THURSDAY PREMIER LEAGUE: The Striker previews MANCHESTER UNITED v CHELSEA with FACTMAN stats and recommended BETDAQ bets.
MANCHESTER UNITED V CHELSEA
8pm We have a brilliant fixture to enjoy on BETDAQ Betting Exchange on Thursday night as we tick off the final Premier League game before we get to the final day of the season on Sunday. With Newcastle confirming their top four spot, Manchester United are the only side Liverpool can catch now. It’s exceptionally unlikely that Liverpool do catch United – the Red Devils have a three point advantage at the moment, this game in hand against Chelsea but Liverpool do have a better goal difference so United just need a draw from one of their final two games.
United are at home on the final day against Fulham, so surely they will pick up a point against one of the London clubs they face. Ironically they might have a better chance against Chelsea because Fulham actually have more points than Chelsea! That’s a sign of how bad Chelsea have been this season, and they have been a total disaster under Frank Lampard. They desperately need the season to finish, and they need a complete reset during the summer. They have taken an excellent step employing Mauricio Pochettino but to be honest it’s hard to have faith in the top management – they must give Pochettino the time he needs, and the backing if results don’t go their way at the start.
Chelsea only have to look at their opposition here to see how a good manager can turn things around for the club. Ten Hag has been fantastic for United this season, and he will be pushing for a result here so he can rest players on the final day before the FA Cup Final. United have had a very hectic schedule this season, and they don’t need the extra pressure of needing a result on the final day. United come into this game as the odds on favourites – they are currently trading 1.65 at the time of writing with Chelsea 5.5 and the draw is 4.6.
After losing to Brighton and West Ham, and opening the door for a Liverpool Top Four challenge at the last minute, United have steadied the ship with wins over Wolves and Bournemouth. It’s hard to have any confidence in Chelsea at the moment given how they have played under Lampard. One wonders could they have been worse if they kept Tuchel, or even Potter! Even in the 2-2 draw against Nottingham Forest Chelsea conceded an xG figure higher than they created, and Forest have had the worst away record in the Premier League this season.
The United price at 1.65 is a very tempting bet, however Under 2.5 goals is also appealing at 2.49. I was surprised to see Unders trading so high when I clicked into the market – Chelsea have really struggled to score goals under Lampard. To be honest they have struggled to score all season – they are only scoring an average of one goal per game. United will likely aim to keep this game as tight as possible, and we might have a similar game to when Chelsea were away to City last week. Under 2.5 goals looks great value at 2.49 in my opinion.
The Striker Says:
Three points win Under 2.5 goals at 2.49 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/MunChe
FACTMAN MATCH STATS
● Manchester United are unbeaten in their last 10 Premier League games against Chelsea (W3 D7) – they’ve never gone 11 without defeat against the Blues in their league history.
● Only Man City (8) and Liverpool (7) have won more Premier League away games against Man Utd than Chelsea (6), though the Blues are winless in their last nine visits to Old Trafford (D6 L3) since a 1-0 win May 2013.
● Chelsea against Manchester United has finished as a draw more often than any other fixture in Premier League history (26). Each of the last five have been drawn, with only Aston Villa v West Ham (7), Birmingham v Liverpool (7) and Brighton v West Ham (6) ending level in more consecutive meetings.
● Each of the last five Premier League meetings between Man Utd and Chelsea have been draws – Man Utd have never drawn six consecutive league games against an opponent, while Chelsea have only ever done so against West Brom (8 between 1921 and 1927).
● Chelsea have lost their final away league game in three of the last five seasons, though they did win 3-0 at Leeds in their final such game last term.
● Manchester United have kept a clean sheet in each of their last six Premier League home games, last going longer without conceding at Old Trafford in the league in March 2010 (7 games). In all competitions, the Red Devils have recorded 16 shutouts at home in 2022-23, last keeping more in 2015-16 (17).
● Manchester United need a point to secure a place in the top four and Champions League football next season. Erik ten Hag would be just the third Dutch manager to finish in the top four of the Premier League, with the other two also doing so in their debut campaigns (Guus Hiddink 2008-09, Louis van Gaal 2014-15).
● Since the start of last season, Chelsea have won none of their 15 Premier League games against sides starting the day above them in the table (D4 L11), losing each of their last four. They’ve lost 15 Premier League games this term, only losing more in 1993-94 (17 – 42 game season).
● Man Utd’s David De Gea has won this season’s Premier League Golden Glove award, keeping 17 clean sheets; only in 2017-18 (18) has he recorded more in a single top-flight league campaign in his career. He has won the 2022-23 Golden Glove despite conceding 41 Premier League goals this season; since the award was introduced in 2004-05, this is the joint-most conceded by a Golden Glove winning goalkeeper in the competition, along with Wojciech Szczesny in 2013-14 (16 clean sheets, 41 goals conceded).
● Anthony Martial has been involved in five goals in his last four starts against Chelsea (4 goals, 1 assist) although his last Premier League start against the Blues came back in February 2020 at Stamford Bridge, netting the opener in a 2-0 win for the Red Devils.
