Ronaldo 4-1 to catch Messi in goal race
CRISTIANO RONALDO is 4-1 to catch old rival Lionel Messi in the race to be this season’s Champions League top goalscorer.
Messi is stuck on 11 goals after Barcelona crashed out at the quarter-final stage – losing 3-0 on aggregate to Juventus – and Ronaldo finds himself four down with a potential three matches left for Real Madrid.
The holders are rated 13-8 favourites to become the first side in the Champions League era to successfully defend their crown, while Juve are 9-4 shots prior to this morning’s semi-final draw.
Atletico Madrid can be backed at 7-2 with Monaco available as the 7-1 outsiders. The Ligue 1 leaders beat Borussia Dortmund 3-1 in the second leg to progress 6-3 on aggregate.
This will be the third time in five years that the Premier League is not represented in the semi-finals and bet365 are betting on next season’s English challenge.
An English winner is available at 9-2, while it is evens for another Premier League blank in the semi-finals.
Chelsea will be one of those sides looking to crack the Champions League but before that the Premier League leaders face a huge FA Cup semi-final against second-placed Tottenham at Wembley.
The Blues are set to be boosted by the return of Thibaut Courtois and Marcos Alonso, who both missed last week’s 2-0 defeat at Manchester United.
Spurs will be missing left-back Danny Rose and manager Mauricio Pochettino believes his side are underdogs. “If there is one favourite it is Chelsea,” said Pochettino. “They are a more experienced team than us.”