Champions League Betting Odds Favor Man Utd Over Schalke - 05-03-11

May 3 - As most UEFA Champions League betting fans expected, when English Premier League leaders Manchester United travelled to Germany a few weeks ago to face Bundesliga club FC Schalke 04 in the first of two UEFA Champions League semi-finals, it was the clearly superior Red Devils who prevailed, 2-0.

This Wednesday in Manchester, UEFA Champions League betting fans will get to watch the second UEFA Champions League semi-final between these two 'mismatched' clubs. While Manchester United boasts an arsenal of experienced players, under the tight reins of wily manager Sir Alex Ferguson, Schalke boasts a very young and inexperienced team, prone to collapsing under pressure.

As proof of this, look no further than the clubs' first UEFA Champions League semi-final, where if it wasn't for Schalke's 'superman' of a goalkeeper Manuel Neuera, United would likely have scored another five or six goals. And with this match still fresh in the minds of oddsmakers, it's not surprising Manchester have been installed as the overwhelming favourites for Wednesday's game.

For instance, highly frequented and popular online sports betting site Bodog.com has laid Manchester United as the UEFA betting 1.40 favorites over the overwhelming 7.50 underdogs Schalke ahead of Wednesday's big showdown (or wet squib, if Schalke repeat their lack-luster performance from a few weeks ago).

That said, the seemingly unstoppable Red Devils were stopped in their tracks by fierce rivals Arsenal on Sunday, when the Gunners beat United 1-0 at the final whistle. The surprise loss - certainly for Manchester United fans - has prompted Ferguson to change up the side ahead of their Schalke engagement.

'I will make some changes on Wednesday without question,' said an unhappy looking Ferguson at a post match press conference. 'I will bring Paul Scholes back in, [as well as] Dimitar Berbatov and Michael Owen. We'll need to do that but I will probably keep my experienced players at the back.'

Schalke, meanwhile, will have their work cut out against one of the world's best football clubs, especially playing in front of their home crowd at Old Trafford, and will no doubt will be eager to get the match out of the way.