English Premier
2008-08-17 - Manchester United vs Newcastle United
A Sports Betting Pick by Chappers
- English Premier League -
Old Trafford
17th August 2008PM KO 4pm (live on Sky)
Manchester United (last season 1st EPL)
Played 38 with 87 points
Manchester United are the most successful team in the EPL history and can never be ruled out of any title race and I don’t see this season as being any different. They won the title last season on the last day of the season and to be honest had an awful start but as is the norm Manchester United proved that you can never write them off and the title once more came to Old Trafford.
As things stand not one new signing has come through the doors of Old Trafford but this could well change before the opening game. To be honest I would be surprised if United did not bring in any new faces before the season starts. The main person out of the door at Old Trafford was Gerard Pique who left for Barca.
Manchester United won the community shield last weekend on pens when they beat Portsmouth. I only managed to see the first half but was still impressed with the way that United played and what I saw they could have had the game put to bed and played some nice football in the process and this was without Rooney and Ronaldo so I fully expect Manchester United to be once more challenging for the title this season and for me they will still be the team to beat.
Newcastle United (last season 12th EPL)
Played 38 with 43 points
For the second season on the bounce Newcastle stayed outside the top ten in the EPL, but from what I saw of them, this position seemed to be where the team should have ended up. Now with me knowing quite a few Newcastle fans and I’ve been seeing where they reckon next season could take them and they all seem to be saying the same thing (well the ones with sense) and that is a top ten finish would be what they would like and anything else would be a bonus.
Not to many people have come through the door as of yet with Jonas Gutierrez coming in, and it looks like Fabricio Coloccini will also be brought in before the deadline and maybe even this game v Manchester United. Keegan did say only a couple of days ago is that he hoped to bring in a couple of more people before the deadline, but its seems the players leaving could also be the talk of the Tyne with a reported head to head between the manager and owner re Alan Smith, who the manager wants to keep but its reported that the owner wants rid, so watch this space to see who wins the battle.
I think that Newcastle are more than capable of getting to the top ten for the first time in three seasons but they are also just as capable of having another poor season. I think the key for them will be the forward line and if they can keep Owen fit throughout the season then they could do okay. I think at the moment as thing stands this is a mid table team and nothing more and unless a couple of big names come their way then I think its once more going to be a frustration season for the toon army.
Head to Head
Manchester United own this fixture in recent seasons and have won five out of the last six including a 6-0 win last season. Newcastle have never done well at Old Trafford but did manage a draw back in 2004. They have also failed to score in their last visits to Manchester.
Verdict
Last season Manchester United did not start at all well when the drew 0-0 with Reading at Old Trafford on the first day and once more the fixtures have come out and given them another first game home tie but this time against Newcastle.
Last season Newcastle where hammered 5-0 at St James and 6-0 at Old Trafford so the last thing Newcastle needed was a first game of the season away at the champions but I guess with the 0-0 on the first game last season they could hope that United wont start their season quickly.
However I think that this will be an easy win for Manchester United and while the 6-0 or 5-0 is doubtful, I do think that Manchester United could win this by 2 or 3 goals and with 1.35 on offer its a decent bet, but you have to careful with it being the first game of the season but with Chelsea getting stronger than last season then Manchester United can not really afford to slip up at home to teams like Newcastle.
So Manchester United to win at 1.35 is where I’m going but like I said be careful of the first day shocks.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Manchester United to win this match
