Chelsea v Bournemouth: Chelsea to win to nil – 11/10
Antonio Conte is a crowd pleaser when it comes to the Chelsea faithful and is somewhat different to nearly every other manager in the Premier League, especially when it comes to domestic cups it seems.
That’s because he understands that fans want to see their clubs win trophies and looks not to buy into the horrible recent trend of rotation roulette that modern managers are favouring. For the Italian two or three changes from the norm are enough, so don’t expect too much chopping and changing as The Blues welcome Bournemouth to Stamford Bridge tonight.
Eddie Howe’s men arrive in London woefully off form, with no victory in their last six games and not even goal scored in their last couple of outings. In fact, despite bringing the prolific Jermain Defoe in this season, The Cherries’ goal return is in the bottom five of the league this season – with only 15 netted with 18 ties played.
That stat has us leaning towards a Chelsea win to nil at 11/10 tonight and we reckon that would be a perfect early Christmas gift for Antonio Conte.
Bristol City v Man United: Man United to win with both teams scoring – 11/5
Before you start bellowing about this one, hear us out!
Fans may chant about Man United parking the bus, but if that’s the case then that bus must be sitting on a flat tyre in Carrington as The Reds have only kept one clean sheet in their last six games and that was against Bournemouth, whose struggles in front of goals we’ve already talked about.
Bristol City manager Lee Johnson may have shelled out £450 on a bottle of post-match plonk for Jose Mourinho, but he only really cares about the vintage form his charges have been in lately. The Robbins have won their last five on the spin in the Championship and have already dumped out three Premier League opponents so far in this competition.
It’s also six games since City last failed to find the net and while we can’t see them toppling United later, we certainly feel Bristol will trouble the scoreboard. That’s why we’re tipping a victory for the Red Devils with both teams scoring at 11/5.
Score your Football bets on PaddyPower.com* All odds correct at time of posting.