Man Utd vs Chelsea Match preview

Champions League: Man Utd vs Chelsea

On Wednesday night Roman Abramovich will finally have the chance to get hold of long desired trophy. He has managed, with the help of billions of dollars, to turn Chelsea into the squad capable of getting the most important title in European football. Will he succeed in reaching this goal is not only up to him, but it also depends on the other side. Ferguson has been on United’s bench for more than 20 years, during which time he has won more trophies than Chelsea did in their history. In the last two seasons, not even the suspicious capital that brought the best players from all over the world to the Blues, wasn’t enough for Chelsea to win the title. The final clash will happen on Wednesday.

Ferguson, for the second time?

United haven't lost a single match on their way to the Champions League finals. They went through the group competition without many problems; they were so superior that reserve line-up played in the last game. In the knock-out stage they first eliminated Lyon, then Roma, only to beat Barcelona in two semifinal legs. However we shouldn't confuse United in Premier League whose attack crushes the rivals across the league with United in the Champions League. After a disastrous defeat in Barcelona, about ten years ago, Ferguson has completely changed the tactics in European games. Today, United in Europe remind more of Juventus from glory days than on Premier League United. Ferguson almost always decides for 4-5-1 tactics with reinforced midfield and a pretty deep defense line. Such tactics leaves much space for counterattacks at which United are the best. Fantastic Michael Carrick is in charge of the midfield this season, being United's key player who always delivers the first pass. United solve the problem with passing the ball from their own to the opposite net, with the help of fantastic individual qualities of Ronaldo and Rooney who are capable of carrying the ball from one net to the other very fast. Reinforced midfield and deep defense line leave enough space to use their swiftness as an advantage over the opposing defenders. The tactics wouldn’t be so successful if United didn’t have the best defense on the planet at the moment. The fact that they conceded only one goal in 6 knock-out games, and that in the last four games Roma and Barcelona played without creating a single serious chance to jeopardize Van Der Sar’s net speak enough of the perfection of their tactics. The question remains: Will Ferguson opt for this tactics in the finals or will he surprise Grant and most of football fans? He is the only one with the answer.

It has been two weeks since the last match in Premier League when United confirmed their title by winning Wigan. None of the Ferguson’s players is injured so he can count on the complete squad. It is very important that Vidic and Rooney are completely recovered so there will be no changes in the back line. As for defense United will definitely field the well-coordinated four Evra-Vidic-Ferdinand-Brown, and besides Scholes and Carrick in the midfield Hargreaves will probably have a slightly more defensive role while Rooney and Ronaldo will be moved a bit forward. The only question is whether Tevez will get the chance or he will start on the bench, and some of the other wingers (Nani, Giggs, Park) will play in the midfield. If Tevez doesn’t start the match, Rooney’s role will be more defensive. United’s advantage, however, is that they can easily change any formation during the match.

Debut on the biggest scene

If someone told Chelsea fans ten years ago that they will play in the Champions League finals, they would have given him a good laugh. Still, billions of dollars were enough for Chelsea to make the team ready for the big finals. Blues fans will, on Wednesday, have the chance to get hold of the trophy they could only dream about before. In case they fail, this season will be wasted since the triumph in Moscow is Chelsea's last chance to get a trophy this year.

Chelsea went through many problems this year on their way to the big finals. They started the season pretty weak, running behind Arsenal’s back which was the result of constant problems in the locker-room and the management. In the end, Mourinho took the money and left and the problems became even bigger. Avram Grant took over, though he has never led such a serious club before, but thanks to some friendly relations with the investor he got an expensive toy to try out. After beginner's failures, the situation became complicated. The players in the locker-room divided into two groups: the ones loyal to Mourinho and the ones loyal to Abramovich. Was it Grant who solved the problem (which is not likely) or Roman alone had to explain the players who signs their checks each month, will remain a mystery, but nevertheless Chelsea started winning. It wasn’t enough for Premiership title but it was enough for Champions League finals. However, we can’t say that Chelsea were brilliant in the last few months. Their victories are usually the result of individual quality, first of all, Ballack's who has taken over the leading role after Mourinho left, and also the quality of other expensive stars. Very often Chelsea struggled to win achieving it with only one goal margin and there was also the absence of system in their play which was their main characteristic while Mourinho was on the head. Grant gave up the attacking play when he realised that he doesn’t have the squad capable of such a thing. But we are yet to see if he has enough skill to outsmart Ferguson in the decisive duel. Grant also has no injury problems and the match in Moscow could be the last in Chelsea jersey for some of the players including Lampard and Drogba.

Betting Verdict

This is one of the most difficult final matches when it comes to betting. We usually know who is closer to taking the title. This time there are no favourites and anything can happen. The question is which tactics Ferguson will opt for, since it can affect not only the outcome but also the number of goals in this game. Still we shouldn’t forget that United conceded only one goal in 6 knock-out stage games all of which have ended with under 2,5 goals. On the other hand, Grant will probably try the same tactics that helped him win United in the Premiership (United fielded the combined line-up because of the match against Barcelona) which also doesn’t promise many goals. That is why, and because of the importance of the game and some other facts that don't point to many goals being scored here (United have never scored a goal in Russia and English clubs usually have trouble in scoring on Russian soil) we suggest that you think about betting on under 2.5 goals. If you are thinking about the final outcome we can only suggest: be careful with the stake!

Our tip: Bet 5 on Under 2.5 goals
Odds 1.5 at
Bookmaker: Gamebookers