We have saved the best for last in the Premier League this weekend as the pick of the truncated schedule takes place on Monday night when former champions Chelsea host Manchester United at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea will be looking to put a bit of daylight between themselves and the chasing pack for the Champions League spots here, while United will go in search of a victory which will bring them right back into that particular picture.
Chelsea
It has been an up and down campaign for Chelsea it is fair to say. They will be pleased to be fourth with all the difficulties that have come their way this term, but at the same time they are 35 points behind Liverpool, albeit with a game in hand, and that is just too far behind the leaders for anyone’s liking. To put that into perspective, they are only 17 points above the relegation zone. Part of that highlights the season Liverpool are having, but it shows up some inconsistency too.
One thing which hasn’t been an issue for Chelsea is scoring goals. They have 43 of them from their 25 games. Only the three sides above them have scored more this term. Keeping them out of their own net has been an issue and the reason for their inconsistencies and that is something they will need to stamp out if they are going to deliver on their promises this term. That said, this is a young side who are sure to improve rapidly in the years to come so this is a decent platform for that.
Manchester United
At times this season Manchester United have been deservedly ridiculed. There are other times when people have jumped on the bandwagon but actually things haven’t been that bad, on the pitch at least. Off the pitch United have been a mess for far too long, but that doesn’t really bother us when we are looking purely at this match. The one thing this side have done is trouble the bigger teams in the league.
They are the only side to have taken points off Liverpool this season, they have won at Manchester City, beaten Tottenham and Leicester at Old Trafford and held Arsenal and they won the reverse fixture between these two 4-0 on the opening weekend of the campaign. It is what has gone on in between that has been an issue but against the better sides on the bigger spectacles they have generally been ok, better than ok actually.
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Team News
Chelsea are waiting to see if Tammy Abraham will be passed fit to play. Christian Pulisic and Ruben Loftus-Cheek are said to be nearing a return but this match will come too soon for either of them to feature in the contest.
Manchester United could give a debut to January signing Odion Ighalo, which could be significant with Marcus Rashford still out injured. Nemanja Matic returns from suspension to be available against his former side but Scott McTominay and Paul Pogba are both out.
Betting
Chelsea look a little short to me at odds on I have to say. Leicester, Liverpool and Arsenal have all been to Stamford Bridge this season and left with something while the Blues have also lost away to both Manchester clubs. That is in contrast to Manchester United, who generally have gone pretty well against the bigger and better sides this season, and who seem to love it when they are not guaranteed to have the majority of the ball.
United are going to be able to sit back a little here and hit Chelsea on the counter attack and that is very much how they like to do it. In Bruno Fernandes they look to have someone who can open up a defence and deliver a knockout blow himself and there is a lot of pace in this Red Devils outfit. The key to the result will be whether they can keep Chelsea quiet at the other end, but if Abraham doesn’t make it that might not be the tough task it could be. You can get odds against on the visitors to avoid defeat here and that looks too big against a Chelsea side who have only won four of their last 13 league games.
Tips
WON – Back Manchester United (+0.5AH) to beat Chelsea for a 4/10 stake at 2.01 with BetVictor
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