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Both league meetings between these sides this season have featured exactly three goals - Manchester City won 3-0 at the Etihad, and then snatched a late 2-1 victory over Liverpool at Anfield in their most recent clash.

I don’t trust either backline right now, and I think the expected rotation from both teams will open the game up rather than reduce the entertainment. Liverpool have seen three or more goals in both of their FA Cup matches this season, and their 16 away Premier League games have produced 48 goals (exactly 3.0 per game).

No side has scored more goals at home in the Premier League this season than Manchester City (36 goals, 2.4 per game), suggesting City could cover this line on their own - just like they did in the first meeting. City also have the advantage of a free week after this match, while Liverpool face PSG in the Champions League.

Chelsea return from the international break looking to end a run of four consecutive defeats, which saw them crash out of the Champions League and dented their chances of finishing in a Champions League spot for next season.

There’s quite a lot of frustration around Stamford Bridge at the moment, both with the fans and the players, which should leak into the performance here. If Port Vale can stay in the game for even the first 25-30 minutes, you’re likely to see the Stamford Bridge crowd turn a little.

Chelsea have picked up at least one yellow card in all three of their FA Cup games so far this season, picking up 2+ cards in two of these games. All of these games have been against lower league opponents as well, suggesting that Chelsea’s general petulance which has stalked them for the last few seasons still applies against weaker sides.

Arsenal and corners are a natural match with how often the Gunners look to use corners as a weapon in their attacking arsenal. Arteta hasn’t moved away from utilising corners as an effective route to goal, despite some criticism about the antics that Arsenal players get up to in the box.

Arsenal saw 12 match corners in the last round of the FA Cup as they overcame Mansfield 2-1. Mansfield managed to register four corners themselves to create this corner count, and Southampton can contribute to a similar degree here to get us over the line we need for this FA Cup clash.

Southampton saw 19 match corners in their 1-0 win over Fulham in the last round of the FA Cup, with the Cottagers contributing with 15 of these. This would suggest that Arsenal can do the bulk of the work here when it comes to reaching this corner count, with Southampton topping up the tally with a few set piece situations themselves.

Excelsior welcome the most entertaining side to watch in Europe this season, promising goals in this encounter. Nijmegen’s approach to games is wild, but they’ve stuck with it all season and it’s been pretty successful - guiding them to third in the Eredivisie, just three points behind Feyenoord in second.

Nijmegen have seen 3+ goals in each of their last five matches across all competitions, in line with their incredibly positive style of play. Their most recent assignment produced four goals as they played out a 2-2 draw against Heerenveen at home. They put five goals past Excelsior without reply when the sides met earlier in the season, suggesting that Nijmegen could cover this line on their own.

Excelsior are in the relegation zone at the time of writing, but the race at the bottom of the Eredivisie is incredibly tight - with the playoff relegation spot further complicating matters. Excelsior have failed to win any of their last five matches across all competitions. seeing 3+ goals in three of these games.

Taking the Asian Goal line means that if that bet falls one goal short, the selection will void.

Gary O’Neil has settled in well at Strasbourg since replacing Liam Rosenior, losing just two of his 15 matches in charge. He’s currently posting his best ever win percentage as a manager (53% - 1.9 points per game).

Strasbourg are usually an entertaining side, and while they’ve had a few 0-0 draws lately, that’s been more about how opponents set up than any lack of attacking intent. They’ve avoided defeat in 10 of their 13 home Ligue 1 games this season, with those matches averaging 2.30 goals per game (30 goals in total).

The most recent meeting between these sides was a 1-1 draw in January. Each of the last seven head-to-head clashes has seen 2+ goals, including a 2-2 draw when Nice visited Strasbourg last season.

Nice have conceded 27 goals across their 13 away Ligue 1 matches this term (2.07 per game), which suggests Strasbourg could contribute strongly to covering the over 2.5 goals line on their own.

Taking the Asian Goal line means that if that bet falls one goal short, the selection will be void.

Gaiziantep have contested some really exciting and end to end games of late, seeing 4+ goals in three of their last five matches across all competitions. They’ve conceded 4+ goals in two of these games, including their most recent assignment as they fell to a 4-1 defeat at the hands of Fenerbahce.

Their 13 home games in the Turkish Super Lig have produced 39 goals, working out to an average of exactly 3.0 goals per game. They take on a Alanyaspor side who have seen 3+ goals in four of their last five matches across all competitions, and have seen 36 goals across their 13 away games this term (2.76 per game). 

Interestingly, Gaziantep’s home record is pretty poor, which lines up with the struggles of Alanyaspor on the road this season. The away side have only managed to win one of their 13 away matches in the Turkish top flight this term, conceding 20 goals across these matches.

Taking the Asian Goal line means that if that bet falls one goal short, the selection will be void.

Mallorca are battling at the bottom of LaLiga and currently find themselves one point from safety ahead of this difficult clash against a Madrid side chasing the LaLiga title. 

Mallorca have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last 15 matches across all competitions, suggesting a real defensive vulnerability which can be exploited on a few occasions by the away side. 

Mallorca have seen 3+ goals in each of their last three games ahead of this clash, winning just one of these games - which was a home triumph against Espanyol. 

Real Madrid have seen 3+ goals in each of their last five matches across all competitions, winning all five of these games. They came away 2-1 winners over Mallorca when the sides met earlier in the season, and all three head to head meetings between the sides last year produced three or more goals.

Taking the Asian Goal line means that if that bet falls one goal short, the selection will void.

Hoffenheim faced a real setback in their most recent assignment as they were hammered by Leipzig, losing 5-0 on the road which represents a massive blow to their chances of securing Champions League football with three sides currently battling for two remaining spots.

This situation makes this a very important game for Hoffenheim, more dropped points here could put them out of the race altogether - or encourage Leverkusen who are threatening to enter the race late on in the season. 

Hoffenheim have seen 43 goals across their 13 home games in the Bundesliga this season (3.30 per game), only Leipzig, Dortmund and Bayern Munich have scored more goals at home than Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga this term. 

Mainz managed to get on the scoresheet when these sides met earlier in the season and can contribute to the goal tally again having found the back of the net in four of their last five matches across all competitions.

Taking the Asian Goal line means that if that bet falls one goal short, the selection will be void.

Both league meetings between these sides this season have featured exactly three goals - Manchester City won 3-0 at the Etihad, and then snatched a late 2-1 victory over Liverpool at Anfield in their most recent clash.

I don’t trust either backline right now, and I think the expected rotation from both teams will open the game up rather than reduce the entertainment. Liverpool have seen three or more goals in both of their FA Cup matches this season, and their 16 away Premier League games have produced 48 goals (exactly 3.0 per game).

No side has scored more goals at home in the Premier League this season than Manchester City (36 goals, 2.4 per game), suggesting City could cover this line on their own - just like they did in the first meeting. City also have the advantage of a free week after this match, while Liverpool face PSG in the Champions League.

Taking the Asian Goal line means that if that bet falls one goal short, the selection will be void.