Louis Saha in BetStars Big Call campaign with Champions League preview

Louis Saha in BetStars Big Call campaign with Champions League preview

The former Fulham, Man Utd, and Everton star, Louis Saha, joins BetStars to give his Champions League assessment under the bright, shiny lights of the Big Call campaign.

It’s time to stop scraping the last few fragments of peanut butter from the jar. The Champions League group stages are set to spark to life, and the former Manchester United, Everton, and Fulham star Louis Saha has been giving BetStars the lowdown on the upcoming competition.

So, scrape what you have on your toast, pour the kettle, and let’s take a look at what the former Champions league winner has to say.

Louis Saha made 385 professional appearances at club level, scoring 117 goals for the likes of Fulham, Man Utd, and Everton; achievements that saw him elevated to the French national squad where he played 20 times and scored 4 goals.

The French forward has won two Premier League titles, cup competitions in both England and Italy, and in 2007/8 he won the Champions League with Man Utd, beating Chelsea on penalties in Moscow.

Saha appeared in The Big Call social media campaign for BetStars, answering questions on the 2017/18 Champions League. Like most bookmakers, Saha is stuck to Real Madrid like a gold chain to a pocket watch, going for the Spanish champions, with Cristiano Ronaldo finishing as the competition’s leading scorer.

Bodog has Real Madrid as the +400 favourite to win the Champions League, and begin the defence of their title at home to Apoel Nicosia on Wednesday. Bodog is offering odds of -275 for Madrid to top Group H, a group they share with Dortmund, Spurs and the Cypriot minnows.

Cristiano Ronaldo is the all-time Champions League top marksman with 105 goals, 11 more than his great rival Lionel Messi. Last season, Ronaldo won the Champions League Golden Boot with 12 goals. The Portuguese star is the 4/1 favourite to repeat that feat.

When asked for a surprise package, Saha plumped for Paris St Germain (PSG). I can see why. The summer signings of Neymar Jr for a world record $263m fee from Barcelona and Kylian Mbappe’s loan move from Monaco increases their value as a club.

But you can smoke 40-packs of Camels a day, and live off a diet of mashed potatoes and gravy, and still end up playing in Ligue 1. PSG’s run of four successive Ligue 1 titles may have been scuppered by Monaco last year, but given that the principality has sold all of their players, one can expect business as usual in the French league this season.

Louis Saha in BetStars Big Call campaign with Champions League previewThe bookies agree with Saha, and yet the only time Paris gets to see a Champions League final is when someone else is playing at the Parc de Princes. Neymar Jr is 12/1 to finish with the Golden Boot, and Mbappe is 20/1. PSG begin their campaign with a tough away trip to Celtic. They also share a group with Bayern Munich.

Saha played the vast majority of his club football in England, so it was no surprise that BetStars asked him to opine on the English side’s chances in the Champions League.

No English team has made the final since 2011/12 when Chelsea beat Bayern Munich, and Saha believes Chelsea has what it takes to make the deep run this time around. And by ‘deep run,’ Saha must mean the final because when asked about Man Utd’s chances he said he expected them to make the semi-finals. Chelsea begins with a home tie against Qarabag FK. United has a home tie against FS Basel.

Bodog believes United are the best equipped to make a deep run with odds of +1000, Man City are next with +1100, and then comes Chelsea at +1400.

Here is a full run down of the current title winning odds courtesy of Bodog, and a look at Saha’s brief interview.

Champions League Odds

Real Madrid +400
PSG +600
Barcelona +650
Bayern Munich +650
Man Utd +1000
Man City +1100
Chelsea +1400