Andy's Tuesday tips - Man Utd to be held
If Manchester United are going to win the Premier League title from their current prime position then it's no understatement to say that their next two matches will be the difference between success and failure.
Betfair odds of [30.0] suggest that Chelsea are well and truly out of this year's race but I suspect Arsene Wenger will be keeping a close eye on how Sir Alex's men get on away to Liverpool next week and before that, how they fare on Tuesday against Chelsea.
Quite what's gone wrong with Carlo Ancelotti's men over the past few months is a discussion for another day and everyone will have a view on this but the fact of the matter is that the arrival of Fernando Torres simply has not given them the short-term boost they would have been hoping for.
Of course no-one expects a player to come into a new team with a system that is somewhat novel to him and start firing in goals straight away but it's not like the World Cup winner has been hitting uprights or had goals cleared off the line.
His performances to date have been somewhat subdued and if they are to go on and come close to winning the Champions League this year he'll need to start finding his shooting boots sooner rather than later.
Few would argue that Manchester United are in the better form coming into this match but then again Chelsea are at home and as I always say, that counts for a lot when the big teams play each other. The other factor is that if the scores are level with not much time left on the clock, the visitors will probably settle for the point rather than going for broke and risk losing the match; after all it's Arsenal who are playing catch-up, not them.
I really do hope we get a good game of football here because the Premier League contenders haven't really had a classic when up against each other so far this season. All in all, both sides would probably settle for the draw if it was offered to them before the match and I have a sneaky suspicion that's what we're going to end up with.
Recommended Bets:
Back the draw at [3.4]
Back the 1-1 draw at [7.6]
Back Frank Lampard to be first goalscorer at [10.5]
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Published: 1 Mar 2011
Horace Horlicks (March 1, 2011 10:19 AM) said:
Amazingly this is the first time this season United have started a Premiership match as 2nd favourites with the bookies. They have been sub-standard away from home all season and somewhat fortunate against Villa, Stoke, WBA and Blackpool. In their only BIG away games against Man City and Spurs they have come away with a 0-0. That was also their score away to Sunderland, so the logical prediction would be 0-0. But I think Chelsea have nothing to lose here and will go all out to win. Torres always plays well against the big teams(his best display this season was against Chelsea) and he is bound to start performing soon or Chelsea have bought a dud. Man United league position obscures the fact that they haven't being playing well this season and their only hope here is a 0-0. But I think Chelsea will win 1-0 with Torres on the scoresheet at last.
Tim Bucktooth (March 1, 2011 11:42 AM) said:
I think Chelsea could win this if they adopt a shoot on sight policy but in Ashley Cole's case he should be careful the gun's not loaded. I reckon Chelsea will win 1-0 with the Chelsea fans singing "Can you hear the bums Fernando?" And those bums from Manyou could be sitting in 2nd place soon if they also lose to Liverpool on Sunday.
Regards Tim
Horace Horlicks (March 2, 2011 12:53 PM) said:
Yes Tim, I think you're right. The Premiership could be on its way to the Emirates. But I think it's a shame that all those nasty referees are giving so many bad decisions against Sir Alec's team.