The 2nd legs of the Champions League Quarter Finals kick off tonight,
with Liverpool v Arsenal and Chelsea v Fenerbahce…

We've previewed both games for you today and selected the standout stats
using the Head-to-Head tool (available on the website). Both games on
live on ITV1 and ITV4 respectively, and you can follow all the Corners,
Goals and Bookings stats live minute by minute at:

www.ChampionsLeagueBet.co.uk

Clicking on 'Best odds for this match' under the Scoreboard on each game
will take you to the Champions League section of our odds comparison
website, where you can find the Best Odds for all your bets this evening.

Now for a look at tonight's big games…

LIVERPOOL v ARSENAL

Kick off 7.45pm
Live on ITV1

Match odds:

Liverpool      Draw      Arsenal
11/8 (2.37)  2/1 (3.0) 12/5 (3.40)

1st leg result: 1-1 draw

How it stands - after the 1st leg…

Last week's 1st leg at Arsenal was a 1-1 draw, with Liverpool picking up
a vital away goal. These teams have already met again since then, playing
out another 1-1 draw in the Premier League (they also drew 1-1 in the
league at Liverpool earlier this season).

To Qualify for the Semi Finals, Liverpool need a win by any score or a 0-
0 draw. Arsenal have to score to have a chance of going through – they
need a win, or a score draw of 2-2 or more. Another 1-1 score would take
the game to extra time.

Before we look in detail at the teams' stats and the more specialist
markets for this game, a word on the Match Result…

Match Result

After two draws in a week between Arsenal and Liverpool, the bookies make
the draw a 2/1-shot tonight. It's worth bearing in mind that a draw could
actually result in either of these teams winning the tie overall and
making it through to the Semi Finals. It all depends on how many goals
are scored – as mentioned above, 0-0 suits Liverpool, 1-1 means Extra
Time and any other score draw puts Arsenal through on the 'away goals'
rule.

The Stats Say:

Another close game is anticipated, and in the Match Result market the
Draw at 2/1 looks the best option – an outcome that could result in
either team going through (depending on the exact score).

• Consider a small bet on the Draw @ 2/1 in general

The 3 previous games between Liverpool and Arsenal this season (Premier
League and Champions League) have ended in a 1-1 draw. That 'Correct
Score' is available at 5/1+ tonight.

Corners

Our stats show that Liverpool average 7.5 Corners For at home in the
Champions League this season, and just 2.5 Against. Arsenal's stats are
evenly matched with 4.75 Corners For and 4.0 Against in their away games.

Liverpool have got the Most Corners in all 4 of their home Champions
League games this season.

The home team's figures standout here and suggest that Liverpool can win
more corner kicks than Arsenal.

The Stats Say:

• Liverpool to win the 'Most Corners' is available at 8/11 (1.72)
  with Blue Square, 888 Sport and on Betfair. William Hill's '-0.5 Corner
  Handicap' is the same bet and is also 8/11.

Or

• Liverpool '-1 Corner Handicap' is widely available. The current
  best price for this option is 5/4 (2.25) with Skybet, or 6/5 (2.20) with
  Bet365.

(If you back Liverpool –1 on the Corner Handicap, we'd recommend a saver
bet on the 'Handicap Tie' @ 13/2 to return your overall stakes if
Liverpool get exactly 1 corner more than Arsenal.)

Find the Best Odds on this game at our odds comparison website:
odds.sportsbettingxtra.co.uk/football/champions-league/matches/

This evening's other Quarter Final 2nd leg is at Stamford Bridge…

CHELSEA v FENERBAHCE

Kick off 7.45pm
Live on ITV4

Match odds:

Chelsea      Draw        Fenerbahce
2/7 (1.28)  9/2 (5.50) 10/1 (11.0)

1st leg result: 2-1 Fenerbahce

How it stands - after the 1st leg…

Fenerbahce lead the tie 2-1 after coming from behind to win at home in
Turkey last week. Tonight, Chelsea need to win 1-0 or by at least 2 goals
(eg. 2-0, 3-1) to Qualify for the Semi Finals.

Fenerbahce need to avoid defeat tonight – a win or a draw will put them
into the Semi Finals. If they lose by 1 goal but score 2 goals or more
(eg. lose 3-2) they will also go through, on the 'away goals' rule.

Bookings

Chelsea have 'low' Bookings stats at home in the Champions League this
season, averaging 10.0 Bookings Points For (eg. 1 Yellow Card) and 15.0
Against. Fenerbahce's away averages are much higher though – 33.75 For
and 22.5 Against. The stats don't point to a match total bet here, but to
one team getting more Bookings than the other…

In 75% of Chelsea's home games, the away team has picked up the Most
Bookings. In two of those games Chelsea didn't get any Bookings at all (0
pts).

