The Semi Finals are here!

There are two massive games this week, with the 1st Leg between
Barcelona and Chelsea tonight - followed by Man Utd v Arsenal
tomorrow.

Let's take a look at the stats...

Barcelona v Chelsea

TONIGHT - Tue 28th April, 7.45pm
Live on ITV1
Ref: Wolfgang Stark

This game sees the 2006 Champions League winners, Barcelona go
head-to-head with last season's beaten finalists, Chelsea.
Barcelona are top of the league in Spain, while Chelsea sit 3rd in
the Premier League table.

Match Result:

Barcelona have played 6 home games in the Champions League this
season - won 3, drawn 1 and lost 1. Chelsea's away record is won 1,
drawn 3 and lost 1.

Barcelona are 8/11 (1.73) to win tonight, but their recent record
against Premier League teams is worthy of note here. Barcelona were
knocked out of the Champions League by Chelsea in 2005, by
Liverpool in 2007 and by Man Utd last season.

In fact, Barcelona haven't won any of their last 4 home games
against English teams...

Chelsea have drawn 60% of their away games so far - and they drew
half their away Champions League games last season, too.

• The Draw at 13/5 (3.60) could be the best value option in the
  Match Result market tonight (with Ladbrokes, Stan James and
  Bet365).

Find the best Match Result odds here:

http://odds.sportsbettingxtra.co.uk/football/champions-league/

Total Goals:

Both teams have high Over 2.5 Goals records this season - Barcelona
home 80% and Chelsea away 60%. But this is a Semi Final, 1st Leg
and things could be a bit tighter than in the previous rounds.

In recent years both teams have a record of low goals games in the
Knockout Stages...

Over the last 3 Champions League seasons, Barcelona have played 8
home games in the Knockout Stages - with 6 of them going Under 2.5
Goals (75%).

In that same period, Chelsea have played 7 away games in the
Knockout Stages - and 5 of them have also been Under 2.5 Goals
(71%).

• Over 2.5 Goals is 4/5 (1.80) tonight, while Under 2.5 Goals
  is Evens (2.00) with Coral and Victor Chandler. The 'Under' bet
  looks the value option here.

Find the best odds on tonight's Goals markets here:

http://odds.sportsbettingxtra.co.uk/football/champions-league/

Cards and Booking Points:

The data on our website shows both teams have high Over 35.5
Booking Points records. But for this game the bookies have set
their line higher, at 45 Points...

Bets on Under 45.5 Booking Points and Under 4.5 Cards are available
tonight. And those Under bets would've paid out a winner in 60% of
Barcelona home games and Chelsea away games so far.

Also, there's a strong trend of Semi Finals producing 'low
Bookings' games...

In the last 3 Champions League seasons, 5 out of 6 Semi Final, 1st
Leg games have had 'Under 45.5 Booking Points' and 'Under 4.5
Cards'.

That's a significant trend that looks well worth following this
evening.

Cards and Bookings bets...

Most bookies use these scoring systems for Cards and Booking Points
bets:

Cards (eg. Bet365)
Yellow Card = 1 Card, Red Card = 2 Cards. Most one player can get
in a game = 3 Cards.

Booking Points
Yellow Card = 10 pts, Red Card = 25 pts. Most one player can get in
a game = 35 pts.

Corners:

The bookies have set their 'Over / Under' marker at 10 Corners
tonight. So far 3 of Barcelona's 5 home games been Under 10 Corners -
and 3 of Chelsea's away games have had 9 or less corners, too.

Both teams' Total Corners per game averages are under 10:

Barcelona - Home averages
Corners For = 7.8
Corner Against = 1.6
Total Corners = 9.4 per game

Chelsea - Away averages
Corners For = 4.8
Corners Against = 3.6
Total Corners = 8.4 per game

• Under 10 Corners bets are available at 13/10 (2.30) with
  Coral and 5/4 (2.25) with William Hill and Blue Square.

There's another Corners stat that stands out in this game...

On average, Barcelona win 6 corners more than their opponent per
game - and have 66% of ball Possession. Those dominant figures make
Barcelona a good team to back in the Corner Handicap market.

Barcelona have won the most corners - by at least 4 corners - in 5
out of 5 home games this season. That's a 100% strike rate for
Barcelona '-3 Corner Handicap' bets.

Barcelona have played 5 home Champions League games this season,
and Chelsea have played 5 away games. Backing the home team with a
'-3 Corner Handicap' would've paid out a winner in 7 of those 10
games.

Goalscorers:

The Champions League's two in-form strikers are in action
tonight...

Lionel Messi (Barcelona) is the tournament's Top Scorer with 8
goals to his name so far. He has scored 3 goals in his last 3
Champions League games - and has also bagged 21 goals in Spain's La
Liga this season.

• Messi is 13/8 (2.63) to 'Score at Anytime' and 11/2 (6.50) to
  be the 'First Goalscorer' tonight. Both those prices are available
  at Paddy Power.

Didier Drogba (Chelsea) has scored 5 goals in his last 5 Champions
League games. If he scores again tonight he'll set a new record for
scoring in consecutive games. Drogba has started 4 Champion League
games against Barcelona for Chelsea - and scored in 2 of them.

• Drogba is 11/4 (3.75) to 'Score at Anytime' and 8/1 (9.00) to
  be the 'First Goalscorer' tonight. Both those prices are available
  with William Hill.

Check here for the best Goalscorer odds:

http://odds.sportsbettingxtra.co.uk/football/champions-league/

Tonight's Recommended Bets...

Here's a summary of our 2 recommended bets for tonight's game.

Chelsea v Barcelona:

·         'Under 4.5 Cards' @ 4/5 with Bet365

·         Barcelona '-3 Corner Handicap' @ 13/10 with Paddy Power (with
a saver bet on the 'Handicap Tie')

You can find the best odds on all bets for Barcelona v Chelsea
here.

Follow tonight's game online...

For a full Head-2-Head stats breakdown for tonight's game, head to
our website. From kick off at 7.45pm you'll also be able to follow
every Goal, Corner and Booking on the Live Scoreboard on the
homepage...

Log In at: www.ChampionsLeagueBet.co.uk

With your current Password: *******

I'll write to you again tomorrow with all the standout stats for
Man Utd v Arsenal...

Good luck,

Matt Nesbitt

Champions League Profit Service
www.ChampionsLeagueBet.co.uk
Password: *******