two co-hosts Ukraine and Poland they were the first nation to rubber stamp their place.

Germany won ten out of ten in their qualification group finishing thirteen points clear of Turkey in second place and fifteen clear of the third placed Belgians. They had an average of three goals for in those ten matches and conceded just 7 in the whole campaign. Germany are a big favourite to win Group B currently trading at 11/10.

They then sent a message to the rest of the Euro teams by going on to batter the Dutch in a friendly a the Nordbank Arena last November putting Kuyt and Co to the sword 3-0. Germany are very short to qualify from Group B at 1/4.

Taylor’s march into the semis has beenn nothing short of fantastic he has won eleven of his thirteen weekly rounds so far this season, losing one in week eleven and drawing way, way back in week one. It is just one man that has stopped him from perfection in those two rounds and that was his sparring partner, good friend and fellow multiple World Champion Adrian Lewis. Taylor is a solid favourite to win the the Premier League title at 2/5.

Gary Anderson is having the season of nightmares his challenge has gone completely with only pride to play for he is the only person already eliminated as he currently occupies bottom spot in the Premier League Ladder and unless he defeats Taylor by six legs he will stay at the foot for good. For Anderson to end the season on a high and beat Taylor it would pay out 4/1 if the draw is no bet.

Gary Anderson is the defending Premier League Champ and as such he had high hopes of repeating his 2011 success and after week four with a record of won three and lost one he was right on Taylor coat heels however it has all gone sour since then with six defeats and three draws giving him just three points from an available 18! Anderson to be leading Taylor after four legs it would pay out 9/2.

Betting Tips
Phil Taylor to win the match 8-3 at 9/2 isnt the bravest of bets but we think Anderson just wants the Premier League season to end.