Tag: Jose Mourinho

Premiership Preview April 18th – 19th

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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

Premier League Preview 14th – 16th March

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After the midweek debacle at Stamford Bridge in the Champions League, Jose Mourinho’s Premiership leaders have a point to prove at home to Southampton on Sunday. Chelsea have been widely condemned for their approach to the second leg of their tie with PSG and Manchester City have a chance to apply extra pressure on Saturday.

City travel to Burnley who fought back so valiantly to grab a point at the Etihad earlier in the season. More recently, they snatched an unlikely point at Chelsea following the dismissal of Nemanja Matic for retaliation. Burnley have a habit of playing better when they are behind but they cannot afford to take any liberties against City.

The champions had to work hard to beat Leicester 2-0 in their last league game and will have one eye on next week’s Champions League clash with Barcelona. Very few people are expecting them to win against the Spanish giants but Schalke’s performance against Real Madrid will certainly have reminded them that anything is possible. Even a narrow victory would be enough to reduce Chelsea’s lead to three points, until Sunday at least.

Arsenal face an uphill task recovering from a 3-1 home defeat by Monaco next week but must first make sure they take three points against West Ham. The Gunners have plenty of strength in their squad so can afford to rotate while the Hammers seem to be on a slippery slope. There is also a London derby in the early kick-off with Crystal Palace hosting QPR.

Rangers’ 2-1 defeat at home to Tottenham summed up their season. They fought valiantly but never really looked like getting anything out of the game. Their away form is already the stuff of legends and Alan Pardew’s side can inflict another painful blow. Tim Sherwood has already taken Aston Villa to an FA Cup semi-final and inflicted two defeats on midlands rivals West Brom.

Unfortunately their FA Cup clash was marred by a moronic crowd invasion that revived memories of the late 1970’s. They now travel to relegation rivals Sunderland who also had more trouble off the pitch than on it last week as Gus Poyet and Steve Bruce almost came to blows. It should be a tough battle and a draw may be the smartest option.

Whether or not there is any merit in Jose Mourinho’s on-going siege mentality at Stamford Bridge, it has to be said that his side were awful against PSG. They played the type of football that is the polar opposite to everything that is good about the Premier League. Southampton are no mugs and Ronald Koeman will sense an opportunity here. The Saints haven’t given up on a top four finish odds of 11-2 are tempting. Chelsea did play extra-time on Wednesday and I’ll be surprised if they don’t make a nervous start.

Man United and Louis van Gaal came in for heavy criticism following their FA Cup exit against Arsenal and now face Tottenham at Old Trafford. Spurs picked themselves up well from their Wembley disappointment and 3-1 is also quite generous against a patchy United side. Liverpool conclude the week’s fixtures at Swansea on Monday and can boost their Champions League hopes with a narrow victory.

Crystal Palace to beat QPR @5-6 Bet365

Arsenal (-1.0) to beat West Ham @11-10 Sportingbet

Sunderland v Aston Villa DRAW @23-10 Sportingbet

Man City to beat Burnley by 1 goal @13-5 Bet365

Southampton to beat Chelsea @11-2 Bet365

Tottenham to beat Man United @10-3 Coral

Champions League – Chelsea v PSG Preview

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With Arsenal and Manchester City having suffered home defeats in their first leg Champions League ties, Chelsea have the best chance of the Premiership being represented in the last eight.

A hard-fought 1-1 draw in Paris has given them a slender advantage for the return leg at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night. Jose Mourinho has been complaining about the persistent fouling from PSG in the first match, much of it focussed on Eden Hazard. In the end, Chelsea were more than happy to escape with a draw after being on the back foot for much of the second half.

According to the bookmakers, Chelsea are firm favourites to qualify but I think it will be a difficult night for the Blues. They scraped through against PSG last year, thanks to a late goal by Demba Ba. They were forced to attack that night having lost the first leg 3-1 but will be in two minds here.

