
Manchester United vs Chelsea Predictions & Betting Tips
Sunday sees Manchester United host Chelsea in the 4:30pm kick-off in the Premier League. After…
The first of our Jan 26 Championship tips takes us to Norwich v Sheffield United. Only six games take place from the Championship on Saturday due to the FA Cup Fourth Round; that’ll be music to the ears of punters wishing to stick with form and minimise the risk posed to their stake money.
The game of the day, without doubt, takes place at Carrow Road where two promotion contenders meet in a 3.00pm kick-off. Norwich enjoys home advantage and goes in search of the points needed to keep them in the hunt for the title; meanwhile, their opponents start down in fourth but could leapfrog their hosts with the right result. This will be a cracker and those in attendance should prepare themselves for a thrilling contest.
Norwich start the week with a record of 15 wins and eight draws against just five defeats, leaving them a point off leaders Leeds United; however, it’s a title no side seems to want to win at the minute. Leeds have lost three of their last four, winning the spare, while The Canaries have won only one of their last five. Their form in that period also shows three draws and a defeat with two of their last three ending in a level finish.
The title hopefuls did make a welcome return to winning ways last time; they beat Birmingham City at this venue last Friday night, dishing out a 3-1 defeat to The Blues thanks to goals from Pukki, Vrancic and Trybull. All three came inside the first 25 minutes of that match. Another fast start would suit home support perfectly.
Four wins in their last five Championship matches has thrown Sheff Utd into contention for the title. Now they will rate their chances of beating a rival and adding weight to their chances of, at least, bagging a return to the Premier League without the need for the play-offs.
The Blades started the year with a convincing win over Wigan Athletic on the road, before beating QPR at home. They did suffer what was their sixth defeat of the campaign last weekend when leaving Wales empty-handed, ending on the wrong side of a 1-0 result at Swansea City.
That must go down as a bit of a shock result, given the form of both teams involved; however, there will be plenty of ups and downs on a bumpy road between now and the final count.
Losing matches won’t stop them grabbing success, it’ll be how they respond to defeat that’ll matter most. McBurnie scored the only goal at the Liberty Stadium that day, bulging the net on 65 minutes; however, the final score did nothing to dampen manager Chris Wilder’s spirits. The beaten gaffer told members of the press in his post-match chat he thought his boys were outstanding in the first half but paid the price for missed chances.
The main focus of punters this weekend will be on trying to pick the value out of the FA Cup matches; however, this tie will be a great advert for Championship football and is sure to receive a fair share of attention.
On paper, it looks to be a 50/50, pick-em match-up but bookmakers have set-up in support of the locals and have Norwich priced as favourites for the result. Backers looking to follow that thinking should do so at Bet365 where they’ll get their hands on a useful 7/5. The draw is yours at 12/5 with the same firm and that catches our eye as its outsider of three in the match betting. A bet on Sheff Utd will give you a shot at 15/8 with Coral.
This will be the second meeting of these sides this season following Sheffield United’s hard-fought 2-1 win at Bramall Lane back in August; Sharp grabbed a 90th-minute winner to decide the tie.
Norwich will be out for revenge; however, it’s worth noting each of the last two meetings between these rivals has ended with both teams on the scoresheet and a third will do us at 4/6 – best price with Bet365. After more? Interestingly, 2-1 has been the final score in three of the last four clashes, The Blades winning the two most recent of them. 2-1 Sheff Utd may be worth a punt at interest stakes with 10/1 available at Bet365.