Following the international break, Marseille find themselves in a bit of an injury crisis, which has put Roberto De Zerbi under pressure. Nayef Aguerd, Amir Murillo and Facundo Medina were all absent from the backline last time out, but Marseille fortunately had all of their attackers available, and they put on a show in the Mediterranean derby against Nice. Mason Greenwood scored a brace, while Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang also put in a standout performance, registering a goal and two assists in a 5-1 win.

Marseille have been strong on home turf this season, with 25 goals scored from just eight matches in all competitions. They have won six of those matches at the Velodrome Stadium, so they will be confident coming into this Champions League clash. However, they are looking a bit light on defensive options - Timothy Weah had to deputise at the back against Nice, which makes goals a target.

This could be a really good game. Saints came back from the international break in confident mood, scoring four goals in nine minutes against Charlton. That makes it three wins in a row for Southampton under Tonda Eckert and straightaway makes them a very dangerous beast, because it is clear how many good players they have in their squad.

Leo Scienza has made a huge difference to Southampton, which has helped Adam Armstrong, and the introduction of Casper Jander, Finn Azaz, and Tom Fellows has really helped the supply line as well. They remain a top six side in terms of their expected points throughout the season, and they are now starting to catch up with their underperformance of their xG, which is the second highest total in the league behind Coventry.

Leicester still find a knack of scoring goals on a regular basis, so whilst their expected goals total is nowhere as good as Southampton’s, they do match it with their actual output. What this means in this case is that they have found the net in eight of their nine away matches so far this season.

Meanwhile, Southampton, despite thrashing Charlton, still managed to concede a goal, continuing their remarkable run of 15 out of 19 of their matches this season ending BTTS-Yes.

The bookies are unsure who to side with in the corners market, pricing both sides at evens to win the most, but I think Slavia Prague might have the edge, and backing them to win at least four looks to be the best value.

Domestically, Slavia Prague have averaged a remarkable 8.19 corners per match - the most of any side by some stretch. Their record is distinctly better at home, especially in the Champions League, where they still maintain a rate of six corners per game, surpassing the four-mark in both matches, including against Arsenal. 

This selection landed in all eight of Slavia Prague’s Europa League matches last season, where they averaged just under seven corners per game, despite recording just one win and two draws across those eight games.

Athletic Club have averaged 5.33 corners conceded per away game in La Liga, with this line landing on all six occasions. It’s also been a winner in each of their last five league matches.

This is a really important game for Villarreal in the context of the continuation of their Champions League campaign. Villarreal currently sit third in LaLiga, only sitting behind Real Madrid and Barcelona in the Spanish top flight, but these performances haven’t quite translated to their European games yet. Villarreal have lost three of their four matches in the Champions League, making this a must not lose at the very least.

Dortmund have seen Over 1.5 Goals, and BTTS in four of their last five matches across all competitions. Their most recent game was a 3-3 draw against Stuttgart, which shows Dortmund can both score and concede for fun. Over 1.5 Goals has also landed in all four of their Champions League matches this season.

Villarreal come into this game having won four of their last five matches across all competitions, most recently running out 2-1 winners over Mallorca. Over 1.5 Goals has landed in nine of their last ten games in all competitions.

One of the main reasons as to why this game is so heavily anticipated is the breadth of young talent that will be on the pitch at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday evening. Lamine Yamal is the pick of the bunch, with the 18-year-old enjoying another stellar campaign.

Yamal has registered three goal contributions across his three matches in the Champions League so far, taking 12 shots across these games (4.24 per 90), with four of these attempts finding the target (1.41 per 90). One notable difference from Yamal’s overall approach this season is that he is a bit more selfish when it comes to taking aim, he already averaged 4.53 shots per 90 in LaLiga last term - but this has risen further to 5.10 shots per 90 this season. 

Another notable difference is that Yamal is finding the target more regularly, with 1.62 shots on target per 90, compared to the 1.48 he averaged in the same division last term. Yamal can extend his strong shot on target record here against a Chelsea side that still look a bit insecure at the back, and are likely to come under a blizzard of Barcelona attacks at some point in the contest. 

Eddie Howe was quick to dismiss the tag of Newcastle as a ‘cup side’ in a recent interview, but his side do possess the required traits to be an effective side in this competition. The Magpies have won three of their four matches in the Champions League, only losing to Barcelona.

