Football tips: Tackle our 3 slick picks for Chelsea v Malmo on Wednesday

* All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.

Now we enter the swing of fixtures. You know the ones I’m speaking about: the middle two group games in the Champions League where teams play each other home and away, and every single year since the format was introduced, we’re all absolutely amazed by this.

Almost to the point that you should make an entry into your diary for three weeks’ time: ‘don’t forget to comment about how it feels like those teams played each other only a few weeks ago’. Honestly, life is a vacuum of endless inadvertent footballing cliches and mannerisms.

Wednesday 8pm – Chelsea v Malmo
BT Sport 3

Now, moving onto this week’s focus: Chelsea against Malmo. And look, I could sit here and write a compelling think-piece about how this clash could be a banana skin. I could easily point out that Malmo are top of the Allsvenskan. I could tell you that Chelsea overcoming Brentford by a solitary goal shows they could be vulnerable.

But, none of that is true. Three teams are joint-top of the Swedish top tier; they’re all averaging less than two points a game and, honestly, Malmo aren’t good! The only thing worse than watching that, is not capitalizing on it. Here’s your three best plays for this mid-week walkover.

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The shorty: Over 3.5 Goals

It’s not even that short a price, but you have to consider a few factors. Malmo know they’re all but out of European competition now after heavy defeats to both Zenit and Juventus. They’re also right in the middle of a competitive title race in Sweden. The last thing they’ll be doing is exerting themselves in a game they know they won’t be getting a result from.

Chelsea, on the other hand, will benefit immensely from switching up some of their players in forward areas. They may have the best squad in the Premier League and it’s usually on nights like these that it becomes obvious.

Value Play: Both Teams to Score

However, tinkering also brings about inconsistencies. And, while Malmo clearly aren’t well enough equipped at the back to handle the Chelsea onslaught, there is a clear chance that miscommunications from set-pieces or distribution issues out from the back can lead to opportunities.

It isn’t too often you see any side go through a group stage without scoring at all, and given the changes in the Chelsea starting XI, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Malmo net here.

Long Shot: Anders Christensen to Score First

This is a wild price and the reason is because Chelsea are so short in the market that you can’t possibly list any Malmo goalscorer accordingly. But, the one ray of light they possess is Anders Christensen. Why? Because he takes set-pieces and he frequently shoots from distance.

Both of these are likely sources of goals if they are to come for the Swedes and for that reason (and believe me, that reason alone) it’s worth a few quid at that price.