English Premier
2010-04-03 - Manchester United vs Chelsea
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Saturday April 3rd 2010 - Kickoff 12:45pm
Manchester United
Manchester United were very disappointing on Tuesday night at Bayern Munich and they came home with a 2-1 deficit to overcome next week and, perhaps more worryingly for the fans, Wayne Rooney injured and missing for the foreseeable future. Now they have an important game that could decide the destiny of the Premier League this season.
The Red Devils lead the way in the Premier League but are only 1 point better off than their opponents and 4 points clear of Arsenal in 3rd place. They will be buoyed by the fact that this game takes place at Old Trafford where they have a 14-1-1 record, scoring 44 goals and conceding only 9 in those games. This gives United the best home defensive record so far this season.
Bayern Munich snapped United's 7 match winning run on Tuesday night, but we can expect to see a reaction to that from a side that would have been feeling the heat of a Sir Alex Ferguson hairdryer from that game. United have lost 9 times this season and followed those results with 8 wins and a draw. They will be hoping to extend their home winning record, winning 8 in a row before this game.
Wayne Rooney will be missing for a couple of weeks at least and that will give Dimitar Berbatov the responsibility to lead the line. We can expect a 4-3-3 formation that Sir Alex favours in games of this magnitude although I do expect a couple of changes after the disappointment of Tuesday night.
Chelsea
Chelsea have bludgeoned their way back into the title race with 12 goals scored in their last 2 games and they now know this is the most important game they will face this season- it really is a must not lose game.
The Blues are 1 point behind Manchester United with 6 games left. The importance of this game is magnified for Chelsea with trips to Tottenham and Liverpool still to come this season and a defeat may leave them too much to do. It is away from Stamford Bridge that Chelsea have struggled, and they are 8-4-4 in those games with 30 goals scored and 15 conceded. They have conceded the least amount of goals away from home in the top flight this season so far.
Chelsea have won 2 in a row since exiting the Champions League and dropping 2 points at Blackburn Rovers recently. They are 2-2-2 in their last 6 away games in all competitions although they did win at Portsmouth 0-5 last time out. Recently, away games have posed problems for Chelsea with draws at Blackburn and Hull intermixed with tough wins at Wolves and Burnley. They will need to play with a lot more solidity if they want to pick up 3 points from Old Trafford.
There are reports that Didier Drogba is a doubt after missing training this week and also only being on the bench last weekend but Carlo Ancelotti has announce the Ivorian will START. There are no new injury worries for Chelsea.
Head to Head
Chelsea had only won 1 of their last 6 Premier League games against Manchester United before the 1-0 win at Stamford Bridge earlier this season.
I remember when I was growing up the days of Chelsea always picking up results at Old Trafford while United would always perform better at Stamford Bridge. However, United are unbeaten in their last 4 at home against Chelsea, winning 3 of those.
Last season, United beat Chelsea 3-0 here.
Prediction
The bookmakers have been lengthening the price on Manchester United ever since Wayne Rooney collapsed at the Allianz Arena, but I have a feeling it is going too much the other way. United will miss Rooney but there are plenty of match winners and experience in this side and it may also allow Berbatov to shine as the main man in the attack.
Chelsea have had 2 impressive wins but I have not been convinced with this side and I think this is a completely different test for them compared with Portsmouth and Aston Villa. The Blues will be hoping they can continue scoring against the meanest home defence in the League.
It just seems to me to be an overreaction by the bookmakers in the odds since Wayne Rooney was ruled out and I think United have to be played at a big price. They remain strong at home, and will create chances. Chelsea have not looked as good away from home in recent weeks and this is the toughest venue they have had to play at in that time.
I say take Manchester United to win at a very nice price.
The Pick :
Manchester United 2-0 Chelsea