Chelsea were rocked by a 1-1 draw at home to Burnley in the Premier League after that game but have since lifted the Capital One Cup and battled to a 1-0 win at West Ham. They were without Nemanja Matic for both games but he is eligible to return on Wednesday night. Defender Kurt Zouma did a wonderful job in filling in for him in two vital games but it remains to be seen whether his name will feature on the team sheet.

Striker Diego Costa has not been at his best in recent matches but his presence clearly troubles the opposition. However, PSG carry plenty of attacking threat with the likes of Ibrahimovic, Cavani and Lavezzi. It is going to be very difficult for Chelsea to keep them at bay for 90 minutes and the goals market interests me. I think that both sides will score during the game and one goal from PSG changes the complexion of the tie. They will then be in pole position, knowing that a second goal will leave Chelsea needing to score three to qualify. A 2-2 score-line would send the Blues out but it may be worth a speculative wager.

In the night’s other tie, Bayern Munich should book their place in the last eight by overcoming Shakhtar Donetsk. The first leg remained goalless after Xabi Alonso received his marching orders. They have more than enough strength in their squad to make up for his absence here and are worth considering on the handicap markets.

Chelsea v PSG DRAW @5-2 Sky Bet

Chelsea 2 PSG 2 @20-1 Betfair

Both teams to score @Evens Paddy Power

Bayern Munich (-2.0) to beat Shakhtar @29-20 Boylesports

Chelsea 8-1 for treble after League Cup victory

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Jose Mourinho again proved himself to be the master tactician as he out-foxed Mauricio Pochettino with Chelsea beating Spurs 2-0 in the League Cup final at Wembley.

Much of the pre-match build-up had focussed on the suspension to Nemanja Matic forcing Mourinho to re-think his midfield strategy. With Mikel injured, Mourinho turned to Kurt Zouma to play the holding role in midfield, primarily to negate the attacking threat posed by Christian Eriksen. Spurs had torn Chelsea apart in a 5-3 win at White Hart Lane on New Year’s Day but there was to be no repeat on Sunday.

Deflected goals in either half from John Terry and Kyle Walker (own-goal) gave the Blues a relatively comfortable victory in the pouring rain. Eriksen did strike the Chelsea cross-bar from a free-kick early on while the only real threat from Harry Kane was intercepted by a superb tackle from John Terry. Chelsea had chances to increase their lead through Hazard and Fabregas while Diego Costa was a persistent thorn in the side of Tottenham’s defence.

The earlier defeat of Man City at Liverpool by two goals to one had set up a perfect weekend for Chelsea. Two brilliant strikes from Henderson and Coutinho proved sufficient to dent City’s title hopes as they remain five points adrift of Chelsea having played a game more. The defeat ended a miserable week for Manuel Pellegrini’s side who had been fortunate to escape with only a 2-1 defeat at home to Barcelona in the Champions League on Tuesday night.

City have been pushed out to 6-1 to win the Premiership and 66-1 to win the Champions League. Lionel Messi’s double-miss in the closing seconds has given City a slim hope of overturning the deficit in the return leg in a fortnight’s time but few expect them to do so.

Chelsea drew 1-1 in Paris against PSG and have the away goal advantage for the return leg. They will start that game as favourites but can expect a tough match against a very talented side. Paddy Power are offering odds of 8-1 against Chelsea going on to complete a treble of Capital One Cup, Premiership and Champions League. Their next fixture is a London derby at West Ham on Wednesday night while City should have little difficulty at home to Leicester. We will be previewing all of the midweek Premier League action on Betcirca.

League Cup Final Preview – Chelsea v Spurs

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The first domestic silverware of the season is decided on Sunday when Chelsea clash with London rivals Tottenham in the final of the Capital One Cup at Wembley.

Jose Mourinho led Chelsea to success in this competition back in 2004/05 before taking them to Premiership title glory. They go into the weekend with a five-point lead over champions Man City, although that gap could be reduced to two points this weekend. That won’t be a concern for Mourinho’s side on Sunday as they seek revenge for a painful 5-3 league defeat at White Hart Lane on New Year’s Day.