Fenerbahce have a high Bookings For average of 33.75 pts, and they have
got at least 20 pts (that's 2 Yellow Cards) in all their away games in
the Champions League this season. Fenerbahce have also got the First Card
in 75% of their away games (Chelsea have got the First Card in 50% of
their home games).

The Stats Say:

There are two ways to cash-in on these stats with the Fixed Odds bookies
– Fenerbahce to get the Most Bookings or to get the First Card. The 'Most
Bookings' option takes into account the whole game and is the preferred
option:

• Fenerbahce to win the 'Bookings Points Match Bet' @ 8/13 (1.61)
  with Blue Square and 888 Sport (Ladbrokes and William Hill also offer
  this market)

Alternatively - the First Card market is more widely available, and the
best price on offer at the time of writing is at Paddy Power:

• Fenerbahce to get the 'First Card' @ 8/13 with Paddy Power

Corners

We mentioned the 'low' Corners stats of both these teams last week ahead
of the 1st leg in Turkey – and there were 8 corners in that game.

The teams' stats also match-up well for the game at Stamford Bridge
tonight. Chelsea average 5.75 Corners For and 3.75 Against at home, while
Fenerbahce's stats are 5.0 For and 4.5 Against – both suggesting a total
below 10 Corners.

75% of Chelsea's home games have been Under 10.5 Corners, and so have 75%
of Fenerbahce's away games.

The Stats Say:

Both teams' stats suggest a 'low' Corner total.

• 'Under 10 Corners' @ 6/5 with William Hill, or at 11/10 in general

(Also, have a saver bet on 'Exactly 10 Corners' @ 15/2 with Stan James,
Bet365, Paddy Power, Betfred or Betdirect – to cover your stakes in case
the corner count hits exactly on 10.)

The Corners stats also highlight another market in this game…

Corner Handicap

With Chelsea needing to score (and win) tonight, the bookies have given
them a '-4 Corner Handicap'. They would need to win 5 corners more than
Fenerbahce to land that bet and the stats do not support that outcome:

*Chelsea average 2 corners more than their opponent at home – 5.75 For /
3.75 Against

*Fenerbahce average the same or more corners than their opponent away –
5.0 For / 4.5 Against

*Chelsea would have covered a '-4 Corner Handicap' in 50% of their home
games

*The home team has not got more corners than Fenerbahce in any of their
away games. A '+4 Corner Handicap' would have paid out 100% of the time
on them.

The Stats Say:

Taking all those stats into consideration, the '+4 Corner Handicap' on
offer for Fenerbahce looks good value.

• Fenerbahce '+4 Corner Handicap' @ Evens with Skybet and Betfred or
  10/11 with Paddy Power

(Also, have a saver bet on the 'Handicap Tie' @ 7/1 with Skybet – to
cover your stakes in the event of Chelsea getting exactly 4 corners more
than Fenerbahce.)

Find the Best Odds on this game at our odds comparison website:
http://odds.sportsbettingxtra.co.uk/football/champions-league/matches/

Note:
The stats markets such as Corners and Bookings apply to 'normal time'
results only. If a game goes to Extra Time, Corners and Bookings awarded
in that period do not count towards the total that the bet will be
settled on.

And finally… look out for the 99'er!

Fenerbahce forward Deivid wears the number 99 on his back. This unusually
high squad number means whenever he plays or is on the bench, the
bookies' Shirt Numbers markets for that game tend to go up, up and up…

The market is settled on the aggregate of the Goalscorers' Shirt Numbers
in the game. So if players numbered 8 and 9 scored the only goals in a
game, the result would be 8 + 9 = 17. 'Shirt Numbers' is a common Spread
Betting market – but Fixed Odds bookies like Stan James and Victor
Chandler also offer bets on 'Shirts' for live TV games.

At spread betting firm Sporting Index, their 'spread' for Liverpool v
Arsenal tonight is set at '31-34'. For Chelsea v Fenerbahce though, the
spread is set at a higher '53-57'.

If Deivid was to score tonight, his number alone would give anyone
'Buying' the Shirt Numbers at 57 (eg. betting 'higher' than 57) a massive
42 x their stake profit (99 minus 57 = 42). Of course, there is also the
risk that if the game ended with no goals scored, anyone 'Buying' at 57
would lose 57 x their stake.

Deivid scored in the 1st leg last week, taking that game's Shirt Number
total to 107. His '99' shirt number certainly puts an interesting spin on
the Shirt Numbers market in this game. Anyone considering the 'higher'
option should check the team-sheet before kick off – Chelsea strkers
Anelka and Kalou also wear 39 and 21 respectively.

That's all for today – I'll email you again on Wednesday afternoon with
all tonight's results and a full preview of Man Utd v Roma and Barcelona
v Schalke.

Remember you can follow all your Champions League bets live at the
website, and click on the 'Best odds for this match' link to get the
latest prices on each game.

Best wishes,

Matt Nesbitt
Champions League Service
www.ChampionsLeagueBet.co.uk