European Leagues / Richard Aikman / 27 April 2009 / Leave a comment

Guus Hiddink is out to beat the bookies and Richard Aikman believes there is every chance he could succeed in this mouth-watering tie. Best Bet: Back over 2.5 goals @ [1.89].

After masterminding several unexpected victories at the helm of so-called underdogs, Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink reckons his side can slay the Goliath that is Barcelona at Camp Nou on Tuesday - and at odds of [5.8] that is a bet worthy of serious consideration in what should be a high-scoring match.

Hiddink achieved remarkable results when coach of Australia at the 2006 World Cup and taking South Korea all the way to the World Cup semi-finals four years earlier was arguably his greatest achievement. Now, since arriving at rudderless Chelsea, the man with the Midas touch has once again worked his magic, steering the club to 11 wins in 15 matches, a dramatic Champions League quarter-final win over Liverpool and a place in the FA Cup final.

After Saturday's 1-0 success over West Ham the Dutchman said: "Let's try to trick the bookies once more," and there is every chance he'll succeed. For although Pep Guardiola boasts a star-studded side in the form of free-scoring Barcelona, the Blaugrana coach is still in his first year of management and may find Hiddink too cunning by half. Since replacing Luiz Felipe Scolari, Hiddink has already outfoxed Champions League specialist Rafa Benítez, Claudio Ranieri and Arsène Wenger.

Hiddink's arrival has also coaxed nine goals in 12 matches out of Didier Drogba. Having recovered from his long-term knee injury the big Ivorian is back to his boisterous best and will fancy his chances of reaching double figures at Camp Nou, where he scored a last-gasp equaliser in a 2-2 draw two seasons ago.

Barcelona required a similar late effort from Thierry Henry in Saturday's 2-2 draw with Valencia and with their Liga lead now cut to four points a wobble is possible. Chelsea have beaten Liverpool and Juventus in their last two ties, and even with defensive concerns the [5.8] about an away win represents great value.

Barça will not exactly fear Chelsea, however, as they are sweeping all before them in Europe. Guardiola's men have earned widespread admiration for the staggering 29 goals they have scored so far in the Champions League, eight of which have come from the prodigious Lionel Messi, and confidence will be high following the 6-3 aggregate demolition of Lyon in the first knockout round and the 5-1 quarter-final crushing of Bayern Munich that ultimately did for Jurgen Klinsmann.

Messi, Thierry Henry, Samuel Eto'o and the competition's joint-highest goal provider Xavi are the stuff of footballing fantasy - or nightmare if you're a Chelsea fan - and Blues supporters will rue the missing Ashley Cole (suspended) and the injured Ricardo Carvalho. Messi-marking duties on the left flank are expected to be handed to right-back José Bosingwa.

Chelsea have already committed the most fouls of any side in the Champions League and all the ingredients are there for a free-kick fest. Sometimes there is only one way to stop the likes of Messi and Henry and with Wolfgang Stark officiating cards will be the likely consequence.

Stark booked five players and sent off Villarreal's Sebastian Eguren for protesting his soft penalty award to Arsenal in the last round. The German also dismissed Giampaolo Pazzini last month just four minutes into his full Italy debut for essentially jumping for a header. Check out the odds for both 9 + points in the bookings index and a sending off.

Finally, Petr Cech's two clean sheets against West Ham and Everton will not have completely dispelled the memory of the seven goals he recently conceded successive games against Bolton and Liverpool. And Barcelona have shipped just as many goals (12) as Chelsea in Europe this term.

With Hiddink having stressed the importance of away goals - they managed three at Anfield after all - goals are virtually guaranteed. The [1.82] about over 2.5 goals will not last long and the advice is to snap that up and, perhaps for the more cavalier punter, back over 3.5 goals at [2.64].