TONY CASCARINO: Looking back on last week, things just did not go right!
That Chelsea and West Ham game in particular, Chelsea were simply the better team, they just aren’t scoring the goals at the moment!
It feels like there is some type of voodoo against them this season, because the effort is there, and they have started playing some good football but are just not getting results.
LOW SCORING AFFAIR AT CHELSEA
Anyways, looking forward to this weekend, I think again we have to look at Chelsea as they take on Liverpool. I am tempted again to back Chelsea, I really can’t see how they have not been winning games, if you look at their last three games, they have dominated games, keepers have been making good saves, they have been hitting the woodwork, just not the back of the net! Because of that last point, I just can’t go with backing them again. I think the sensible bet for this game would be under 2.5 goals. I do think Chelsea will win 1-0 but I wouldn’t be confident to back them. The evidence from Klopp so far is that Liverpool will be a hard working side who won’t concede many goals. The problem for them at the moment is they are blighted with injuries up front. They have no Sturridge, no Benteke, Origi doesn’t look like he has goals in him, so they are relying on one of their number 10s to score. With the form Coutinho has been in, it just doesn’t look like there will be many goals here, so I’m going with the under 2.5.
NO FAITH IN UNITED
If Van Gaal sticks with Rooney this weekend in a tricky game away to Crystal Palace, I really see them struggling to pick up a win. Somehow Rooney has become their biggest problem, if he starts they just don’t look nearly as effective, especially if he is up front, where he wants to play. The number 10 position seems like it is the right one for Rooney at this stage in his career, but it is somewhere he does not want to play. If this was any other big club, like your Barcelona, Real Madrid or Bayern Munich he wouldn’t have a choice, and would be out of the team at this rate, but united are working differently at the moment. It has now come to the stage where if he does have another bad game he surely has to get dropped. I know we have all been through those periods in our careers, but when you hit 30, it is different, and Rooney is certainly looking every bit of his age right now, if not more. He has played a huge amount of football at the highest level since he was 17, and it is looking like his legs are beginning to go.
I know it may seem harsh on an individual to say this, but if Rooney is in the line-up, I’m looking at the lay bet for them. It changes the whole team, Martial isn’t playing in his most effective spot. Rooney doesn’t look like has the pace down the middle anymore to really bother decent centre halves, that is where you want Martial, who is a more dynamic player at this stage in their respective careers. I am going to lay United this weekend.
WATFORD FOR ANOTHER SHOCK
I think Watford have been a real surprise team this season, they are probably the most unpredictable in the league right now. They have an intriguing side, with some excellent players who really came in under the radar, and have provided some shocks thus far this season, with last week against Stoke being one. They have played teams off the park in some of their wins, like they did against Newcastle earlier in the season and they have proven to be a really difficult team to beat. As a team they have a bit of everything really, they play a good brand of football and don’t ship too many goals at the back. I feel they are easily the most likely of the new boys to stay up this season. I am also a big believer in teams coming off a big result, and while West Ham have as well after beating Chelsea, I think beating Stoke was huge for this Watford side, considering Stoke had been coming into form prior to the game. So I am going to take a risk and back Watford for the win.
BOURNEMOUTH WOES TO CONTINUE
It has been a difficult period for Bournemouth recently, having lost several players to season ending injuries, and hitting a rough patch in their schedule. Bad news is, it doesn’t get better for them this weekend against Southampton. Credit to Bournemouth, their heads haven’t dropped, they are still playing the brand of football that they love, they are very committed to what they have been doing, but I think getting anything from the game against a good Southampton team is too much to ask of them. I like this side; I just think that without players like Wilson, who has been lost to injury, the spine of the team has been greatly affected and they may struggle to fill the void going forward.
Southampton have been impressive again this season, proving a good match in big games and performing thus far in games they have been expected to win, and I expect that trend to continue, so I will back Southampton for the win.
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