The Big One – Manchester United vs. Chelsea
I’ll be at the game on Sunday. There’s no German football at the moment so I’m afraid this one will have to do right now. Seriously now, I really can’t wait.
Both sides have been nowhere near their best in recent months but at least United have been getting results whereas Chelsea find it impossible to close out matches.
A lot has happened since their last meeting at Old Trafford in September 2007, Avram Grant’s first game in charge. The pressure seems to be getting to Scolari, the Chelsea midfield is every bit as dysfunctional as in Mourinho’s third season and there’s an incredible nervousness behind the scenes because of Abramovich’ decision to tighten the purse strings. The club has cracked down on lots of really quite harmless newspaper stories with legal threats etc.
United are much more stable, despite the Tevez kerfuffle – it’s a simple case of Joorabchian getting his valuation wrong, as I understand it – and the fact that they’ve really lost some of their dynamism and unpredictability up front since the arrival of Berbatov – NOT the hardest working man in showbiz.
My prediction is a nasty, tightly contested 1-0 win to Fergie’s men, courtesy of a Vidic header, but so far, only 10% of the members of the Footbo community seem to agree with me about the result.
What do you think?
(Win a signed Michael Ballack shirt by telling us your prediction for the match. Comment on the orginial blog post with your prediction – the exact score and your own preview of how you think the game will develop. The closest predictor will win the shirt. Enjoy the match and see you on the game board during the match – we are certain there will be plenty to discuss!)
This post was written by Raphael Honigstein, and originally published on Footbo.com, the social network for football fans.
Also See: Manchester United v. Chelsea – English Premier League – 11 January 2009 – Live Blog
Topics: Chelsea, English Premier League, Manchester United
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tie, simple as that, neither team can generate anything at the moment, and thus niether team will find the prowess to win this one. i’m betting on a 0-0 or 1-1 game, with rooney and lampard to score, in that order, if anything.
January 9th, 2009 @ 06:53Haven’t Utd won 5 and drawn 2 of their last 7 PL games in which they have not conceded a single goal? Interrupted, admittedly, by the need to go to Japan for an extra 2 games. And haven’t they won 10 and drawn 4 in all competitions since the Arsenal defeat? (ignoring the meaningless Derby game). Haven’t they had 11 clean sheets in those 14 games?
Makes “neither team can generate anything at the moment” look a bit questionable does it not?
And write-off Chelsea at your peril! This is a true 6 pointer because these are the 2 teams who will be head to head come April. Same as the last 2 seasons.
January 9th, 2009 @ 11:39I believe the match will end 2-1 in favour of Chelsea. Drogba and Lampard will get the goals.
January 9th, 2009 @ 16:43I think the match will end 1-1.
Both teams have very potent attacks, but also strong defences. In terms of quality they are well matched. Manchester United have had the better form over the last few weeks, and Chelsea have been stumbling, but when it comes to big games form goes out of the window. Both teams have had about a week to prepare, with Man Utd only playing their 2nd string on Wednesday against Derby.
January 9th, 2009 @ 17:39I think Chelsea will nick it 1-0,Lamps to score.
January 10th, 2009 @ 08:06I see it ending 2-1, to United. Rooney, Ronaldo and Joe Cole with the goals.
January 10th, 2009 @ 15:28