Will Haaland help Salzburg eliminate Liverpool?

Chelsea's shock loss to Everton on Saturday scuppered a 7/1 treble and meant a weekend loss for the column. The final round of group games in the Champions League take place this week and Liverpool face a crunch trip to Austria.

Running total: +£23.12

The Banker

The task for Liverpool this week is simple: If they avoid defeat against FC Salzburg on Tuesday they will quality for the knockout stages of the Champions League; a win and they will top Group E. A defeat however would likely see the European champions eliminated via the head-to-head rule. It won't be easy as Salzburg currently top the Austrian Bundesliga and are scoring goals for fun. They warmed up for Liverpool with a 5-1 win over WSG Wattens at the weekend and will definitely be up for this.

Erling Braut Haaland has scored 10 goals in his last 10 appearances for Salzburg and having found the net during that breathless 4-3 defeat at Anfield earlier in the group phase it will be interesting to see how Liverpool set up against him this week. Jurgen Klopp's men are 17/20 with bet365 for the win however this is unlikely to be a cakewalk for the Reds, with Salzburg having lost just one of their past 73 home matches at the Red Bull Arena in all competitions, a run dating back to November 2016. It's impossible not to fancy goals here and you can get 9/4 that both teams score in the first half on Tuesday. That looks a bet when you consider the attacking talent likely to be on display with Sadio Mane set to return to Liverpool's starting line up.

Selection: £4 on both teams to score in the first half at 9/4 with bet365.

The First Goal Flutter

Arsenal head to West Ham on Monday night chasing a first win in nine games -- their worst run since 1977 -- and it could pay to back Alexandre Lacazette to score first. The Frenchman has scored three goals in his last three outings for the Gunners and has the pace to trouble a notoriously brittle West Ham defensive line.

Selection: £3 on Lacazette to score first at 100/30 with bet365.

The Wildcard Tip

With the group already wrapped up, one wonders what sort of side Pep Guardiola will put out against Dinamo Zagreb on Wednesday? The reigning Premier League champions find themselves all but out of the title race before Christmas and while Europe was always their priority this season there are so many question marks surrounding Manchester City at the moment -- particularly defensively -- that you could not rate them as banker materiel to win in Croatia.

Selection: £2 on Dinamo Zagreb to win and both teams to score at 9/2 with bet365.

The Tasty Treble

Chelsea were terrible against Everton on Saturday but need to bounce back quickly as they have a huge Champions League clash with Lille this week and know a win guarantees their spot in the round of 16. The Blues have struggled for consistency in recent weeks but should be up for this. Lille have been poor in Europe this season (claiming one point from a possible 15 so far in Group H) and Chelsea should be trusted at 8/13 to win at the Bridge by more than one goal.

Elsewhere, with Barcelona already having won Group F we like the look of Inter at 8/13 to beat the Blaugrana at San Siro. The Italians have already beaten Borussia Dortmund on home soil and know a win on Tuesday would see them qualify alongside Barca and move serenely into the knockout stages.

Finally, add in Olympiakos (8/15) to beat Red Star Belgrade at home for a Champions a League treble paying exactly 3/1 with bet365. The Greek giants know a win would see them claim third spot in Group B and a place in the Europa League. Roared on by a partisan following at the Karaiskakis Stadium they can be trusted to get the job done on Wednesday against Red Star, who are traditionally poor travellers.

Selection: £4 on the treble at 3/1 with bet365.

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