Tag: Ibrahimovic

United Need to Find Another Gear

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Much has been said of Manchester United’s supposed recent good form. The reality is that they have been far from convincing. Despite reaching the last eight of the Europa League and winning the EFL Cup, they are still some way off reaching the top four in the Premier League. Their main problem has been in finding the net and a second striker that will deliver enough goals. They haven’t found anybody to partner Zlatan Ibrahimovic who can share the workload in terms of scoring.

United are a team that dominate possession in most games but don’t find the net often enough. This has been a repeating pattern all season. Wayne Rooney has fallen out of favour with manager Jose Mourinho. To make matters worse, Anthony Martial has been misfiring and still doesn’t appear to be true United quality.

No Top Class Striking Options

Too much has been asked of young Marcus Rashford. This young lad is still learning his trade and hasn’t really kicked on this season. Too much has rested on the broad shoulders of Ibrahimovic. His recent suspension has come at a bad time for United. It was no surprise on Saturday to see them labour to yet another draw at home to West Brom.

The pattern is all too obvious. United dominate the game in terms of possession but don’t score. They badly need to find a long term striking option for next season. At 35 years of age then it is clear that Ibrahimovic simply cannot go on for much longer. Even if United were to go on and lift the Europa League, that will still only paper over what is really needed at Old Trafford.

Will United beat the Blue half of Liverpool?

United face Everton on Wednesday in what is a vital game for them. They are in a serious fight to finish in the top four. This wasn’t something that the United fans expected when Mourinho took charge. Everton under Ronald Koeman has been a much tougher nut to crack this season.

They will surely want to bounce back after their 3-1 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield. The question is will they? This match represents an interesting betting proposition. Clearly United are struggling to score goals at the moment. Everton, on the other hand, is somewhat resolute in defence. So the draw at 16-5 with BetVictor appeals to us.

BetVictor also go 20-21 on their under 2.5 goals market. This is yet another bet that we feel may be value. Anything less than a win for United on Wednesday will really turn the pressure on them in terms of a top four finish this season.

Champions League – Chelsea v PSG Preview

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

With Arsenal and Manchester City having suffered home defeats in their first leg Champions League ties, Chelsea have the best chance of the Premiership being represented in the last eight.

A hard-fought 1-1 draw in Paris has given them a slender advantage for the return leg at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night. Jose Mourinho has been complaining about the persistent fouling from PSG in the first match, much of it focussed on Eden Hazard. In the end, Chelsea were more than happy to escape with a draw after being on the back foot for much of the second half.

According to the bookmakers, Chelsea are firm favourites to qualify but I think it will be a difficult night for the Blues. They scraped through against PSG last year, thanks to a late goal by Demba Ba. They were forced to attack that night having lost the first leg 3-1 but will be in two minds here.

Chelsea were rocked by a 1-1 draw at home to Burnley in the Premier League after that game but have since lifted the Capital One Cup and battled to a 1-0 win at West Ham. They were without Nemanja Matic for both games but he is eligible to return on Wednesday night. Defender Kurt Zouma did a wonderful job in filling in for him in two vital games but it remains to be seen whether his name will feature on the team sheet.

Striker Diego Costa has not been at his best in recent matches but his presence clearly troubles the opposition. However, PSG carry plenty of attacking threat with the likes of Ibrahimovic, Cavani and Lavezzi. It is going to be very difficult for Chelsea to keep them at bay for 90 minutes and the goals market interests me. I think that both sides will score during the game and one goal from PSG changes the complexion of the tie. They will then be in pole position, knowing that a second goal will leave Chelsea needing to score three to qualify. A 2-2 score-line would send the Blues out but it may be worth a speculative wager.

In the night’s other tie, Bayern Munich should book their place in the last eight by overcoming Shakhtar Donetsk. The first leg remained goalless after Xabi Alonso received his marching orders. They have more than enough strength in their squad to make up for his absence here and are worth considering on the handicap markets.

Chelsea v PSG DRAW @5-2 Sky Bet

Chelsea 2 PSG 2 @20-1 Betfair

Both teams to score @Evens Paddy Power

Bayern Munich (-2.0) to beat Shakhtar @29-20 Boylesports