Why Cristiano Ronaldo is the Favorite to Score in Tonight’s Real Madrid v Bayern Semi-Final

A massive amount of wagers is expected on tonight’s Champions League semi-final between Real Madrid and Bayern.

Tonight’s a big night for Los Blancos at Santiago Bernabeu. Real Madrid is hosting Bayern in another Champions League semi-final. Yesterday’s Atletico Madrid v Chelsea fixture was uneventful to say the least, but tonight’s match is expected to be exciting and goal-rich.

The teams have already met numerous times in the framework of Champions League, 20 times in fact. So far Bayern leads their head-to-dead 11-7, but Real Madrid holds the record on most Champions League titles, 9 crowns compared to 5 for Bayern.

It is only natural to expect a lot of action at online sportsbooks in Spain and Germany, but betting on Champions League is also extremely popular in other parts of the world. Punters will be able to utilize a full specter of pre-match lines and enjoy live betting once the fixture gets under way at 20.45 CET.

Why tonight is special

Real Madrid v Bayern has always been a special rivalry, and although the teams have never met in the final, they still have provided their fans with lots of memorable moments and perhaps caused a few grey hairs on their respective managers’ heads. Not to mention lots of disappointment and happy moments for punters wagering under Spanish gambling laws.

Real Madrid v Bayern betting odds and trivia

• A huge number of wagers under Spanish gambling laws is expected tonight

• Real Madrid will face their familiar rival – Pep Guardiola

• Cristiano Ronaldo is the favorite to score at least once

This time around Real Madrid will be facing Bayern headed by Pep Guardiola, their main rival during his years as Barcelona’s coach. Guardiola boasts quite a fabulous record against the Blancos as Barca’s coach, and surely this fact will raise some trepidation among Real players. Pep led Barca to 9 victories in El Clasico, four draws and only two defeats in all 15 games he was boss at Camp Nou.

However, today’s Real is a lot different from what it was several years back. Carlo Ancelotti has changed the Blancos’ formation and introduced a much more balanced midfield. The best example of the new 4-3-3 was clearly seen last weekend when Barcelona had all the possession during the Copa del Rey final, but Real never gave the Catalan any space and created much more chances themselves, walking away with a well-deserved title.

Tonight, Bayern will also try and take possession of the ball, but Real Madrid will answer with restriction and counter attacking, quite similarly to the way they beat Barca. And of course, there’s Cristiano Ronaldo, a key ingredient missing from Bayern’s pie.

Cristiano Ronaldo set to score

CR7 is set to come back to the starting 11, after injury. Ronaldo is leading this season’s Champions League goalscorer table and is given just 1.90 odds to find the back of the net and increase his already impressive tally of 14 goals. Those who are looking for a safe way to bet on sports in Spain tonight can surely pick Cristiano to score at least once.

Ronaldo is naturally considered to be the biggest threat to Manuel Neuer’s goal, he’s got it all: incredible speed, dribbling and power, unique free kick skill, top precision from penalty spot, and last but not least unmatched skills in the air. Add to this that Bayern will most probably have a couple of gaps in the defense for CR7 to exploit, his chances of scoring are skyrocketing.

Any other player to score tonight?

The game is expected to bring lots of goals in general. It’s safe to assume not all of them will be scored by Cristiano Ronaldo. Bayern have their own boys: Arjen Robben for example, who’s estimated at 2.75 to score against his old club. Mario Mandzukic is valued at 2.88, while Claudio Pizzaro, Thomas Muller, and Mario Gotze all got 3.00 odds to find the back of the net at any time.

As for the rest of the Blancos, Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale are next in line after Ronaldo with 2.50 odds to score at any time. Alvaro Morata received 3.50 odds, while Di Maria and Isco get equal odds of 5.00 to score against Bayern.

Other interesting betting odds for tonight

While betting on who’s going to score goals tonight is one of the most popular lines with punters worldwide, there are some other markets open for tonight as well. In general Real Madrid are the natural favorites to win, thanks to home turf of Santiago Bernabeu. The Blancos got a line of 2.45 compared to 2.80 for Bayern and 3.45 for the draw.

Goals, goals, goals! 1-1 score seems to be everyone’s favorite with 6.50 odds, while 2-1 Real’s way pays at 9.50 and the other way round at 10.00 odds. Interestingly enough, 4-0 result either way seems not too probable and pays at 51.00, however, once one of the teams starts to score it will be very hard to stop them, so a shower of goals is expected in any case.