Tag: Chelsea

West Brom v Chelsea – Premiership Preview

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Forecasting Premiership matches at this time of the season can be fraught with danger. The Monday night game between West Brom and Chelsea should have the feeling of a friendly about it with neither team having any meaningful incentive.

The Blues have been basking in their Premiership Title success for a couple of weeks now and only have this game before collecting their trophy at Stamford Bridge when Sunderland visit on Sunday. There has been speculation that Diego Costa may make a late season return but I cannot see Jose Mourinho taking any needless risks with his leading striker.

Had the Spaniard been one goal behind Aguero in the race for the Golden Boot, it may have been interesting. As it is, Aguero enjoyed a free-for-all courtesy of QPR last week and has it sewn up with a six goal advantage. Eden Hazard has been taking the plaudits and rightly so. He has been far and away Chelsea’s best player this season. You can hardly blame him for letting his standards dip in the 1-1 draw against Liverpool last week.

Perhaps one of the unsung heroes of the side has been Willian. He is finishing the season in really good form and it would be nice to see him hit the target. He is competitively priced at 14-1 to open the scoring and 11-2 to score at any time. His electrifying pace has been a joy to watch this season but his finishing has not quite matched it. If he can add something of the Hazard instinct for goal, he will be an even better player next season.

Chelsea beat Albion 2-0 at Stamford Bridge but that was before the arrival of Tony Pulis. He has certainly made the Baggies a tougher side to beat, despite a brief dip in form and a shock 4-1 defeat at home to QPR. They have bounced back since then and are unbeaten in their last four matches.

Mourinho will be without Ramires, Oscar and Zouma so there could be starting places for Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Isaiah Brown. It is a game that neither side will want to lose rather than one that they feel a desperate need to win. Pulis will be keen for his team to finish the season on a positive note against the champions and the best bet may be to side with a draw.

West Brom v Chelsea DRAW @5-2 Bet365

West Brom 1 Chelsea 1 @6-1 Bet365

Willian to score at any time @11-2 Unibet

Willian to score first @14-1 Unibet

Premiership Preview 10th May

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Sunday’s Premiership fixtures were expected to have a say in the outcome of the title race but Chelsea secured the title last weekend against Crystal Palace. That has left City battling to secure second spot and they ought to collect a fourth consecutive victory at home to QPR.

Rangers are set to pay the price for their terrible away record which just one victory in seventeen including fourteen defeats. The gap between QPR and safety is already a yawning nine points and this is probably the last place they would want to be going. Sergio Aguero scored his memorable title-winning goal in this fixture in 2011-12 and has hit the target in his last four games.

The Argentinian striker will have one eye on the Premiership Golden Boot prize and this fixture looks set up for him to add to his tally. QPR know that the game is virtually up and anything less than a shock victory will not be good enough. Charlie Austin poses a threat and it may be worth looking at 4-1 and 5-1 to City in the score markets.

Chelsea’s 1-0 win over Crystal Palace means that they are champions so you could forgive them if they suffered a slight dip in form. They welcome Liverpool to Stamford Bridge in the late kick-off and the Reds will be forming a guard of honour for the home side. I remember Manchester United having to do the same thing some years ago and we can only hope that Liverpool are more gracious than one or two of the United players that day.

Jose Mourinho has paved the way for a friendly occasion with his kind words about Liverpool Captain Steven Gerrard. The absence of Diego Costa takes out another potential flash-point after his clashes with Liverpool in the League Cup. The way to go here may be a draw and it could be worth supporting Branislav Ivanovic to get on the score-sheet. He has scored against the Reds in the past and will always be a threat from set-pieces.

Sergio Aguero to score and Man City to win @3-4 Ladbrokes

Sergio Aguero to score 2 or more goals @3-1 Skybet

Man City 4 QPR 1 @15-1 BetVictor

Man City 5 QPR 1 @25-1 BetVictor

Chelsea v Liverpool DRAW @5-2 Bet365

Chelsea 1 Liverpool 1 @13-2 BetVictor

Branislav Ivanovic to score first @20-1 Paddy Power

Branislav Ivanovic to score at any time @17-2 Unibet

Chelsea set to seal Premiership title

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

There are two Premiership fixtures on Sunday and Chelsea have the chance to seal the title in the early kick-off at Stamford Bridge.

