Football Betting Tips from Steve Claridge

Steve Claridge has joined Betting Directory to provide his expert views and tips on the latest football betting odds and the latest matches.

Bayern Munich should be too strong for Borussia in the Champions League final

Thursday, 23rd May 2013

Steve signed off the 2012/13 campaign in fine style as he called the correct score in the Champions League final and he got the match result spot on after 90 minutes of the Championship play-off final. Steve also landed a 13/2 treble to mark another successful year.

Steve's tips will resume next season, with his preview of the first live games coming on the Thursday before the opening matches on Saturday 17th August 2013.

Champions League Final: Bayern Munich v Borussia Dortmund (7.45pm, Saturday 25th May 2013)

The final weekend of the season provides just two games for us to take a look at and first up is Saturday night's Champions League final between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund from Wembley Stadium. What comes around goes around in football - we saw it with Chelsea last season where they'd gone so close in the past and things worked out with them winning the Champions League in the end, and I think it will be the case on Saturday with Bayern Munich, who have finished runners up in their past two appearances in the final of this competition.

The Germans are doing something right though and they've highlighted the fact that you can give back to the fans as well. A case in point is that they have season tickets in Germany that cost the same as two tickets in the Premiership, how can that be right? Despite the gap in ticket prices, their sides are still competitive and win trophies so this final shows what a good state German football is in at the moment.

The match also shows what an effective job two good managers can do and there's no doubt that Pep Guardiola is going to have a proper job on his hands replacing Jupp Heynckes at Bayern Munich this summer! Bayern should win this weekend's match as they have carried their form well since winning the Bundesliga. Jurgen Klopp's Borussia are dangerous opposition and we know they're a good side but I'm going for Bayern Munich to win 2-1 on Saturday.

Bayern Munich v Borussia Dortmund

Match Result Tip: Bayern Munich win @ odds of 4/5 with PaddyPower.
Correct Score Tip: Bayern Munich to win 2-1 @ odds of 8/1 with BetVictor.

Championship Play-Off Final: Crystal Palace v Watford (3.00pm, Monday 27th May 2013)

Finally, the Championship Play-Off Final between Crystal Palace and Watford brings the season to a close at Wembley Stadium on Monday afternoon. Palace have gone from being the team that I thought were least likely to be promoted via the play-offs to being the ones that I think are most likely to win it now. Their performance in beating Brighton in the semi-finals was excellent and let's not forget that they won that game without the injured Glenn Murray. It was an incredible effort to beat the division's in-form team on their own patch.

Watford's win over Leicester in their semi-final tie showed what they were all about. Gianfranco Zola's team have good players and they are more than prepared to go toe-to-toe with you so it's nearly always end-to-end action in their games.

Monday's match will be a bit of a contrast in styles as Watford like to pass it around but they don't control a game when they're out of possession. Palace might not be as pretty to watch as Watford but they are effective and they can hurt you. If Ian Holloway's side play like they did against Brighton then they will win on Monday but if they play like they did in the previous 10 games then they will lose, so that's the conundrum for punters. Personally, I'm going for a 1-1 correct score and for Palace to come out on top in a penalty shoot-out.

Crystal Palace v Watford

Match Result Tip: Draw @ odds of 12/5 with Betfred.
Correct Score Tip: Correct score 1-1 @ odds of 13/2 with BetVictor.
Outright Promotion Tip: Crystal Palace to win on penalties @ 10/1 with PaddyPower.

Steve Claridge's Play-Off Finals Treble

Just a reminder that my treble for the three play-off finals from last week is still going, with Bradford earning promotion from League Two (4/6) and Yeovil (11/10) going up from League One. My final tip was for Crystal Palace to edge past Watford in the Championship (11/10). A treble provided odds of 13/2 and a £20 treble would return £127 in profit with PaddyPower.com.

Booking Steve Claridge

Our resident football betting tipster, Steve Claridge, is available for hire and is the ideal choice for a wide range of personal appearances and media work.

Enquire About Steve Claridge's Availability

Football League Show Host & Radio 5 Live Presenter

Quick Links