It is a black mark on David Moyes’s so far unsuccessful
reign that Manchester United are the biggest they’ve ever been for a
Premiership game but the bookmakers could be generous in offering 3/4 about
Chelsea putting yet more damage into their fast disappearing top 4 hopes and
keeping pace with Arsenal and Manchester City, who both won yesterday.
Jose Mournihio’s side haven’t impressed everyone, including
yours truly, at times this season but they’ve won 9 out of their last 10 home
games and since a defeat at Stoke City, haven’t tasted defeat in the league. In
the 6 games they’ve played in the league since, they’ve scored 10 goals and
more impressively, conceded just once, a freakish Martin Skrtel flick on to a
Liverpool side that have scored 51 goals this season.
With this Eden Hazard
now coming to the fore on a weekly basis going forward, Jose’s men have been
much more fluent in recent weeks with even Torres and Eto’o chipping in with
goals on a more regular basis – one of the pair has scored in their last three
home games.
The continuing absence of Juan Mata is still a mystery for
many but William has found plenty of success in his role on the right, Oscar
too has been in fine form and Fernando Torres – who has often gotten the better
of Nemanja Vidic in their previous meetings for all that things have changed
since then should start with some confidence after scoring on his last two
games.
Chelsea’s defensive record at home, and lately in general,
has been exemplary, which spells bad news for a United side sorely lacking in
creativity and threat but even more crucially coming here without either of the
two best players this season in Robin Van Persie and Wayne Rooney. United have
struggled in the attacking stakes this season but between them Van Persie and
Rooney have scored 16 of their 35 goals this season, while Rooney leads the
Premier League assists table with 9 so far, two more than anyone else.
It should be noted that United have a fine away record –
they sit third in a table exclusively based on results away from home – but a
closer look at those fixtures quickly shows that their recent wins have come
against sides very much inferior to Chelsea (their last three road successes
have come at Norwich, Hull, and Aston Villa) and defeats at Anfield, Eastlands,
along with draws at Cardiff and White Hart Lane, suggests that they have a task
too big to overcome and a slight shade of odds on about a home win looks well
worth taking.
Advice
4 pts Chelsea (3/4 general)
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