The Blues had to come back from a goal down to beat Leicester in midweek but they did so in some style. Goals from Drogba, Terry and Ramires put them on the verge of winning the title for the first time since 2010. A win over London rivals Crystal Palace will be enough to wrestle the prize away from Manchester City who have been left trailing since drawing level on points on New Year’s Day.

Chelsea have led the Premier League since the start of the season and have only been beaten twice. Defeats at Newcastle and Tottenham have been the only blips on an otherwise dominant campaign. They have come in for criticism in recent weeks for being boring but the league table does not lie and a thirteen point lead illustrates their superiority.

Jose Mourinho has been keen to keep his players focussed on the job in hand and he will not take the visitors lightly. A one-goal victory would be perfectly satisfactory, even if it does leave their supporters biting their nails for the closing minutes. The superb Hazard is likely to have Loic Remy ahead of him in attack but I am taking a punt on Nemanja Matic to score the winner. His capture was a masterstroke by Mourinho and he would be a very appropriate player to strike the championship winning goal.

If Chelsea have secured the title, there could be something of a cloud over Manchester City for the late kick-off at Tottenham. It will be a surprise if Manuel Pellegrini is still at the helm next season after a moderate campaign with no silverware. A top four spot looks virtually assured after Liverpool dropped further points at Hull so there isn’t any real pressure on City here.

Tottenham have a miserable record against City, most particularly Sergio Aguero who scored four goals in the reverse fixture. That game included four penalty awards but the result flattered City. This game should be entertaining and the sides can share the points at 2-2.

Tips

Chelsea 1 Crystal Palace 0 @6-1 Paddy Power

Nemanja Matic to score first @25-1 Paddy Power

Tottenham v Man City DRAW @11-4 Bet365

Tottenham 2 Man City 2 @13-1 BetVictor

Leicester v Chelsea Preview

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Chelsea have kept grinding out the results and a 0-0 draw at Arsenal on Sunday has left them within two victories of lifting the Premier League title.

Jose Mourinho’s side have come in for media criticism for their negative approach in recent games but his hand has been forced by the injuries to his key strikers. Diego Costa’s presence up front has been sorely missed and the Blues have certainly lacked a cutting edge. Eden Hazard has come to the rescue with winning goals against West Ham and Manchester United and the majority of his eighteen goals have come away from home.

Factor in the on-going saga of Chelsea’s lack of penalties and everything points to Hazard being the key player at Leicester on Wednesday night. He was strangely anonymous against Arsenal on Sunday as Chelsea played out a match of containment. Jose Mourinho is no fool and he knows that he can expect a tough game at Leicester, despite their lowly league position.

Nigel Pearson’s side have put together an astonishing run of four straight victories to haul themselves out of the bottom three. They are only a point above Sunderland and four points clear of QPR but they play both sides on the run-in. They also play a struggling Newcastle side that are only four points above them but have played a game more.

Most pundits now expect the Foxes to escape the drop, irrespective of Wednesday’s result. A draw would be seen as a fine result for the home team and would be by no means disastrous for Chelsea. However, the Blues will want to get the job done as quickly as possible. They know that three points on Wednesday will set them up to lift the title at Stamford Bridge against London rivals Crystal Palace this weekend.

A draw would see them have to wait until the following week against Liverpool. The Reds have suffered an alarming dip in form  but they are still formidable opponents and will surely raise their game against Chelsea. The painful memories of the Blues stealing the three points at Anfield last season and effectively handing the title to Man City, still linger on.

Chelsea to beat Leicester @3-4 Bet365

Chelsea to win by one goal @11-4 Skybet

Leicester 0 Chelsea 1 @7-1 Bet365

Eden Hazard to score first @11-2 Boylesports

Eden Hazard to score at any time @13-8 Stan James

Eden Hazard to score and Chelsea win @13-5 Paddy Power

 

 

Premiership Preview – April 26th

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

There are two big games in the Premiership on Sunday with Everton playing Man United before the big London derby between Arsenal and Chelsea. The title race cannot be decided but Chelsea will have one hand on the trophy if they can avoid defeat at the Emirates Stadium.

