Man Utd can close gap on City at head of Premier League

Thursday, 19th January 2012

There's a cracking line up of fixtures in the Premier League this weekend with the live action kicking off on Saturday lunchtime with Norwich v Chelsea at Carrow Road. I'm struggling to get the recent defeat to Spurs out of my mind when it comes to Norwich, as I think it's the first time Paul Lambert has really got it wrong so far this season. That game over the Christmas period was set very early on with Tottenham dominating posession and it only looked as though it would be a matter of time before they opened the scoring and go on and win the match. However, the disappointing thing was the way Norwich appeared as though they were waiting to get beat in that match and I wondered why Lambert didn't look to change the course of that game by making the relevant changes that were needed to ask more questions of Tottenham.

It's because of that game that I'm fairly cautious about how Norwich will approach the visit of Chelsea on Saturday. The Canaries are in great shape this season and they shouldn't fear anyone, especially at Carrow Road. The 3-1 scoreline in the reverse fixture somewhat flattered the London club and if Lambert can get his team to give this a real go then a result is possible.

Chelsea still don't convince me under Andres Villas Boas and they look like they've hit a wall at the moment. I watched them recently beat Portsmouth 4-0 in the FA Cup but bizarrely that's a game that they could have lost given the performance. Don't get me wrong, they can at times be very good but I'm not sure the manager knows how to set the team up with the players he has at his disposal. I know people talk of this being a transitional period and that Chelsea have some older players, but whose to say Villas Boas just isn't getting the best out of them?

I don't think the discrepancy between the two sides lining up at Carrow Road on Saturday is as big as the odds suggest and I would be a layer of Chelsea at the prices available. I don't see Norwich as being a 5/1 shot and I'm happy to take the 10/3 available at Bet365 on Norwich draw no bet.

Saturday's live evening game is Bolton v Liverpool at the Reebok Stadium. Liverpool have been very good away this season and although they've struggled breaking teams down at home having far too many draws, the way Kenny Dalgish sets his side up to hit teams on the break has been an effective tactic on the road. Just like Chelsea, it's fair to say Liverpool are underachieving so far this season given the money they've spent in the transfer market and go into this weekend's matches three places off the top four.

Dalglish has some work to do to turn those draws into wins at Anfield, but I think his side will be too strong for a struggling Bolton team, so I'm going for a 1-0 correct score bet in the favour of Liverpool at odds of 13/2 with Coral.

We've two good matches lined up on Sunday afternoon with Man City v Tottenham the early kick off from the Etihad Stadium. City aren't flying at the moment but a 1-0 win at Wigan on Monday night saw them open up a five point advantage over third place Spurs at the top of the table. Vincent Kompany's absense through suspension is slightly evened out by the fact that Emmanuel Adebayor will be missing because of his loan agreement with City. This probably means Jermain Defoe will play up front, which limits Tottenham's options from the back and means they'll have to out-pass their opponents.

If Ledley King plays for Spurs then this would be a big bonus with Harry Redknapp's side on a really good run of form and anything bar defeat will be a statement of intent from the London club. I'm not sure I'd want to bet on either side to win however and I don't think either manager will be disappointed taking a point away from this match. It's with this in mind that I'm tipping up a 1-1 draw at odds of 13/2 with Ladbrokes.

The late Sunday kick off is Arsenal v Man Utd at The Emirates Stadium. Neither side have pulled up any trees so far this season which says something for United who are just three points behind City at the top. The 8-2 win at Old Trafford for Sir Alex Ferguson's side has been the highlight in what has been a very strange season.

I think both managers overestimated their teams' ability coming into the season, following United's defeat in the Champions League to Barcelona you really expected Sir Alex to make the required signings in the Summer to close the gap. That didn't happen and as a result they were knocked out of a really average Champions Leaguie group and are now scrapping away trying to keep a hold of City's coat-tails in the Premier League.

Arsenal are looking more and more like a one man team with Robin Van Persie virtually carrying them on his own so far this season. You can only imagine what kind of pickle the team might be in had Van Persie suffered any injury this term and It says something that both of these teams have re-signed former players from their halcyon days in a bid to improve things.

I think United will be too strong here and although they're not playing with their usual swagger I'm going to plumb for a 2-1 win in favour of the away team at odds of 9/1 with Coral.    

I've picked out four teams to win from the lower divisions this weekend. I fancy Bournemouth to keep up their good run of form at home to Tranmere whilst Sheffield Wednesday can bounce back from their defeat against Charlton last week and beat Hartlepool at Hillsborough. In League 2 I think Oxford will be too strong for Hereford whilst Swindon should have enough for a Macclesfield side who played an extra game in the FA Cup on Tuesday. An accumulator with bookmaker Victor Chandler pays just over 11/2.  

Steve Claridge's Weekend Premier League Tips

Tip #1: Norwich v Chelsea (21st Jan 2012) Norwich to win draw no bet @ odds of 10/3 with Bet365.

Tip #2: Bolton v Liverpool (21st Jan 2012) Liverpool to win 1-0 @ odds of 13/2 with Coral.

Tip #3: Man City v Tottenham (22nd Jan 2012) 1-1 correct score @ odds of 13/2 with Ladbrokes.

Tip #4: Arsenal v Man Utd (22nd Jan 2012) Utd to win 2-1 @ odds of 9/1 with Coral.

Steve's Weekly Multi: Bournemouth to beat Tranmere (10/11); Sheffield Wednesday to beat Hartlepool (4/7); Oxford to beat Hereford (4/7); Swindon to beat Macclesfield (2/5). A fourfold accumulator pays just over 11/2 with Victorchandler.co.uk. 

Booking Steve Claridge

Our resident football betting tipster, Steve Claridge, is available for hire and is the ideal choice for a wide range of personal appearances and media work.

Enquire About Steve Claridge's Availability

Football League Show Host & Radio 5 Live Presenter

Quick Links