Ronaldo Reigns Supreme

There aren’t many fixtures where Cristiano Ronaldo isn’t the bookies’ favourite to open the scoring so when that rarest of occasions comes along it’s worth a second look.

Mario Mandzukic and Thomas Muller are both ahead of the Real Madrid star in the betting but even if their side is expected to dominate, we’re probably still better off siding with the World Player of the Year.

Ronaldo has scored a mind-boggling 47 goals in just 43 appearances for his club this season, including two brilliant strikes at the weekend against Osasuna. With 14 Champions League strikes in 2013-14, the former Manchester United man needs one to break Lionel Messi’s record.

We shouldn’t be surprised that the Portuguese is so prolific. He has had 40 attempts on target in the competition this term. Nobody else has had more than 28. The 29-year-old has even managed to hit the woodwork four times so perhaps he is unlucky to only have 14!

Ronaldo is available at a best price of 11/2 (Coral) to break the deadlock but I would recommend taking the 9/2 on offer with Paddy Power. It’s worth giving up a couple of points because the Irish firm will refund losing wagers if the second leg ends as a draw.

*If the match ends as a draw in 90 minutes, Paddy Power will refund all losing First Goalscorer, Last Goalscorer, Correct Score & Scorecast singles on this match as a free bet.