It is less than 100 days to go until the start of the World Cup and by summer football fever will have well and truly kicked in despite so many aspects of the tournament leaving plenty to be desired.
You can never start the preparations too early and earlier this week somebody was trying to make plans with me for the night of July 15. That’s the second semi-final of the World Cup and one look at the bracket showed that was the half where England would end up if they topped their group, which is a 2-5 shot.
A third-place team would be waiting in the last 32 and England would then likely face Mexico in the last 16, followed by Brazil in the quarter-finals. It’s not a massive price that England are playing in the semis in Atlanta on July 15, making that night out particularly dicey.
A bracket allows you to plan more easily than a random draw, which also makes the Uefa competitions a more attractive punting proposition as a consequence with the finals path plotted from the last 16 for the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League.
PSG can get it right when it matters most
Arsenal, aided by topping the league phase, have been handed a plum draw in the Champions League and should make the semi-finals without breaking a sweat. Bayer Leverkusen, Bodo/Glimt and Sporting are three of the weakest teams in the competition and are unlikely to provide much of a test before we get down to the final four.
That has not escaped the notice of bookmakers and it might pay to attack the top half of the draw, which on paper is tougher but as a consequence sees Paris Saint-Germain chalked up at an almost dismissive 10-1.
PSG were quite rightly being described as the best team in Europe when they trounced Inter 5-0 in last season’s final to win the Champions League for the first time, and it was not until around this time 12 months ago that Luis Enrique’s team started to hit top gear, so don’t be overly concerned by their stop-start season.
Enrique seems to have tried to repeat the trick and they have been playing within themselves for much of the campaign, almost waiting to peak for when it matters most. They are able to do that because of their domestic dominance and should get past inconsistent Chelsea in the last 16.
Liverpool or Galatasaray will be waiting in the quarters – neither of whom are convincing at the back – and then it’s certain to be difficult in the semi-finals. But the Champions League normally is by then.
Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes remain world-class full-backs who carry a huge attacking threat, and it’s only really Gianluigi Donnarumma who is missing from the side who last season conquered Europe in mesmerising fashion.
Injuries are part and parcel of the game, more than ever before, and PSG are no different to other teams in that they have some key absentees, including Ousmane Dembele. However, the Ballon d’Or winner and ace midfielder Joao Neves are expected to return for the last-16 tie with Chelsea.
Europa crown could be heading to Lyon
Aston Villa are seen as strong favourites to win the Europa League – but the draw has been particularly unkind. A last-16 clash with Lille could be followed by a quarter-final tie against Bologna or Roma. Win those and it’s probably Stuttgart or Porto (or possibly Nottingham Forest) in the semis, which has left a lop-sided section in the top half.
Among those away from the big guns are Rafael Benitez’s Panathinaikos – hands up if you didn’t know he was managing in Greece – and Robbie Keane’s Ferencvaros.
But Lyon stand out as the team who can be kings of Europe’s secondary competition as they look to improve on last season’s run to the quarter-finals, which came a cropper in a dramatic second leg at Manchester United.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Tyler Morton are among those plying their trade at Lyon, while there is a lot of hype surrounding Malick Fofana and Endrick has caught the eye since the young Brazilian swapped Real Madrid for France in a bid to earn a spot in Carlo Ancelotti’s World Cup squad.
Lyon, who topped the table in the league phase, make more appeal as second-favourites over a Villa side who are rated a mid-table Premier League side on expected-goals data.
Viola on the charge after a slow start
Another Premier League team, Crystal Palace, head the market for the Conference League and the Eagles are easy to take on as 3-1 market leaders.
Gary O’Neil’s Strasbourg come next in the betting, but Fiorentina, who are slated to meet Palace in the quarter-finals, make most appeal at around 7-1.
Fiorentina were in relegation danger earlier in the season. However, an upturn in results has seen them drift to 12-1 to go down and they should soon be able to concentrate on salvaging a hugely disappointing season by winning the Conference League after two previous final losses.
La Viola are seventh in Serie A on xG and closely matched with Napoli on underlying data. A team containing David de Gea, Dodo, Moise Kean and Nicola Fagioli is good enough to win the Conference League.
The PSG-Lyon-Fiorentina treble pays just over 700-1 with bet365. It’s the sort of win you’ll need to pay for any World Cup tickets.
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