Ian Ogg previews the two Premier League games on Super Sunday and expects Chelsea to stamp their authority on Arsenal.
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Jose Mourinho can mastermind another Chelsea victoryEverton v Manchester United (1330 BST)
The good times are back at Old Trafford even if defeat at Chelsea did provide a dose of realism following their much lauded victory over the noisy neighbours.
A top four spot in the league is almost guaranteed (1/16 if you're interested) and they are a point above City and playing a style of football to which United fans have become accustomed. Chris Smalling appears to have put his injury concerns and questionable form behind him with his contract extension being hailed as a positive and even Ashley Young and Marouane Fellaini are thrilling the crowds.
Of course, it's easy to paper over the cracks through which Robin van Persie and Angel di Maria appear to have fallen and disappeared without trace while relatively little has been heard of last season's great white hope Adnan Januzaj, but they're entitled to put a little gloss on things after the negativity of last season.
It's almost been a reverse of that situation at Goodison with doubts raised about Roberto Martinez's ability to put together a sound defence and Kevin Mirallas and Romelu Lukaku - or at least their agents - seemingly keen to hawk themselves to the highest bidder but this is not the first time in recent years that Everton have endured a tough campaign on the back of a successful season.
As with Januzaj, young players like John Stones and Ross Barkley are prone to inconsistency and injuries, to that pair and others, haven't helped but the Toffees are now unbeaten in four and have won five of their last seven in all competitions.
That good run could come to an end against a side that they have an historically poor record against with Everton having lost more Premier League games against United than any other opponent despite doing the double over them last year.
However, optimism will stem from a narrow defeat at Old Trafford - a game in which they missed a penalty - along with United's modest away form and injuries to Michael Carrick and Daley Blind which will disrupt the engine room no matter how well they performed against Chelsea without the pair.
United may be back in form and playing better football but they have still only won five on the road (two of those have come in their last three) and backing a side at 6/5 to win away at an in-form team doesn't appeal.
Similarly, this represents a step up for Everton in terms of the opposition that they've been facing of late and they are easy to overlook.
The goalscoring markets are more interesting with both sides to score a tempting 4/5. United's recent games - with the obvious exception of Chelsea - have thrown up plenty of goalmouth action but Everton have kept clean sheets in each of their last three at Goodison.
Those matches were against Burnley, Southampton and Newcastle and it will be disappointing if United's much vaunted attacking line-up can't cause more problems.
Such reasoning obviously brings backing over 2.5 goals into the equation at odds against and I'm not sure it's entirely relevant that four of the last five games between the two - as well as the last three at Goodison - would have failed to collect given the change in managers.
However, we've seen United huff and puff on the road a few times this season and I'd rather take the shorter priced option in a contest that should be keenly contested.
Verdict: Everton 1 Man Utd 1
Opta facts:
Everton have dropped more points from winning positions than any other team in the Barclays Premier League this season (19).
The Red Devils have won just three of their last nine away league games (D4 L2).
Romelu Lukaku is one of only four players to have scored a Premier League hat-trick versus Manchester United (Kuyt, Bentley and Eto’o the others).
Radamel Falcao hasn’t managed to fire a single shot on target in his last eight Premier League appearances for Man Utd, despite playing 355 minutes in these games.
Manchester United have suffered a defeat in each of their last two Premier League trips to Goodison Park (1-0 in Aug 2012 and 2-0 in Apr 2014).
Arsenal v Chelsea (1600)
In 12 games between Arsenal and Chelsea under these managers, the record reads Chelsea won seven, drawn five and lost nil with 21 goals scored and six conceded.
At odds in excess of 2/1, should we look any further for a bet?
Chelsea are 10 points clear at the top of the table, the league title is sewn up and they've won 10 times on the road this season, while there is no doubt about their effectiveness in this type of game while some of Arsenal's players still have to refute accusations that they do not determine results in the big fixtures that define a season.
Even with a fully fit squad, Jose Mourinho's general gameplan may not have been too hard to predict but with injury concerns over all three senior strikers in the squad it seems increasingly likely that Chelsea will play a compact, pressing game with men behind the ball.
There is no incentive for Chelsea to be open and no incentive for them to win the game, avoiding defeat is key and will snuff out any remaining hopes of an unlikely title success for Arsenal.
The draw has been shortened accordingly and I don't believe that it would be the worst result for Arsenal either with four of their six games following this against sides in the bottom half of the table. They key game in securing second is likely to be their visit to Old Trafford and a point in this fixture could be seen as a confidence boost given their poor record against the leading sides in the division which has seen them pick up just 12 points out of 30 against their top seven rivals.
Amongst those are four gained from Manchester City but Manuel Pellegrini arguably has more in common with Wenger than Mourinho in terms of their approach to the game and games and putting faith in those results could be misplaced.
Arsenal haven't scored a goal against Chelsea in four games now and backing a 0-0 scoreline (or no goalscorer) at 9/1 merits serious consideration and would have collected in two of the last three league games in North London between the teams.
There are obvious dangers attached to that given the attacking talent on display and the possibility that Wenger and Arsenal will not settle for a point and leave gaps at the back but only Southampton and Chelsea themselves have conceded fewer home goals than the Gunners.
Arsenal have been involved in only one such match this season and that was away at Besiktas in the Champions League and the same is true of Chelsea with their stalemate coming at the Stadium of Light in November but Chelsea's last two games have featured just one goal and another low scoring contest appears to be on the cards with under 2.5 goals at around 4/6.
Eden Hazard has been increasingly influential while Diego Costa has been struggling with injury and he has six in his last nine; despite this run he remains of interest in the first goalscorer market and as an anytime scorer.
There are rumours that Costa could return and it would be no surprise to see Chelsea's price collapse if his name does appear on the teamsheet and would obviously increase their chance of scoring.
Olivier Giroud has been leading the line with aplomb for Arsenal and should have been freshened up to a degree by only coming on after 72 minutes in the FA Cup semi-final for all that that game went to extra time.
That was one of Arsenal's biggest games of the season and they failed to impose themselves on Reading. There may not be as much as stake on this game (arguably) but anyone who watched that contest will find it difficult to envisage them dominating Chelsea even if they have been released from their shackles.
For the naysayers, their struggles against the Sky Bet Championship side only provided further evidence that Arsenal lack what it takes in the crunch encounters but that is not an accusation that has ever been levelled against a Mourinho side.
It may seem contradictory but I think the 0-0 scoreline is worth a small interest given Chelsea's likely approach and problems up front but they are a big price to come out on top again so the main stake will be on the Blues draw no bet in a game that I can't see Arsenal winning.
Verdict: Arsenal 0 Chelsea 0
Opta facts:
Olivier Giroud has scored 10 goals in his last 12 matches in all competitions.
Arsene Wenger has lost just five competitive home games by a 3+ goal margin during his tenure as Arsenal manager; three of which have come against Chelsea.
In the reverse fixture against the Blues back in October, Arsenal failed to have a shot on target for the first time in a Premier League match since September 2003 (Manchester United away).
Cesc Fabregas has a league-high 16 Premier League assists this season. Only Thierry Henry (20 in 2002-03), Frank Lampard (18 in 2004-05) and Fabregas himself (17 in 2007-08) have ever registered more in a single Premier League campaign.
Arsenal have won more points in 2015 than any other Premier League side (33).
Chelsea have scored first in all 20 of their games in all competitions in 2015
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