Odds-makers know that punters will want to back them at almost any price, so they keep them well on the short side
In another round of cracking live matches this weekend involving the big names in European football, Premiership leaders Chelsea go up against Manchester City (the only side to beat them in England this season), first play fourth in Germany's Bundesliga (Bayern Munich v Bayer Leverkusen) and second take on fourth in the Spanish Primera Liga (Real Madrid v Espanyol).
They are all close-looking matches, so what are the cumulative odds about Chelsea, Bayern and Real all winning? A paltry 2.65 is the answer.
If ever there was a prime example of why it doesn't pay to follow the big teams, then this is it. Many punters probably look at the home records of teams such as Real and think they have found a licence to print money, but they are wrong. Real won 68 per cent of their home matches last season, but punters who backed them every time would have incurred a loss.
The odds-makers take no chances with the big teams. They know that punters will want to back them at almost any price, so they keep them well on the short side.
The only way to keep winning on the big teams is for them to rack up unusually long winning sequences - teams like Real, AC Milan, Manchester United, Arsenal and now Chelsea need to win at least 70 per cent of their home games to return an overall profit.
