UEFA Champions League Betting: Apoel Nicosia vs. Atletico Madrid

Europa League rivals APOEL Nicosia and Atletico Madrid are set to collide on match day five in Champions League action. Both sides have struggled in Europe’s top flight League. APOEL hauled one point in four cycles; meanwhile Atletico went one better taking two points in four cycles.

They are effectively out of the Champions League but they have a shot at Europa League action if they seize a third place finish. That is all they can technically hope to get out of their section that is dominated by the top duo: Chelsea FC at ten points and FC Porto at nine points.

Soccer Betting Line:

Match Time: 02:45 PM Eastern Time Wednesday November 25, 2009

Soccer Betting Verdict: Apoel Nicosia have one point in four cycles of Champions League. The Cypriots should be pleased of their accomplishment, qualifying for the prestigious competition in the first place. They can also be pleased they held their own against the European heavyweights Chelsea FC and FC Porto with narrow defeats to each. They lost by a narrow 1:0 to Chelsea on match day 2 which has to be considered a good result for them given their measure and standing against the best in European football. And their subsequent 2:1 and 1:0 to FC Porto in the two-legged tie on match day 3 and 4 was also respectable.

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Atletico Madrid have been more disappointing in my opinion and should have done better than the two points in four cycles. They started their campaign with a scoreless draw against APOEL and followed up with a 2:0 loss to FC Porto and a 4:0 loss to Chelsea. They did bounce back with a 2:2 draw against Chelsea FC on match day 4. We are yet to see whether they can make it count by backing it up with a win over APOEL.

The market favours Atletico at +110 to win outright and they have no excuse not to win this match. Yet, they have flattered to deceive this season and they failed to take anything away from the first leg against APOEL on match day 1. Such inconsistency makes them the risky bet in my opinion.

APOEL have a shot at Europa League action if they beat Atletico Madrid. They will be mindful of that. APOEL have done well to hold their own in Europe’s top-flight league and when they lost they did so respectably. One has to believe they will reverse their fortunes though sooner than later. Atletico Madrid is the perfect side to do that against because they have been unimpressive. They are also Europa League rivals and winning this battle will be important to advancing into Europe’s second tier competition after Christmas break.

Soccer Free Picks: APOEL +265 |Under 2.5 -140