Chelsea v Manchester United Champions League Preview
Chelsea face Manchester United in a Wednesday night Champions League quarter-final. It’s a repeat of the 2008 final between the two English sides when Chelsea lost on penalties in Moscow. This time, the Blues are favourites to win the first leg at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea have gone eight matches unbeaten but are out of the race for a Premier League title after a 1-1 draw with Stoke to put them 11 points behind United at the top of the table. That leaves the Champions League as their only hope for silverware this season. Both sides are priced very short to make the semi-finals with Inter or Schalke. Chelsea have qualified three times in six knockout ties with English sides.
If they want to advance, Fernando Torres needs to prove his worth and find the back of the net. The £50 million Liverpool transfer has just one shot on goal. But, he plays well against United with three goals in his last five matches against them. He has 13/2 odds at Coral to score first. Yossi Benayoun may return from injury for Chelsea. David Luiz, who scored in their Premiership win over United at Stamford Bridge in March, is ineligible. That victory extended Chelea’s unbeaten home record against the Red Devils to 10 fixtures.
For United, Wayne Rooney has six goals in his last seven matches, including a hat trick over West Ham. He has 6/1 odds at Coral to score first. United haven’t scored in five of their last eight matches at Stamford Bridge, and haven’t scored more than one in a match during that span. On top of that, they are the lowest scorers left in Champions League competition with just nine goals in eight fixtures. John O’Shea and Rafael Da Silva are out but Rio Ferdinand and Edwin Van Der Sar returned to training.
However, United have won each of their four Champions League matches against English teams and have just one loss in their last 21 European away fixtures. On the other side, Chelsea have just two losses in 41 Champions League home matches. A draw looks plausible and United should be able to get an away goal, making the 1-1 draw a tempting bet with 11/2 odds at Coral.
Chelsea v Manchester United Match Odds (supplied by Coral)
Chelsea: 11/10
Draw: 21/10
Manchester United: 11/4