All the talk this week has been about Manchester United meeting with former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho, who was sacked at Stamford Bridge in December, about possibly taking over at Old Trafford in the summer as they look to remove Louis van Gaal from his role a year earlier than expected. Van Gaal has upset supporters this season with a negative style of play, but United’s home performance against Stoke during the week was the most impressive they have been this season and if he is to bring the fans around they’ll need a similar performance against Mourinho’s former side in West London this Sunday.
We preview this match, as well as the Bournemouth v Arsenal clash, with bookmaker WilliamHill.com to provide our best EPL picks on the two games playing in the EPL this Sunday.
Chelsea v Manchester United: 2.15 – 3.00 – 3.80
The news that their club met with Jose Mourinho and his representatives about taking over the manager position will have thrilled the majority, if not all, of the Manchester United supporters as they have become increasingly irate at the fact that they are missing out on the title battle in a season where the big names are stumbling continually. They have lost four of their last nine matches in the EPL but have been showing signs of improvement as they have won three of their last five games and their win over Stoke on Tuesday night saw their first goals in the first half of a home match for 12 fixtures in all competitions at Old Trafford, but can they continue this form to win back to back away league matches for the first time since March 2015?
Chelsea will be confident in not allowing United to push towards the top four in the league as they come into this match unbeaten in nine matches under interim boss Guus Hiddink. The only problem with this is that they do not win many matches as they have drawn five and won four, although two of these victories came against lower league opposition in the FA Cup, and only their 3-0 domination of Crystal Palace saw them look like the Chelsea of old.
We feel that that Hiddink’s steady Chelsea side and van Gaal’s negative tactics will continue a pattern of results between these sides that have seen draws or one goal wins in ten of their last 11 clashes. On top of this both sides are struggling with injuries in vital areas of the pitch and we can see both teams being happy with avoiding defeat as they share the spoils in West London this Sunday afternoon.
Our best Chelsea v Man United bet is back the draw @ 3.00 with William Hill.
Bournemouth v Arsenal: 4.00 – 3.20 – 2.00
This match is a must win game for the visiting side to The Vitality Stadium this Sunday lunchtime as a recent slump in form has seen them slip to fourth place in the EPL table three points behind their local rivals Tottenham Hotspur and eight points behind Leicester at the top of the league, who they have to face next weekend. They face a Bournemouth side that they defeated 2-0 at The Emirates at the end of December, but now they are without a win in four Premier League matches while The Cherries have not lost in three. The odds suggest it’ll be a close match, but can The Gunners get their expensively assembled team to work as expected?
Bournemouth have been beset with injuries ever since winning promotion to the Premier League, but they have spent their money wisely in January by bolstering positions all over the park and their signing of Benik Afobe, who spent 14 years at Arsenal before moving to Wolves a year ago, for a reported £10m has been a masterstroke as the striker has already scored in his last three matches and he’ll be motivated to find the net against his former employers this weekend.
Arsenal, on the other hand, have lost the ability to find the net with no goals in three matches as they drew 0-0 away to Stoke before losing 1-0 to Chelsea and drawing 0-0 with Southampton on home soil. Bournemouth have the worst defensive record outside of the bottom four in the league so Arsenal will certainly get chances to score this weekend but with just one win and two clean sheets in six away EPL games Bournemouth will get their chances too. We feel that there is value on goals from both of these teams in this match and we are backing either side to win and both sides to score on the South coast this Sunday.
Our top Bournemouth v Arsenal tip is back Both Teams to Score No Draw at odds of 2.75 in the William Hill Sportsbook!