Two-Horse RaceBy Anthony Marinetti Thirteen games into the Premier League season, Manchester United and Chelsea seem to be in a class by themselves. The two giants have a combined 21 wins thus far, exceeding that of the third-, fourth- and fifth-place teams that have a combined 18. Portsmouth, Arsenal and Aston Villa already trail Man U by 11, 12 and 13 points, respectively. Over the past eight Premier League games, Man U is undefeated with seven wins and one draw, while Chelsea has won six with one loss and one draw. In that stretch Man U has outscored its opponents by a staggering 18 to 3 margin. Almost as impressive, Chelsea has buried the opposition 14 to 4 in that stretch. Are you ready to win some cash? WagerWeb.com has built a solid reputation by offering their customers quick easy deposits, the best customer service in the industry, fast payouts and great bonuses. They specialize in the European Market for all sports including one of the best Football/Soccer divisions with lines for all the Major Conferences from around the Globe! Visit WagerWeb.com Today and start Winning!The odds of any other team threatening the two top dogs are becoming slimmer by the minute. Arsenal may still have an outside chance, but after a statement win over Liverpool last week, it stumbled against Newcastle on Saturday and was lucky to come away with a point. The teams go head-to-head next Sunday, in a game where the outcome will be indicative of who comes out on top at season's end. So if the EPL has indeed become a two-horse race, which team has the advantage as we approach the middle of the season? Here is how I see it: Attacking will be the key for both squads. The departure of Ruud Van Nistelrooy has not been much of a problem for the Red Devils. Louis Saha, Wayne Rooney and the resurgent Ole Gunnar Solskjaer have produced beyond expectations and been a nightmare for opposing goalkeepers. The stability that Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes provide in midfield, along with the electrifying play of Cristiano Ronaldo, amount to an attacking force that simply cannot be suppressed. However, beware of the hottest striker on the planet right now, Didier Drogba. The man is absolutely on fire, and it is downright scary to watch the tape on Drogba as he pounds defenders and rocks the net with a league-leading eight goals. Andriy Shevchenko is also beginning to find his form and fall into a comfort zone, and with the core of world all-stars creating chances from the midfield, Chelsea has the most talented attack in the EPL. Chelsea defender Geremi knows how important the attack has been. "The fact we have been scoring lots of goals is good for the team and good for the strikers to have confidence, because we had been creating a lot of chances and we believe we were unfortunate not to score many," he said. "But now we have fortune on our side and we are scoring. "We have got the target; we have to put Man United under pressure." The early line on next week's match has Manchester United a slight favorite. Overall, at this point in the season cohesiveness trumps talent; though, if Chelsea continues to come together it may be unstoppable down the road. But for now, the advantage goes to Manchester United. I see it winning 2-1 in a hard-fought struggle on Nov. 26.
--- by WagerWeb at 1800-sports.com on November 20, 2006
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