Lampard can lead improving Chelsea into FA Cup final at expense of United
City to sweep aside Arsenal in other Wembley semi-final Euchen Glen seeks repeat of 2018 John Smith’s Handicap win
It is FA Cup semi-final weekend, and having already advised Chelsea to win the competition at 8/1 before their quarter-final win over Leicester, it was pleasing to see them avoid Manchester City at this stage of the competition.
A semi-final against Manchester United is winnable and I would not put any Chelsea backers off going for them to win again tomorrow at odds of 2/1.
Frank Lampard’s team have been inconsistent this season but they have the makings of a top side, and some shrewd defensive tweaks could result in them finishing closer to Manchester City and Liverpool next season.
A poor record against the top seven teams in the Premier League – they have won just four of 12 matches in all competitions against Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool, Leicester, Wolves and Tottenham – lends some cause for concern, but that fails to tell the whole story, as those four wins have come in their past four matches against those rivals.
That suggests Chelsea are improving and managing games better against the bigger teams as the season progresses, and Lampard can gain his first win over United since taking the reins at Chelsea.
The other semi-final seems a more straightforward affair and it is difficult to imagine anything other than a Manchester City win against Arsenal tonight.
City beat Arsenal 3-0 in the first match after the football season resumed, and any neutral observer of Arsenal’s win over Liverpool in midweek will have seen how fortunate Mikel Arteta’s team were to come out on top. The same will not happen again here and we can expect a big Manchester City win.
We are about to enter the final week in the Premier League season, and with four big clubs involved in the FA Cup, focus turns to those teams toward the bottom. Newcastle look a big price at 16/5 to win away at Brighton on Monday.
At first glance, Newcastle’s players seem to have knocked off for the season already, losing their past three games by an aggregate score of 10-2, but two of those defeats came against Manchester City and Tottenham, while the other came as a result of giving away two penalties and losing a one-goal lead on the road at Watford.
That was an unlucky turnaround and Steve Bruce’s side seem better set up for away trips, with the pace and guile of Allan Saint-maximin and Miguel Almiron ideally suited to a counter-attacking style. Before that defeat by Watford, Newcastle had thrashed Bournemouth and beaten Southampton in their previous two away matches and a repeat of those performances should be enough to beat a Brighton team who have won just two of their past 15 Premier League matches and are all but safe.
There are two decent meetings at York and Newbury today and the biggest betting race of the day – the John Smith’s Handicap – takes place on the Knavesmire at 2.30pm.
A huge field of 22 runners is set to go to post and it could be worth backing Euchen Glen to repeat his victory in the race two years ago.
He suffered an injury after that 2018 success and was off the track for the best part of two years before returning for two runs in the past month, and he has caught the eye over trips that stretch his stamina.
On both occasions he got tired late on, but he travelled ominously well and looks as if he retains all his old ability. The drop in trip looks certain to suit and he is just 3lb higher than when winning this a couple of years ago. He looks a big each-way price at around 16/1.