There are two football teams. One lies in seventh, having won
only half their home games, losing 4 and drawing 4 lie in eighth, 11 points
behind the visiting team having played a game less, while holding a record of
just 1 win from 10 games played against teams lying above the in the table
whether home or away The home team is 5/4, while the away team is 13/5; Whom do
you back?
That’s the scenario facing punters who are playing the in
the match odds market for Liverpool or Chelsea in their clash today, and while
the match has been dominated by Rafa Benitez’s return, the reality is that
Chelsea come here needing a win with Arsenal and Tottenham both fighting hard
for Champions League football – the Gunners’ win yesterday pushing them into
third - albeit with Chelsea having two games in hand – and Tottenham just three
points behind in third, even with the visit of Manchester City earlier today.
Liverpool have been on a mini revival since February but
their wins came against a second string Swansea side preparing for the League
Cup final, Wigan, a Tottenham side that capitulated here thanks to an
incredible back pass and a late penalty winner from Steven Gerrard, the one of
their eight home wins against a team higher than eighth this season. Chelsea
are a level above all of that opposition today and while they’ve had an
incredibly hard time of it lately with fixture buildup, are coping well and
gave Manchester City a serious fright despite being dominated for 70 minutes in
their FA Cup semi final last week and then put away Fulham with emphatic ease
earlier in the week. Managerial problems and defensive lapses have blighted
what could have been a far more successful campaign but in the midfield trio of
Oscar, Hazard and Juan Mata, have the ability to control or change a game and
both Demba Ba and Fernando Torres have found their scoring boots of late with
regular goals. Their away record may be a might source of concern but so are
Liverpool’s efforts infront of their home fans and the 13-5 that Benitez makes
a triumphant return surely has to be the value, although 8/11 with a one goal
start – effectively the double chance – has to be a serious shout for those
with worried about fatigue or Chelsea’s poor recent record here.
In today’s earlier game, Manchester City – arguably the
finest team in England on their day - would be the marginal choice over
Tottenham but their poor away record this season has ended the title race
before it started and after two hard games in the space of a week, along with
their hard fought home win over Wigan on Tuesday, just take the enthusiasm away
from their chances. There’s the school of thought that Spurs – who will welcome
Gareth Bale back into the team today - are on what seems to be a traditional
end of season slide with just one wins since beating Arsenal in the North
London derby, but they have more than enough quality to seriously trouble City
if they’re anything like below par and the game seems too tight to call.
Advice
1 pt Chelsea (13/5 Bet365, 5/2 general)
1 pt Chelsea +1 (8/11 Bet365)
No comments:
Post a Comment