There are two more Premier League games before Christmas, with the highlight being a feisty London derby, Tottenham against Chelsea.
This game pits a young Chelsea team and its youthful manager Frank Lampard against the more seasoned Tottenham side, managed by Jose Mourinho, a former Chelsea legend. It’s also an important match in the race for a potentially the last Champions League qualifying spot, if we assume the top three are almost over the horizon.
Thus there could be quite an edge to the game. Punters could be looking at yellow cards, with Danny Rose and Jorginho leading the way. They, however, look tightly priced, so we’ll leave alone.
Instead, we’re looking at Tottenham to edge the game given Chelsea have lost four out of their last five games. Their record away from home against the big guns is not great.
Spurs have a lot of star players that tend to take the plaudits, and midfielder Moussa Sissoko tends to get overlooked. But he has been playing well of late, and has scored in his last two home games in the Premier League. He’s is a hefty 9/1 to do so today. We’ll try that.
The early game sees Watford hosting Manchester United at Vicarage Road.
This is a tricky game to call. Manchester United have been excellent when they have played top sides that have come onto them, allowing their talented and pacy front line to counter attack. They were particularly impressive in beating their cross-city rivals a couple of weeks ago. However, they have found it difficult to break down teams that have sat back and defended in numbers, as Watford are likely to do.
That said, Watford languish at the bottom of the Premier League having really struggled to score goals this season – they are the only club in Europe’s elite five divisions yet to score 10 goals. They have won just one of their last 20 league matches!
This has resulted in a change of management, with Nigel Pearson taking charge of his first home game today. Last time out (his first game) they lost at Anfield but created enough chances to have threatened Liverpool on another day.
It may be too much to expect Watford to win today, but we think they will provide a good showing. It may become tricky for United to break the home team done, and they may have to rely on a set piece to do so. SkyBet offers 20/1 that Harry Maguire scores with a header. We think that’s a big price and will be on.
Recommendations:
Watford/Man United: Maguire to score a header, 1 pt, at 20/1, SkyBet
Tottenham/Chelsea: Sissoko to score anytime, 1 pt, at 9/1, Unibet
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