Newcastle have seen BTTS in three of their last five matches across all competitions, and are likely to be tested at times by Marseille in this contest. Roberto De Zerbi’s side haven’t quite found their groove in the Champions League with just one win from their four matches, though this victory did come at home in a 4-0 battering of Ajax.

Marseille saw BTTS last time out as they ran out 5-1 winners over Nice. This result lifted Marseille to within two points of PSG at the summit of Ligue 1 in what looks to be the most competitive title race we’ve seen in France in recent seasons. Marseille have netted 21 goals across their six home matches this term (3.5 per game).

Qarabag have shown they are certainly not minnows in this competition, they are effective on the counter attack, but can also have spells of possession and dominance in the opposition half. The visitors have taken on 38 shots across their first four games, never going under nine shots, and never going above 10 shots. These are credible stats considering they’ve faced three teams that would be regarded as far superior.

Camilo Duran has been an instrumental part of those shooting stats, averaging two shots per game. He’s managed at least a shot in every single Champions League game so far. Duran plays as the central striker and is therefore a key focal point for their attacking phases of play. 

Napoli haven’t been able to completely dominate and suffocate their opposition on home soil this season, giving up 88 shots in eight home games across all competitions. With visiting teams averaging 11.0 shots, there’s certainly solid reasoning to believe Camilo Duran will attempt a shot on Tuesday evening.

With 16 games played, Slavia Prague are still unbeaten in the Czech First League, and have been even more dominant at home, where they’re averaging 2.5 points per game.

Even against the stiffer competition of the Champions League, Slavia have avoided defeat in two of their four, including against Atalanta. The quality of Inter Milan and Arsenal, who made up two of the final four in last season’s UCL, helps mitigate the severity of their two losses.

By contrast, Athletic Club are winless in their most recent five matches, and have been defeated in nine of their last 14, recording just three wins over that period. Averaging 0.67 points per game away from home, there’s very little indication to suggest they’ll fare well in Prague.

Fet is the regular LCM in the Bodo/Glimt three-man midfield. He has started the last 10 matches in a row, including the last three Champions League matches. In nine of those 10 starts, Fet has had at least one shot. In all three Champions League matches, Fet has had at least one shot.

His rate of shooting over Bodo/Glimt’s last 30 matches as a whole is 2.01 per 90, in the Champions League alone, this rises to 2.48 per 90.

Bodo/Glimt are not afraid of shooting, even in the Champions League. If we include the qualifier against Sturm Graz, then Bodo/Glimt have hit 17 shots, 18 shots, and 17 again in their three home Champions League matches, if they keep up that rate of shooting, or even a touch lower, it is difficult to see that Fet won’t contribute to that. This price is irresistible given the data available and the way I expect that match to play out.

I think Bayer Leverkusen look overpriced to get corners tonight at the Etihad. The German giants have won the corner count in two of their first four Champions League matches of the season, earning 7 and 5 flag kicks on those respective occasions. What’s more, Kasper Hjulmand’s side covered the proposed 4+ corner line during a recent Bundesliga away game at Bayern Munich, while they racked up 11 corner kicks in their subsequent fixture with Heidenheim.

As for Man City, they had to defend exactly 4 corners during their last Champions League assignment when hosting another German heavyweight in the shape of Borussia Dortmund.

It’s also worth noting that the likes of Manchester United, Bournemouth and Liverpool have all hit 4 corners or more on their respective visits to the Etihad this term. The likelihood of Bayer Leverkusen finding themselves in a position where they will have to chase the game at some point on Tuesday night only adds to the appeal of siding with this selection.

I'm taking 3+ as a lower line.

This bet is suggested on the basis of Dortmund dominating territory and playing their usual brand of enterprising attacking football.

Villarreal haven’t been a big conceder of shots on target in their away Champions League games, but they did concede seven at home to Manchester City and four at home to Juventus.

Dortmund averaged 6.7 shots on target at home in the Champions League last season, with five out of their seven home matches hitting this line. They average six shots on target per match at home this season in all competitions, including eight against Athletic Club in their only home Champions League match so far this season.

Dortmund will have to overcome a stubborn Villarreal defence, but they haven’t been as tight as they usually are in La Liga this season, only ranking seventh for expected goals against so far this campaign. We also know that Villarreal have to come out and play at some stage if they have real ambitions to progress here.