Why the best bet on Man City v Cardiff is a clean sheet
Amidst much fawning over their goal-drenched home wins the Citizens’ rearguard has gone uncelebrated.
EXCLUSIVE: Watch Bayern stars flaunt slick basketball moves
Bayern Munich made the headlines last week for losing to an under-strength Manchester City side in the Champions League and then again yesterday for drawing Arsenal in the last 16 for the second year running.
But now you must prepare to witness the European champions as you’ve never seen them before.
Regular readers will know that here at bwin HQ, we love to use our Skills Series videos to put the technique of the best players on the planet to the test.
In the past, we’ve brought you Gareth Bale wowing his new Real Madrid team-mates with some nifty footwork.
Then there was Carlos Tevez bossing a Juventus-themed challenge.
And who could forget Manchester United star Wayne Rooney scoring an incredible bicycle kick while blindfolded?
However, we quickly realised ahead of this latest instalment that Bayern are an exceptional case.
Seeing as Pep Guardiola’s men have been almost peerless on a football pitch in the past 18 months, some lateral thinking was required to really take them out of their comfort zone.
Enter forward Thomas Muller, midfield enforcer Javi Martinez and Brazilian defensive duo Dante and Rafinha – on to a basketball court.
What happened next was as impressive as it was unexpected.
In the video – which you can watch by opening the player at the top of this page – the quartet appear to make the transition from foot-to-eye to hand-to-eye coordination effortlessly, peppering the basket at will.
The sort of teamwork famously demanded by Guardiola is also frequently on display as they pull off all manner of alley-oops and slam dunks, passing some tricky tests with flying colours.
And if you’re still hungry for more after checking out the footage, how about the chance to win a shirt signed by the entire Bayern Munich squad too?
Don’t say we’re not good to you…enjoy!
EXCLUSIVE: Watch Carlos Tevez school Juve team-mates in skills challenge
Fans of Manchester United, Manchester City and West Ham know all about Carlos Tevez’s abilities with a ball at his feet and we’ve got exclusive evidence that he’s lost none of his sparkle since moving to Juventus.
Open the player above to watch the Argentine nimbly dribbling in between multiple moving car tyres and hammering shots through some almost impossibly small targets, both static and mobile.
Tevez’s fancy footwork is the undoubted highlight of the second instalment of the new bwin Skills Series, a six-part collection of videos in which we put the technique of some of the finest players on the planet to the test.
A few weeks ago, we brought you the world’s most expensive footballer, Gareth Bale, dazzling Real Madrid team-mates Karim Benzema, Luka Modric and Jese Rodriguez with some amazing rugby ball work.
And judging by the new video, Tevez was clearly determined to follow suit by reminding everyone of the talents he displayed regularly during his trophy-laden seven-year stay in the Premier League before departing for Turin last summer.
The 29-year-old was joined by Juve chums Fabio Quagliarella, Andrea Barzagli and Fernando Llorente to take our obstacle course-themed challenges and ended up comfortably topping the leaderboard on five points.
Barzagli could only manage two points, while Quagliarella and Llorente, with whom Tevez has dovetailed increasingly effectively in recent weeks, were forced to settle for a solitary point apiece.
The next assignment on Tevez’s list will presumably be scoring in Sunday’s huge clash between Juventus and Napoli in Serie A – an eventuality you can back at 5/4 by clicking the ‘Add to Betslip button’ at the bottom of this page.
But first, sit back and take in this performance – and if you enjoy it, share the video with your friends on Twitter or like it on our official YouTube or Facebook pages.
Keep your eyes peeled for part three of the bwin Skills Series…
EXCLUSIVE: Watch Gareth Bale shock Madrid team-mates with AMAZING skills
Real Madrid may have paid Tottenham Hotspur a world-record transfer fee to sign Gareth Bale for his incredible skills with a football, but we’ve got exclusive evidence that he is equally special when it comes to kicking a rugby ball.
Open the player above to watch the £86 million man size up a chipped cross before hammering an astonishing volley from the edge of the area straight into a water bottle placed on the angle of crossbar and post by former Spurs team-mate Luka Modric.
Just to reinforce the point, Bale then unleashes a drop-kick with the kind of unerring accuracy that even countryman Leigh Halfpenny, the famously dead-eyed full-back for the Wales rugby union team, would be proud of.
Both pieces of fancy footwork draw audible gasps of amazement from Real colleagues Modric, Karim Benzema and Jese, who also show off some fancy footwork with the oval-shaped ball, plus a squash ball and an exercise ball.
Bale’s impressive training ground display serves as a timely reminder of his talents ahead of the first El Clasico of the season this weekend, for which he could return to the Madrid starting line-up after recovering from a thigh injury.
Home advantage sees Barcelona as the current 39/50 favourites to win the battle of La Liga’s two behemoths, with the draw available at 14/5 and Los Merengues ranked as 3/1 outsiders.
