THE STRIKER: previews Sunday’s second FA Cup semi-final between MAN U v CHELSEA at 6pm with a recommended BETDAQ bet and extended match stats.
The Striker is a professional football punter who focused solely on football in the UK. He has over ten years of experience using exchanges and he’s been a full-time professional punter for more than five years. UK football is his edge and he sticks to it!
Thankfully The Striker has agreed to share his best bets with BETDAQ Tips! He will use a staking system between one and five points to give readers a clue as to how confident he is with each individual bet. He uses his own analysis to price up matches and loves advanced stats like xG, goal stats and current form.
MANCHESTER UNITED V CHELSEA
6pm What an excellent FA Cup semi-final! The FA Cup might have lost some of its glamour but it’s big fixtures like this that can bring it back. It’s a shame were behind closed doors but that’s for the greater good. Both these sides have immense pressure as they battle for a Top Four finish, with Leicester also in action in the Premier League today. It’s fair to say that neither team will want this to go beyond 90 minutes given the run-in battle.
United had a setback when drawing 2-2 against Southampton on Monday, but other than that they have been excellent since returning from lockdown. Chelsea have been playing well too; although they have had two losses from nowhere to get them into the battle for Top Four. It looked like they would be a comfortable third before losing to West Ham and Sheffield United.
Chelsea will definitely be the fresher side coming into this, and it’s no surprise that has been a talking point this week. They played on Tuesday and had an easy run-out against Norwich, while United playing Thursday night. Chelsea only gave up an xG of 0.06 against Norwich, but that’s a sign of how bad Norwich are rather than Chelsea being superb. United have been creating some excellent chances recently and I like over 2.5 goals here at odds against.
We could see a cagey start given how important this is for both sides, but once they settle down and start playing we should see a very good game here. Both sides have been creating chances for fun lately and have impressive xG numbers. United especially have been banging in the goals for fun. Over 2.5 goals is worth backing at 2.04.
The Striker Says:
Two points win Over 2.5 goals at 2.04 with BETDAQ Exchange.
You can view all markets here -> https://bit.ly/BDQmunchl
MATCH STATS
- Chelsea have won 12 of their last 15 FA Cup semi-final matches, losing against Man Utd in 1996, Liverpool in 2006 and Man City in 2013 in that run.
- Manchester United have progressed from 15 of their last 17 FA Cup semi-final ties, losing on penalties against Everton in 2009, and losing 0-1 against Man City in 2011.
- Manchester United are playing in their 30th FA Cup semi-final – no side has ever played in more. They have reached the final on 20 occasions, which is also a joint record (level with Arsenal for both).
- This is the fourth season in a row Chelsea and Man Utd have met in the FA Cup, with Chelsea winning in the quarter-final in 2016-17 and the final in 2017-18, and Manchester United in the fifth round last season.
- Chelsea have won four of their last five FA Cup ties against Manchester United, losing the most recent encounter last season.
- Manchester United have already beaten Chelsea three times this season (2x league, 1x League Cup). Only once has a team won four games against the Blues in a single season, with Man Utd doing so in 2010-11.
- This will be the ninth meeting between Chelsea and Manchester United at Wembley Stadium (old and new), making it the most played club fixture at the ground in history. Both sides have triumphed four times apiece in the previous matches, including three times via penalties (1 for Chelsea, 2 for Man Utd).
- When playing at the ground as a neutral venue, Man Utd have won seven of their last eight matches at Wembley Stadium, though they did lose their last such visit 0-1 v Chelsea in the 2018 FA Cup final.
- Chelsea’s Ross Barkley has scored (3) or assisted (1) a goal in all four of his FA Cup appearances for the Blues this season.
- Odion Ighalo is Manchester United’s top scorer in the FA Cup this season (3). The Nigerian has scored four goals in his last five starts in the competition.
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