The big game of the weekend sees Rafa Benitez, newly installed as interim Chelsea manager take on Roberto Mancini’s Manchester City side in a top of the table clash between the former Inter Milan managers.
Following the departure on Wednesday of the much admired Roberto Di Matteo (who lead Chelsea to Champions League and FA Cup glory less than 6 months ago) in a decision which bemused many in Football, Rafa will now take charge of the West London outfit. Rafa is sure to be under immediate pressure come 4pm on Sunday with sections of the Chelsea faithfull expected to voice their concerns over the hasty appointment. Chelsea suffered there 2nd league defeat last Saturday when they went down 2-1 to an inspirational West Brom. In very different circumstances Manchester City producing their most impressive display of the season by hammering an appauling Aston Villa side 5-0. Manchester City have yet to lose in the league and in fixtures against the established top tier sides of Arsenal and Liverpool the games finished in a score draw (1-1 and 2-2 respectively).
The introduction of Rafa Benitez is likely to put a leash on what has so far been a cavalier attacking Chelsea side, with the likes of Oscar, Hazard and Mata producing some scintillating football so far this season. Benitez will be keen not to kick off his return to football with a defeat, so we are going for a 1-1 draw in this 4pm Sunday kick off, which is priced at 7/1 with William Hill. For those who fancy a higher scoring draw 2-2 is offer by Stan James at 12/1 and a 3-3 draw at 50/1. The introduction of Benitez could provide the catalyst for a change of fortunes for much maligned Spanish striker Fernando Torres; he is best priced at 15/2 with Bet Victor to score first in the game. Alternatively an outside bet could be a small wager on the rampaging Ramires for Chelsea, who looks back to his brilliant best form and he is 20/1 to score first with Bet365.
Unusually two games kick off at 4pm this Sunday, with the other game pitching bitter London rivals Tottenham Hotspur against West Ham United. There has never been much love lost between the two, and the recent legal wranglings over the Olympic stadium will not have helped calm tempers for this one.
A potentially explosive London Derby comes at a difficult time for AVB following four straight defeats in domestic competitions and only two wins in the last nine outings. West Ham will be hoping to extend the gap between themselves and their London rivals and have produced some impressive recent performances, taking 4 points from games against Newcastle and Manchester City. However West Ham have only managed to win once in the last 5 meetings between the two sides, though Sam Allardyce will see this as an opportune time to play Spurs who travelled to Italy to play Lazio in the Europa League on Thursday (finishing 0-0).
Spurs, admittedly down to ten men, looked fragile in defence against Arsenal and we feel West Ham will be able to expose that vulnerability again this week. Andy Carroll has been providing an excellent foil for West Ham’s play this season although has yet to get off the mark with a goal as yet. We believe he will set that record straight against Spurs this weekend and his priced at 12/5 with Sky Bet to score anytime, with Ladbrokes offering odds of 8/1 for the pony tailed striker to score first in the game . West Ham midfield commander Diame has been a revelation this season since his move from Wigan in the summer, and his presence we believe will ensure West Ham wrestle all three points away from this encounter. Apart from backing West Ham at 5/1 with Ladbrokes we would also suggest looking at half time/full time markets including Draw/West Ham and West Ham/West Ham both priced at 12/1 with Blue Square and 10/1 with Betfred. Another interesting stat is that all three London Derby’s West Ham have taken part in this season the games have produced at least 3 goals, so the banker of the weekend should be backing over 2.5 goals with Stan James at 8/11 for you odds on punters out there.
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Click to ClaimJon is one of Howtobet4free’s co-founders and as well as producing content for the site also helps run the @howtobet4free_ Twitter account and Cheltenham Festival Facebook page. Jon works in Marketing and Communications in professional sport.
