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Sell Chelsea v Man U
shirt numbers at 31 Chelsea vs. Manchester United (Premier League, 12:45 Saturday 26 April) There are only two events of any note this weekend. One is Master Investor, and the other is the eagerly anticipated clash between England’s top two, Manchester United and Chelsea. Both teams snuck away with undeserved away draws in Europe during the week, but now turn their attentions to what is being billed as the Premier League title decider. Table-toppers, United, have seen their commanding lead at the summit of the table dwindle away to just a three point advantage with three games remaining. However, the Champions’ far superior goal difference – a potentially crucial reward for playing football the way it should be played (domestically, at least) may prove to be decisive in the destination of the Premier League crown. Realistically, Chelsea must win to keep alive their slim hopes of overhauling their illustrious adversaries. Meanwhile, United can afford to lose (provided it’s not by a 10-goal margin or similar) and still remain in pole position to retain their title. A draw for Ferguson’s side would be a terrific result for them, while a victory would not only effectively seal a 17th league championship but also snap the Blue’s incredible 80-match unbeaten run at Stamford Bridge. In midweek, Chelsea played the dour, uninspiring football that has come to be expected of them but an extraordinary stroke of good fortune gifted Avram Grant’s bores a vital lifeline. John Arne Riise’s unfortunate 94th minute diving-header into his own net marked a change, as it is usually only on Liverpool’s roads someone is left red-faced after being stopped for heading in the wrong direction. The disastrous own goal even brought a twisted smile to the otherwise lifeless and stone-faced Grant, signifying its importance and the major boost it gave his team. In the other Champions League semi-final, Manchester United, who might have been expected to revel on the expansive playing field of the Camp Nou and tear Barcelona’s fragile defense to shreds, adopted a bizarrely negative approach that was a far cry from the relentless goal-machine that has devastated so many on the domestic front. While United may approach Saturday’s showdown at the Bridge with similar tactics to not concede, the onus will be on Chelsea to diverge from their comfort zone and attack. The recent history between the sides is one of few goals. United’s 2-0 victory over the Blues in Grant’s first game in charge was their first win over Chelsea in six meetings. Last season, the teams played out a goalless draw at Stamford Bridge late on in the campaign after United had already secured the title, and the reverse fixture at Old Trafford ended 1-1. The first FA Cup Final to be staged at the new Wembley Stadium, between the two clubs required extra-time to settle it following a drab 0-0 draw and the teams returned to the venue three months later to play out a 1-1 draw in the Community Shield. The 2005/06 season saw Darren Fletcher fluke a looping header over the despairing keeper to record a 1-0 win for United at Old Trafford, and later in the season with the league practically sewn up, Chelsea ran out 3-0 winners over United at the Bridge, as Wayne Rooney suffered a broken metatarsal early in the match, which threatened to rule him out of the World Cup (cue nationwide panic and subsequent weeks of media frenzy). Manchester United have proven they possess the formula to keep things tight at the back in important away games; a strategy that may be all the more appealing to Sir Alex Ferguson, given the return to fitness of Nemanja Vidic to partner Rio Ferdinand in the heart of the defense. This season, United have successfully applied a negative, counter-attacking brand of football, most notably against Barcelona, Roma and Liverpool, keeping clean sheets in all three and emerging from the latter two with important wins. However, they have also come unstuck when employing it, such as at Upton Park of all places, as two headed goals late in the game saw West Ham come from a goal down to pull off a stunning upset. With a draw suiting the Red Devils just fine and with the players’ thoughts surely racing ahead to the return leg with Barcelona on Tuesday, Ferguson may once again set his stall out not to lose and look to hit Chelsea on the counterattack with pace. Chelsea matches are not renowned for goals and this one should be no different. One way of profiting from what has all the hallmarks of an insipid affair, is to turn to Sporting Index’s market on the total shirt numbers of goal-scorers throughout the match, with the spread set at 31-34. With goals at a premium, this appears at first glance to be glaringly high. The reason being the squad numbers of two key marksmen who could feature prominently. Chelsea’s Nicolas Anelka, who sports the number 39 on his back, struck the only goal of the game against United for his former club, Bolton earlier in the season. He started on the bench against Liverpool in midweek and in the recent home match against Arsenal; however he may be selected to start alone up front in place of Didier Drogba, who clearly lacked match-fitness and sharpness against Liverpool, spending much of the game writhing around on the ground in faux agony. Shaun Wright-Phillips and Salomon Kalou don the numbers 24 and 21 respectively, and John Terry who is certain to start, is number 26; however, these three are hardly renowned for their goal-scoring prowess. For the visitors, the player with the highest squad number posing any realistic threat is Carlos Tevez (32). The diminutive Argentine scored the opener when the two sides met at Old Trafford earlier in the season but his ineffectiveness in United’s system against Barcelona on Wednesday night must have caught the attention of the manager, who may now demote him to the bench from where he has made much more of an impact on numerous occasions. The United defense, which nullified the menacing attacking threat of Messi, Eto’o, Iniesta and Bojan in midweek, are fancied to perform equally well against a Chelsea frontline that has only scored more than once in 7 out of 17 home games this term. Chelsea’s leading scorer and playmaker, Frank Lampard will miss the match, which only enhances the likelihood of a low-scoring encounter, notwithstanding his tendency to go missing in the big games. Shirt numbers are a “speculative sell” @ 31. |
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