Football betting: Champions League outright

Arsenal fans must have needed to sit down when they were told that their next opponents in the Champions League will be the current holders AC Milan. However, the Rossoneri's bark is greater than their bite this season and it is Liverpool and Celtic supporters who should be crying into their beers after drawing Inter Milan and Barcelona respectively.

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Celtic manager Gordon Strachan told this column only two weeks ago that "most teams will fancy drawing us" and Barca will be delighted at having done so in the last 16. The 2006 winners, who overcame Rangers in the group stages, have been installed as 7/2 favourites and rightly so. Frank Rijkaard's side are returning to their irresistible best and by the spring will almost certainly be leading the Primera Division, while Celtic were made to look very ordinary in their last group game against AC Milan and, figuratively at least, are not in the same league.

Milan's pedigree in the European Cup, meanwhile, is unquestionable. Carlo Ancelotti's side have made it to at least the semi-finals of the competition five times in the last six years and have reached the final on three of those occasions, winning it twice, so the European champions will be confident their track record in this competition will see them through at the expense of Arsenal's youthful squad. Interestingly, though, the bookies disagree and have sided with the current Premiership leaders, who are 12/1 with Paddy Power to the seven-time winners' 14/1.

Manchester United will be relatively satisfied with having drawn perennial French league champions but European underachievers Lyon in the next round and, after cruising through the group stage with five wins and a draw are 11/2 second favourites to win the competition for the third time. Betfred once paid out on customers that backed United to win the Premier league, before Arsenal pipped them to the prize, and they are tempting fate again by offering a massive 33/1 about Alain Perrin's side upsetting Sir Alex's European apple cart.

Talking of which, it'll be another case of how do you like them apples for Rafa Benitez, whose side have the second toughest draw of them all when they take on Serie A pacesetters Inter Milan. The Nerazzurri have the strongest squad in Europe at present and already look untouchable in the Scudetto race after steaming clear in spite of numerous casualties. Unlike Inter, Liverpool do have a nose for this competition and could do a Chelsea on Roberto Mancini's side but the bookies think otherwise having priced them at 14/1. Indeed, 9/1 about Inter constitutes great value and can be fancied to go all the way this year.

With Chelsea having drawn Olympiakos it is no surprise to see the Blues priced as third favourites (7/1) to win in Moscow in May, although the Greeks have been surprisingly effective in this competition and could be the shock winners of the round. The other plum tie of the round pits Real Madrid (11/1) against Roma (33/1), which will be another close-fought affair. Elsewhere, Fenerbahce (200/1) and Sevilla (14/1) have a great chance of reaching the last eight for the first time as do antepost recommendations FC Schalke (66/1) and FC Porto (40/1).

Verdict: 2pts Inter e/w for the Champions League @ 10/1 (Paddy Power)
Already recommended: 2pts FC Schalke e/w for the Champions League @ 66/1

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