But regardless of what happens at the Nou Camp on Saturday, if you like what you see in the video, be sure to keep a close eye on news.bwin.com/en/ and the official bwin YouTube, Facebook and Twitter channels.
Bale and his Bernabeu buddies were strutting their stuff for the first instalment of a brand new initiative, the bwin Skills Series, so there will be plenty more where that came from in the coming months.
Through our partnerships with Real Madrid, Manchester United, Bayern Munich, Juventus, Marseille and Anderlecht, we will be challenging stars who regularly grace the Champions League to show just how good they really are with our range of technique-based assignments.
The results, as already shown by our quartet of galacticos, are likely to be spectacular.
Scout report: Marseille’s Chelsea target Gilbert ‘Gianelli’ Imbula
A box-to-box midfielder and irrepressible dribbler more reminiscent of Vieira than Makelele.
Five unlikely title comebacks to hearten eight-points-adrift Man Utd
The Red Devils have been both the capitulators and the indefatigable chasers-down in the past.
Create a customised Premier League table with bwin’s League of Your Own
Arsenal’s set-piece deficiencies, Newcastle’s sharp shooters and the dominant foreign legions of Manchester City and Tottenham are prime examples of the quirky discoveries that can be made with our brand new package.
Tasty Championship Treble: Goals expected as Huddersfield welcome QPR
Our Championship tipster advised a 10/1 winning treble last weekend, see who he’s backing today
EXCLUSIVE: Robben has ‘really good feeling’ about Guardiola philosophy
Arjen Robben is relishing the start of a new era at FC Bayern, with the ex-Chelsea star full of praise for boss Pep Guardiola and what he will bring to the club.
It has been suggested in some quarters that the former Barcelona manager has his work cut out after seeing predecessor Jupp Heynckes deliver the treble last term.
However, Robben insists the players are excited about Guardiola’s philosophy – which brought him an incredible 14 trophies in four seasons at the Nou Camp – and are feeling confident about the challenges lying ahead.
“I like [his philosophy] and so does the team,” said the Dutchman in an exclusive interview with bwin, which you can watch by opening the player at the top of the page.
“It’s a new start for me with a new manager and I have a really good feeling about it.
“I have said it a few times already but I think that I can still take a few steps further forwards and I hope it will be a successful season.”
Guardiola has already signed playmaker Thiago Alcantara from his former employers in a £17m deal, while Mario Gotze was lured from Borussia Dortmund and defender Jan Kirchhoff has arrived from Mainz.
With the nucleus of last year’s all-conquering team still in place – only Mario Gomez has departed to Fiorentina – Robben believes Guardiola will be focusing on evolution rather than revolution.
“Although there are quite a few good new ideas, we don’t need to exaggerate as we’re not suddenly going to play completely differently,” he said.
“I think the most important thing is that, with the exception of Gomez, all of the old players are still here and that we have gained three very good new players.”
Robben, of course, penned the final chapter of Bayern’s incredible campaign by scoring the winning goal in the Champions League final as Dortmund were defeated 2-1 at Wembley in May.
Jurgen Klopp’s men were also forced to play second fiddle to Bayern in the Bundesliga and the German Cup, but they drew first blood this season with their recent 4-2 victory in the German Super Cup.
Robben admits he is expecting another strong challenge from their main rivals for domestic silverware.
“I think Dortmund will certainly be up there again and they will possibly be our biggest opponent,” he said.
“But I also believe that there are a number of other very good teams in the Bundesliga. It will be a huge challenge for us and we are all looking forward to getting started again.”
Robben will expect to be involved as Bayern bring the curtain up on the new league season on Friday against Borussia Monchengladbach at the Allianz Arena, with bwin making them strong 13/100 favourites for the win.
But despite witnessing the Bavarians thump Gladbach 5-1 in the recent Telekom Cup pre-season tournament, the 29-year-old is taking nothing for granted.
“It was good to beat them but that was it,” he added.
“Our preparations are continuing and we need to keep up our progress so that we are 100% ready to face Gladbach again.”
Bayern are as short as 1/5 to retain the Bundesliga title, while they are 9/4 favourites to win the Champions League again and a price of 31/4 is on offer for them to repeat their treble-winning exploits.
And if they are to enjoy another successful campaign, one thing is for sure: an increasingly mature Robben is likely to play an integral role.
Odds cut on Ronaldo making sensational return to Man Utd
Fresh reports today have linked the Portuguese star with his old club and bwin punters can still get 11/4 that the Real Madrid ace goes back to Old Trafford.
Arsenal: 2012/13 Season by Numbers
Chris Bryant takes a light-hearted statistical look at a Gunners campaign which appeared to be heading for disaster but finished with yet another top-four finish.