Ladbrokes best price on Messi topping Champions League scoring
Published:Lionel Messi has eight goals in nine Champions League appearances this season and now looks a certainty to end the competition as the top scorer.
Messi is currently 4/7 in the Champions League odds to finish as top scorer for the third season in succession and there are numerous reasons to believe that this is likely.
Mario Gomez has matched Messi with eight goals so far, but with Bayern already out of the competition, he is obviously unable to improve on this tally.
Inter’s Samuel Eto’o is the other player on eight goals and although the Italians are just about still alive, their defence of the Champions League is almost guaranteed to end at the quarter-final stage.
Inter have to recover from a 5-2 home defeat against Schalke in the first leg of their last-eight tie, which means in effect that they need to win in Germany by four goals.
This may be unlikely, but there is a strong possibility that Eto’o will manage at least one goal in Schalke.
Eto’o is 5/1 in the Champions League odds to finish top scorer, but with Messi liable to have at least three, and potentially four, more games in this season’s competition, it is logical to expect that he will manage to net more than Eto’o.
Furthermore, with Shakhtar needing to attack to stand any chance of progressing through their quarter final with Barcelona, there should be plenty of space available for Messi to take advantage of.
Aside from Eto’o, it will need someone to go on a hot scoring streak in the final few Champions League games to overhaul Messi.
Cristiano Ronaldo is one player capable of such a feat and is 9/1 to be the top Champions League scorer this season.
However, he will need to make up three goals on Messi and in all likelihood need Real Madrid to eliminate Barcelona at the semi-final stage, which is a big ask.
A £30 stake on Ronaldo being the top Champions League scorer would return £270. New customers can sign up here for a free £30 bet.
