The opening shots of the battle for the heart and soul of the English Premier League took place over the week-end and all the matches generally went according to plan and last season’s club rankings!

Chelsea 4 Portsmouth 0
Only Blackburn Rovers’ 3-2 triumph over fifth placed Everton could be viewed as an upset but what was arguably the match of the entire week-end was Chelsea’s drubbing of Portsmouth 4-0. It was only a fortnight ago that the League champions, Manchester United, battled to sudue Pompey and had to rely on penalties to claim the coveted Community Shield!

New Chelsea coach, Luiz Felipe Scolari, has clearly stamped his brand of football on his talented charges and although it is too early in the season to make a judgement call, Chelsea is already looking like the team to beat this season.

20 September - Clash of the Giants
Chelsea’s next outing is against Wigan on 23 August but it will hardly be a real tester for the team that came second in last year’s Premier League season. The date to pencil into your diary is 20 September -it will be the clash of the giants of the EPL, Chelsea versus Manchester United and maybe then we will get a clearer pitcure as to which team will triumph this season!

UK’s leading bookmaker, Ladbrokes, is also backing Chelsea all the way and is offering the following odds on the final outcome of the EPL 2008/09 season - Chelsea 5/4; Manchester United 6/4; Arsenal 11/2 and Liverpool 6/1.

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A UEFA Champions League winners title is the pinnacle achievement in European club football. Less than 20 teams have managed this in over 50 years of the Champions League competition.

We have listed 22 Champions League facts you may not know.

1. Nottingham Forest have won the Champions League more often than they have won their domestic league.

2. Nottingham Forest have claimed the Champions League title twice.

3. Celtic were the first Northern European club to win the competition.

4. Celtic are the only club who can claim to have won the Champions League title fielding a side made up entirely of players from the club’s home city.

5. Celtic also have the honour of completing a ‘quadruple’ - winning both domestic cups, the domestic league and the Champions League.

6. Liverpool is the only team to have reached the final knockout stages after starting the competition in the first qualifying round.

7. Milan is the only city to host two Champions League winning teams – AC Milan and Inter Milan.

8. Moscow is the only city in Russia to host a Champions League Final (Luzhniki Stadium).

9. The Champions League has only three times held a final featuring clubs from one country. (Real Madrid vs Valencia, AC Milan vs Juventus and Manchester United vs Chelsea Champions League final).

10. AEK Athens drew every one of their six group stage games in 2003.

11. Five teams have won the Champions League without losing a single game – Ajax, Manchester United, Barcelona, Liverpool and Inter Milan.

12. Arsenal produced the best defensive effort in the history of the Champions League - 10 games without conceding a goal.

13. PSV Eindhoven, Red Star Belgrade and Steaua Bucuresti all won the Champions League before England returned to the Champions League in 1991.

14. Otmar Hitzfield is the only Champions League manager to win the title with two different teams - Bayern Munich and Dortmund.

15. Marseille was the first French club to win the 1st Champions League (1993).

16. Ruud Van Nisterlooy scored the most goals in a single Champions League season - 12 goals.

17. John Arne Riise was the only player to miss a penalty for Liverpool in the 2005 Champions League Final penalty shoot-out.

18. Mike Newell (Blackburn) holds the record for the fastest hat-trick in a Champions League game (9 minutes).

19. Moscow is the furthest East the Champions League final has ever been played.

20. The Luzhniki Stadium hosted the 1980 Moscow Olympics.

21. It is Chelsea’s first appearance at a Champions League Final.

22. No London club has ever won the Champions League.

I am sure there are tons of other Champions League trivia out there. Why not let us know?

BTW - Do you hink Chelsea will be the 1st London Club in Champions League history to win the coveted tournament final?

With the 2008 UEFA Champions League final set to be an all-English affair, football fans will be looking forward to an epic clash between Liverpool and Chelsea at Stamford Bridge tonight. Liverpool will have to go into the game with all guns blazing, knowing that even a goalless draw will be sufficient to knock them out of the tournament.

Paddy Power have put up a great special for this clash of the Premiership titans, and is offering to refund all 1st/last goalscorer bets and scorecast singles on this game, provided one of the teams scores a penalty during normal time.

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We’re down to the last four in Europe’s elite football competition as Liverpool, Chelsea, Man United and Barcelona seek to take that final step to Moscow.

UEFA Champions League match betting is currently not available. Why not visit our UEFA Champions League football betting partner - William Hill?

The action kicks off on Tuesday night at Anfield as Liverpool and Chelsea meet in the semi-finals for the third time in four years. The Reds have had the upper hand on the two previous occasions but Chelsea, who are the only team remaining in the competition never to have won the Champions League, have been boosted by the return of Frank Lampard and Dider Drogba.

Wednesday night’s action comes from Camp Nou as FC Barcelona welcome Premier League Champions Man United. The Catalan giants have struggled for form of late having drawn their last four domestic games, however the return to fitness of Lionel Messi could provide some much needed inspiration for the Spanish side. Tournament favourites, United have been in terrific form in Europe and are undefeated in 10 Champions League matches. They have won their last three home and away, and have not conceded a single goal in those games.

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Both Chelsea and Celtic have it all to do if they are to win their respective leagues after recent slip ups in their title run-ins.

On Wednesday night, the re-arranged Old Firm derby takes centre stage as Celtic and Rangers clash for the first of two remaining encounters between the sides at Celtic Park. The Bhoys know only a win will give them a chance of catching their old rivals as Rangers aim to take one more step to an unprecedented quadruple.

Thursday night’s action comes from Goodison Park where it’s the last chance saloon for both sides as Everton welcome Chelsea. The Toffees lie five points behind Liverpool and need all three points to keep alive lingering Champions League qualification hopes. After dropping two huge points at home to Wigan, Chelsea must now realistically win all their remaining games to stand a chance of lifting the Premier League trophy.

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