The action begins at Goodison Park where Everton will be hoping to continue their recent revival against a United team still smarting from their 1-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge last weekend. Louis van Gaal felt that it was possibly United’s best performance of the season and that can only be taken as a compliment to Chelsea.

The Blues have a phenomenal recent record against the Gunners and Mourinho is yet to lose to a side managed by Wenger in twelve meetings. There is clearly no love lost between the pair, as illustrated by their minor skirmish on the touchline at Stamford Bridge earlier in the season. Arsenal are in far better form now and a win would give them a psychological boost as well as delay Title celebrations for the Blues.

Mourinho has managed to coax his side through some tricky matches in the absence of Diego Costa and they are definitely a weaker team without him. Olivier Giroud was used sparingly in last week’s FA Cup semi-final and this could be his chance to shine in a big London derby.

Manchester United’s progress has left them on the brink of securing a Champions League spot and that will have been the brief given to Van Gaal in the summer. They played well against Chelsea but lacked a cutting edge, something that the signings of Falcao and Di Maria was meant to provide. Even with those two players falling well short of expectations, they are still a force to be reckoned with and Juan Mata has been impressive in recent weeks.

Roberto Martinez has not had a great season at Everton but a recent rally has at least given them a respectable league position. They have managed clean sheets at home to Burnley, Southampton and Newcastle in recent weeks so will not be easy to break down. United can just edge this one with Mata worth considering in the goal scorer markets.

Man United to win @6-5 Bet365

Juan Mata to score at any time @4-1 Skybet

Everton 1 Man United 2 @9-1 Bet365

Man United to win by one goal @14-5 Ladbrokes

Arsenal to win by one goal @3-1 Ladbrokes

Arsenal 2 Chelsea 1 @19-2 BetVictor

Olivier Giroud to score at any time @9-4 BWin

Premiership Preview April 18th – 19th

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

The big match this weekend is the clash between leaders Chelsea and third-placed Manchester United in Saturday’s evening kick-off.

The Blues are edging ever-closer to the Premiership title but still have United, Arsenal and Liverpool to play. A defeat at home to a resurgent United could still cause a few jitters with the winning post in sight. Had Chelsea gone into this match with a fully-fit Diego Costa, it would be very difficult to see them slipping up. As it is, not only is Costa out but there is also a doubt about the fitness of Loic Remy.

United are in buoyant mood after beating champions and neighbours City 4-2 last weekend. That game could signal the end of the brief reign of Manuel Pellegrini while Louis van Gaal looks set to achieve his goal of restoring Champions League football to Old Trafford. The return to form of former Chelsea star Juan Mata has had a great impact in recent matches and he could be worth a bet to silence the home fans on Saturday.

The Blues still have Eden Hazard and he is the kind of player to rise to the big occasion. Jose Mourinho will be calling on him once more and I’m sure that he would settle for a draw, just as he did when City visited.

West Brom are really struggling for form and face a tricky visit to Crystal Palace. Alan Pardew’s side have put up some brilliant displays recently and another defeat for Tony Pulis’s side could have them looking anxiously over their shoulders in the league table. Among those scrapping for survival are Leicester City who are at home to Swansea. They dug out an unlikely 3-2 win at West Brom last week and will fancy their chances of following up here.

Southampton’s season was in danger of falling away but Ronald Koeman’s side beat Hull decisively last week. They travel to Stoke who have little left to play for. A draw seems highly likely but Pelle’s first goal in months will have boosted his confidence and the Saints could come away with all three points.

Sunday’s games are Man City at home to West Ham and Newcastle facing Spurs. The two home teams are among the worst performing sides in the league at present so it is a brave man that takes 2-7 about City. They may struggle to a win but 11-2 for a draw looks tempting while Spurs should see off a lack-lustre Magpies outfit.

Crystal Palace to beat West Brom @20-21 Paddy Power

Leicester to beat Swansea @6-5 Ladbrokes

Southampton to beat Stoke @11-8 Ladbrokes

Chelsea v Man United DRAW @5-2 Totesport

Man City v West Ham DRAW @11-2 Bet365

Spurs to beat Newcastle @11-8 William Hill