Champions League Betting Tips

Week 4 of the Champions League group stages is a critical one for many of Europe's elite sides. That said, the five British clubs remaining in this year's competition are looking reasonably comfortable and on form.

So much so that Chelsea's trip to the Nou Camp on Tuesday night will not only present them with an opportunity to qualify, but push the reigning Champions of Europe to the brink of missing a spot in the last 16. Following defeat at Stamford Bridge, Frank Rijkaard's team suffered the humiliation of being outclassed and torn apart by Real Madrid and although a positive result against La Liga new boys Recreativo will have lifted the gloom slightly, the Catalans without the injured Samuel Eto'o look impotent up front and having a bit on Chelsea to put one over Barcelona at 11/4 with Sporting Odds is highly recommended.

Elsewhere, look to Peter Crouch narrowing the gap on Didier Drogba at the top of the Champions League scoring charts. Crouch's strike-rate in Europe this season is nearly as impressive as his wonder goal against Galatasaray at the end of September. Liverpool host a Bordeaux side struggling domestically and are heavily odds on to wreak more damage to keeper Ulrich Ramé's net on Tuesday evening. Crouch will most probably start in Rafa Benitez's 100 th successive changed line-up and is value to score the first goal at 5/1 with Stan James, though I'd wait until the team sheets are in!

Wednesday evening sees Arsenal attempting to exact revenge on CSKA Moscow, or rather prove a point to bumbling referee Manuel González. Expect plenty of goals in this encounter, with Arsenal playing with their accustomed fluidity and recent attacking ruthlessness. That said, d anger lurks in the CSKA line-up, with Brazilians Vágner Love and Daniel Carvalho already alerting Europe's top clubs with outstanding performances to date. Have a bit on Goals Over/Under market here with over +3.5 goals at 12/5 with Sporting Odds, or the slightly more cautious, +2.5 or more at 21/20 with Blue Square.

Man Utd and Celtic both have the chance to qualify from Group F. United travel to Copenhagen in what promises to be an intriguing match-up. Copenhagen showed flashes at Old Trafford two weeks ago, enough to prove they will be difficult to beat on their own patch. However, there is no team that manages to make a tough challenge look comfortable better than United, so if you're into your odds on betting, a Red Devils win is where to look – available at one to two with VC Bet. Celtic's trip to Benfica is difficult to predict. You can expect either a Benfica backlash from their humbling at Parkhead, or you'll see a side rolling over and dropping out of the Champions League. Kenny Miller is on form and is worth a punt as an anytime scorer – 13/5 with Sporting Odds, but it depends on what tune Benfica and the Estádio da Luz play to.

Fixtures

Tue Oct 31, 2006
17:30 Spartak Moscow (13/4) Draw (9/4) Inter Milan (1/1) 19:45 Barcelona (11/10) Draw (9/4) Chelsea (3/1)
19:45 Bayern Munich (4/9) Draw (10/3) Sporting Lisbon (15/2)
19:45 Levski Sofia (8/1) Draw (3/1) Werder Bremen (1/2) 19:45 Liverpool (5/11) Draw (3/1) Bordeaux (8/1)
19:45 PSV (8/15) Draw (3/1) Galatasaray (13/2)
19:45 Roma (2/5) Draw (7/2) Olympiakos (33/4)
19:45 Shakhtar Donetsk (10/3) Draw (12/5) Valencia (1/1)

Wed Nov 01, 2006
19:45 AC Milan (1/6) Draw (23/4) Anderlecht (20/1)
19:45 AEK Athens (8/5) Draw (9/4) Lille (19/10)
19:45 Arsenal (2/5) Draw (7/2) CSKA Moscow (9/1)
19:45 Benfica (10/11) Draw (40/17) Celtic (39/10)
19:45 FC Copenhagen (7/1) Draw (16/5) Man Utd (1/2)
19:45 Hamburg (11/8) Draw (12/5) FC Porto (2/1)
19:45 Lyon (1/5) Draw (11/2) Dynamo Kiev (20/1)
19:45 Real Madrid (1/5) Draw (11/2) Steaua Bucuresti (20/1)