Manchester United vs Chelsea Betting Odds, Preview & Tips – 18.09.11

First big test for Chelsea title credentials

Chelsea Daniel Sturridge
Chelsea Daniel Sturridge - © GEPA pictures

Manchester United v Chelsea Betting Tip & Odds: Chelsea totally failed to show up in their matches at Old Trafford in the Premier League and the Champions League last season. They were way too timid, too limited in their approach and paid the price. Can Chelsea actually put pressure on United’s back line which has not been tested in any way shape or form. Get they get pressure on David de Gea who has yet to impress in the United goal? More importantly, can Chelsea stop United scoring? The signs do not look too great for the visitors, so we will take a Man Utd -0.75 Asian Handicap for 11/8 at Bet365.

Manchester United to win: 17/20 at Paddy Power
Draw: 29/10 at Stan James
Chelsea to win: 4/1 at Totesport

First Goalscorer Odds: Wayne Rooney 5/1 at Victor Chandler

EPL Match Preview: One of the big highlights of the new Premier League season, as Chelsea head to Old Trafford to try and keep pace with the blistering start that the Red Devils have exacted. Defeat for Chelsea here would put them five points back of their title rivals, a big dent so early in the season to already have to make up. That would leave the Blues having to pick themselves back up and trying to match the hot form of the two Manchester clubs if they are going to stay in the title hunt. But it has been Manchester United who have been laying down all the markers so far this season. Can the Blues get anything out of a trip to Old Trafford, where they misfired so badly last season?

Manchester United Form: From right out of the gates, Manchester United have laid down the gauntlet to their challengers and pretenders to their Premier League crown. Some shrewd wheeling and dealing over the summer by Sir Alex Ferguson has breathed a lot of new life in the Old Trafford outfit, and they have been hungry from the get go. Forget about the late own goal by West Brom which secured United picked up three points in their opening match, they haven’t looked back since. With the injection of creativity from Ashley Young and the inspired form by Wayne Rooney, who looks so much better after a quiet summer, Manchester United are the team to beat. With 18 goals in their first four matches of the new season, with four already from Rooney, they look prolific. There is of course a long season ahead and they are unlikely to keep up this immense pace, especially when the rigours of cup football start working their way into the season. For now though, they are on fire. United had to come from behind at Benfica in their opening Champions League match in the week, earning themselves a 1-1 draw, and only a strong performance from keeper Anders Lindegaard kept the night alive for the Red Devils. Yes, Alex Ferguson rang the changes as expected, and we will see a stronger side on Sunday to face Chelsea. There have been questions over the toughness of new keeper David de Gea, who has made some errors early into the new season, but Ferguson is standing behind the Spaniard and putting him in the line up for Sunday. United have conceded three goals so far this season, and that is largely down to the fact that their new look back line has really not been tested. A sluggish Tottenham could not touch them at Old Trafford, and even though Arsenal scored twice at Old Trafford, it was nowhere near enough to win the game as they got buried under an eight goal avalanche from the Red Devils. Some betting trends for United so far: They have scored first in each of their four league matches, have conceded 66% of their goals in the first half of game and have scored a 100% record with all matches ending over 2.5 goals so far.

Chelsea Form: While United have picked up four wins from four in their opening matches and have been scoring freely, it has been something of a more controlled, calm approach by Chelsea under new boss Andre Villas Boas. We arguably haven’t seen a very convincing Chelsea as of yet, but they have gotten the job done more or less. After opening the season with a disappointing 0-0 draw away at Stoke, the Blues have won their next three matches on the bounce, but they have been narrow victories in terms of the score line. They had to come from behind against West Brom at Stamford Bridge, conceded a goal against Norwich and allowed Sunderland a late lifeline in a 2-1 victory at the Stadium of Light. So Chelsea are definitely not as sharp as Manchester Untied are up front, and there are defensive issues as well. Chelsea are a work in progress as Andre Villas Boas has looked to freshen up an aging squad. Young striker Daniel Sturridge got the nod up front over Fernando Torres at Sunderland, and responded with a goal. The extra bit of pace and drive from the youngster is just what Chelsea have been lacking, and the new face of Juan Mata from the left looks as if it has been a stroke of genius. Chelsea finally have someone who can drift into the box from out wide and poach goals. With the injury to Didier Drogba against Norwich, Chelsea have desperately been hoping that he is going to be ready to face United, and that is because the big talisman will likely cause the United back line the most problems. Fernando Torres still doesn’t look at his best, Florent Malouda doesn’t contribute enough goals, while Nicolas Anelka just is not prolific enough. The Blues have Romelu Lukaku as well to look to, so there are plenty of options up front. It is just finding what clicks the best. After drafting in Raul Meireles to do a midfield role, Chelsea are looking to the future with the Portuguese star taking over from Lampard at Sunderland. So Chelsea are changing slowly, and will be keen to get David Luiz back alongside John Terry for a bit of pace and creativity from the back. Chelsea haven’t been great at the back, lacking just a little bit of pace. But they are chugging along and this really is a match which they can’t afford to lose so early in the season.

Head to Head: The two defeats at Old Trafford last season for Chelsea has left them with just 19 wins from 78 appearances there. In contrast, United have won 35 matches against Chelsea at home, with 24 draws. But United, in those 78 matches have outscored Chelsea by nearly a ratio of 2:1. It was four wins out of five for United in total last season against Chelsea (including the Community Shield), with the Blues scoring a home win in the league. It has been four home wins out of the last five for United (with Chelsea taking a 2-1 win in the 2009/10 season) and so have to be looked at as favourites from the stats point of view. The goal scoring stats perhaps paints the biggest story this season, with United’s 18 going up against Chelsea’s 7. Both sides have concede three goals this season. The sides haven’t produced a draw in their last seven meetings.

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