Much of the media spotlight has focussed on the enforced absence of Matic from this match after his red card against Burnley on Saturday. He was given a two-match ban and his natural replacement, Mikel, is currently injured. Ramires will almost certainly be asked to deputise in the holding role in midfield. Matic did play in that nightmare 5-3 defeat and Chelsea will have to defend a lot better on Sunday. Cahill and Terry were made to look woefully short of pace by Harry Kane who seems to carry Tottenham’s hopes on  his shoulders at present.

Mauricio Pochettino attempted to bluff his way into the next round of the Europa League by saving key players for this match. The plan back-fired in spectacular style and their season could be reduced to chasing an elusive top four spot once again if they lose on Sunday.

It is ironic that, in spite of all the money invested on new players, it is Kane that Spurs look to above all others. He will be under enormous pressure to perform this weekend and it would be no surprise to see him score yet again. If he is to justify the hype and wear the England number nine shirt for years to come, he will surely relish a Wembley Cup final. Unfortunately for him, the back-up crew can sometimes be found wanting. They were poor in midweek and were extremely fortunate to save a point at home to West Ham last weekend.

Kane could rock Chelsea with an early goal but I still expect Mourinho’s more experienced side to come back to win. They have plenty of potential goal scorers including Costa and Hazard and can edge to a 2-1 victory.

Best Bets

Chelsea to come from behind and draw or win @15-4 William Hill

Both teams to score @6-7 Unibet

Harry Kane to score first @7-1 Ladbrokes

Chelsea 2 Tottenham 1 @8-1 888Sport

Chelsea to win by one goal @29-10 BetVictor

PSG to grab first-leg lead over Chelsea

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Premiership leaders Chelsea renew rivalry with Paris Saint-Germain in the last 16 of the Champions League on Tuesday night. The two sides met in the quarter-finals last year with PSG winning the first leg 3-1 but going out on goal difference after losing 2-0 at Stamford Bridge.

The goalscorers for Chelsea were Andre Schurrle and Demba Ba who have both since left the club. It was a fascinating tactical battle between Jose Mourinho and Laurent Blanc and it produced two fiery encounters. David Luiz scored an own-goal in the blue of Chelsea and is now playing for PSG after his £50million transfer in the summer.

Chelsea are bidding to reach the last eight of the competition for the seventh time in nine years and are currently leading the Premiership by seven points. Talk of them being unbeatable has long since been put to rest with defeats at Newcastle and Tottenham and a humbling FA Cup exit at the hands of Bradford City. They have reached the final of the Capital One Cup but it is the league and this competition on which their season will ultimately be judged.

They went out to Atletico Madrid in the semi-finals last year and face a stern test against PSG. They have looked distinctly average without Diego Costa but managed to secure vital wins over Aston Villa and Everton in his enforced absence. Their top scorer received a three-match ban for stamping on an opponent in the Cup clash with Liverpool. He will return to the side on Tuesday and it will be fascinating to see him playing against Luiz.

I have been impressed by Juan Cuadrado so far and he looks the type of player to relish these big games. Mourinho may elect to rest Willian rather than play his two wingers in the first hour of this match against a strong PSG side.

Blanc’s team have not lost in 32 home matches in European competition but they have looked vulnerable in recent league games. They have been beaten at EA Guingamp and SC Bastia and let a 2-0 lead slip away against SM Caen last weekend. Nevertheless, the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Edinson Cavani and Ezequiel Lavezzi give them plenty of attacking options. I can see this being a long night for the Blues and PSG look good value to grab a first-leg advantage.

The other Champions League match on Tuesday should go the way of Bayern Munich. The 2013 winners visit Shakhtar and are in red-hot form after winning 8-0 in the league. They should have too much class for their opponents and are worth considering in the goal and handicap markets.

PSG to beat Chelsea @7-4 Paddy Power

Bayern Munich (-1.0 handicap) to win @11-10 Paddy Power