Andy's Sunday tips - Chelsea will triumph
It promises to be an exciting Sunday in the Premier League with unpredictable Newcastle hosting unconvincing Chelsea and Liverpool visiting the Tottenham team who took their place in the top four. Here's what Andy Gray makes of it all...
Newcastle v Chelsea
If I was Carlo Ancelotti, I wouldn't be panicked by Chelsea's recent defeats. After all, the champions are top of the league, in the last 16 of the Champions League and have key players still to return.
Newcastle have to be the most unpredictable team in the Premier League. Brilliant one week, as they were in their win at the Emirates, then poor the next, as they were in defeat against Blackburn four days later.
Many of their weakest performances have come at St James' Park which is odd, especially when you consider what fantastic support they have. I think they might be feeling the pressure at home but they will need to put in a top performance on Sunday if they are to take anything from this game.
Chelsea will enjoy this match more than their recent contests because I believe that Newcastle will let them have plenty of the ball. They rested some of their big players in midweek but I think the win against Zilina was an important result for the Blues.
Ancelotti will have been concerned about their slow start, particularly the goal they went to behind to; it came from a move which went right through the centre of the pitch, an area you would expect Chelsea to dominate, and showed that defensively they need to get back to basics. But the manner in which they stuck to their task and got their reward was encouraging.
The Chelsea manager will wish that John Terry was fit for this match. Alex and Branislav Ivanovic are good players but they will not relish playing against Newcastle's Andy Carroll. These days, defenders don't need to be as adept at the physical challenges of the game as they had to be, say, 20 years ago.
However, Carroll's old-fashioned approach could unsettle the Chelsea back four and this is definitely one they would like to have had Terry available for. Overall though, I expect them to score enough goals to take three points, even if they do let one in at the other end.
Recommended Bets:
Back Chelsea to win at [1.74]
Back Chelsea to win 3-1 at [17.5]
Back Andy Carroll to score
Tottenham v Liverpool
Two great clubs, two terrific English managers - this could be a very good game. Spurs played in Europe in midweek but I expect them to be fresh and up for this one, whoever plays.
I was encouraged by Harry Redknapp's comments about winning the title, following the win over Arsenal last week. Too few managers are ambitious in the way that Harry is and there is no reason why he shouldn't aim to win the league with Spurs this season. Chelsea have lost four, Manchester United have drawn too many games and Harry has one of the best, biggest squads in the Premier League. If you're not ambitious this season, you never will be.
The Spurs manager faces a selection dilemma this weekend with the return to fitness of Jermain Defoe. Does he bring in the England striker or does he stick to the system, with Rafael van der Vaart supporting a lone striker, that reaped such rewards at the Emirates? It's a tough one but whatever he decides, this Spurs front line has goals in it.
Can the same be said for Liverpool? That depends on which Fernando Torres turns up. He's performed better against the bigger teams this season so the Spaniard could well have a big say in how this one pans out.
Some commentators have said that Liverpool have taken one step forward and two steps back in recent weeks. They haven't turned the corner just yet - as we might have expected after their win against Chelsea - but Roy Hodgson will hope that his team can build on their win against West Ham.
I think three points may be beyond Liverpool at White Hart Lane but I have a feeling that they might do enough to come away with a draw. Tottenham, remember, have been inconsistent themselves of late.
Recommended Bets:
Back the draw at [3.5]
Back the draw 1-1 at [7.6]
Back under 2.5 goals at [1.96]
Andy Gray is now on Twitter so follow him for his exclusive tips and his take on the biggest stories in football each week.
Published: 27 Nov 2010
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