Andy's Sunday tips - Man Utd won't win
Every weekend seems to throw up a match whose outcome could have a big bearing on the outcome of the Premier League title race but the truth is matches don't come much bigger than Chelsea versus Manchester United. Elsewhere, Spurs look to take advantage of Blackpool's modest home record and show the other Premier League title contenders that they mean business.
Blackpool v Tottenham Hotspur
You'll have to ask Ian Holloway why it is that Blackpool have a far better record away from home than at Bloomfield Road but I'm not sure even he would know. It's just one of those strange anomalies you see from time to time.
Charlie Adam misses this match after picking up another booking at the weekend and they'll miss him badly - he's involved in almost everything they create and they don't have a like-for-like replacement.
Tottenham will always struggle to go on a run where they win five or six matches in a row simply because they concede too many goals. But if the likes of Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon continue to create chances and Roman Pavlyuchenko and Jermain Defoe continue to take them, Spurs will be a tough opponent for anyone.
I was at Blackpool when Manchester City went there and won 3-2 in a thrilling match and I think we'll get a similar sort of game again - open, entertaining and fun. I fancy Spurs to win it but these are good and exciting times at Blackpool and I certainly hope we'll see plenty more of Holloway's motley crew again next season.
Recommended Bets:
Back Tottenham to win at [1.7]
Back Tottenham to win 3-1 at [14.0]
Back both teams to score at [1.64]
Chelsea v Manchester United
It was a much improved performance we got from Chelsea last Sunday afternoon at White Hart Lane, compared to what we've seen recently from Carlo Ancelotti's side. They dominated the second half and but for a late missed penalty they would have won the game.
I've said it before: you can't write off a side like Chelsea with the sort of characters they have in the dressing room just because they go on a bad run. The likely return of Frank Lampard to the starting line-up will give everyone a boost and I expect them to have a good Christmas period with him pulling the strings in midfield and chipping in with a few goals.
Manchester United's performance against Arsenal was what you'd call a professional one. They got their noses ahead and managed their lead from there on, denying Arsenal's midfield the time and space they crave.
I hinted last week ahead of the match that I thought Sir Alex could sacrifice Dimitar Berbatov in favour of the extra midfielder and that's what we got. It's a hard call to leave someone like Berbatov out after he scored five in their last league match but these are the tough decisions you're paid to make as a top manager and it proved to be the right one. This is a results business and the United manager will carry on doing what he thinks gives his side the best chance of winning football matches.
And that could mean heartbreak for the Bulgarian once again. What we've seen in recent times is Sir Alex playing 4-4-2 in the matches he's confident his side can outplay the opposition and reverting to 4-5-1 against the teams he really respects.
He's decided that Wayne Rooney is more suited to leading the line and that his extra running and strength gives United more options when they're not in possession, though of course if they find themselves chasing the game, you'd expect the former Spurs man to be the first player being called upon.
Whether Park Ji-Sung keeps his place on the left after scoring the winner or Ryan Giggs is drafted in for that extra bit of flair remains to be seen but I'll be surprised if we see Berba in the starting eleven.
My experience of watching these big matches between the major sides is that we rarely see an away win, unless there's an early sending off or some other factor that dramatically impacts on the match.
Plus, Manchester United are in a very good place right now and after Monday's win and Chelsea's weekend draw, a point here would be a positive result for them so I can't see them going for broke if the match is level after 70-odd minutes. It's a slightly conservative way to approach the betting but a lay of Fergie's boys is the right bet to strike.
We're unlikely to see Didier Drogba step up if Chelsea are awarded another penalty but he made a big impact when he came off the bench on Sunday and I wouldn't be surprised if he goes some way to making amends by scoring again here.
Recommended Bets:
Lay Manchester United at [3.7]
Back Didier Drogba to score at [2.6]
West Brom v Wolves
I like the way Roberto Di Matteo has been very positive at home and they could well reap the rewards from that this Sunday.
Recommended Bets: Back West Brom to win at [1.84]; 2-0 at [11.0]
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: 18 Dec 2010
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