Top 5 bets from the Champions League & more

Manchester United v Villarreal

In a rerun of May’s Europa League final, which Villarreal won on penalties after a 1-1 draw, United really need to get three points after losing away to Young Boys last time out. It won’t be easy, with Harry Maguire injured, Aaron Wan-Bissaka suspended and Luke Shaw doubtful, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer could be without three-quarters of his first choice defence. Add in the disappointment of a home defeat against Aston Villa at the weekend, and the pressure really is on at Old Trafford tonight.

Match to be Drawn 28.5-32.3

Just because United need a win tonight, doesn’t mean they’ll get one, and if history has taught us anything, it’s that matches between United and Villarreal are always tight. The most recent 1-1 draw followed four successive goalless stalemates. Punters who think that run will continue can play lots of different markets, but the most simple is the Match to be Drawn spread at 28.5-32.3, which awards 100 points if it is a draw and 0 if it is not.

Juventus v Chelsea

Holders Chelsea travel to Turin to face a Juventus side that has started to find a bit of form after a very slow start to the season. Juve drew two and lost two of their first four Serie A games, but have won the past two, both 3-2. Chelsea lost for the first time this season against Manchester City on Saturday.

Goals x Corners 22.5-26.5

There’s an interesting battle of wills in play tonight, with Juventus, who have been free scoring of late with 10 goals in their past four games, and have found the net in all but one game this season, face one of the strongest defences in world football. The Blues have conceded only four goals in 14 Champions League games since the start of last season. Will Juve have their way or will the visiting defence come out on top? The Goals x Corners spread is made up by multiplying the number of goals in the game by the number of corners. Punters who expect Juve to have their way and make this an open game will be buying in this market among many, while those who think Chelsea will shut the game down and keep it tight will be sellers.

Benfica v Barcelona

Barcelona go to Benfica on the back of their best performance of the season, a 3-0 defeat of Levante after two disappointing draws since their home thrashing by Bayern Munich on Champions League matchday one. Benfica will prove a tough test though, having won all seven of their Portuguese League games to stand top of the table with a perfect 21 points from seven games.

Headed Goal Minutes 21-24

This market has been of interest in numerous Barca games, and we’ve seen buyers again tonight. Barca have taken to throwing plenty of crosses in towards big man Luuk de Jong, who scored his first goal for the club against Levante. Will they continue that tactic tonight, or will high flying Benfica impress their will on the game?

What Championship games are on tonight?

There are six Championship game tonight, with the highlight being Fulham’s home game with Swansea City. The Cottagers have the chance to jump up to third place with three points tonight, while the Swans could get into the top half with an away win.

Fulham v Swansea Corners Squared 107-118

The Corners Squared market takes the number of corners in the game and multiplies it by itself to reach the final result. This means that buyers at 118 would need at least 11 corners (11x11 being 121) and sellers would like to see 10 or less (10x10 being 100). Over the past 5 games these two teams have averaged 11 corners between them.

Is there any horse racing this evening?

There are 8 races on the Kempton card tonight, starting with the 5.00pm.

Squared Numbers 351-386

This market squares the racecard number of each winner (ie multiplies it by itself) and totals up the results. Punters who have been through tonight’s card and fancy some of the higher numbered horses will be buying this spread, but those who fancy those with lower racecards will be selling at 351.