Will Chelsea be able to finish the job in Turin?

Juventus/Chelsea, 7.45pm, ITV4, Free Bets, Best Odds

Only 58% of teams who win the home leg of a Champions League knockout clash 1-0 have progressed to the next round, meaning that Juventus are priced far too high at 3/1 with 888sport to qualify. But while the hosts may offer good value, is Guus Hiddink’s honeymoon period really going to end in the worst way imaginable? Here are all the key statistics:

THE FORM GUIDE
Chelsea have won six successive games since sacking Luiz Felipe Scolari. The wins since Hiddink took charge have come by narrow margins though, with three of the last five finishing 1-0, one ending 2-1 and the other being their 2-0 triumph away to Coventry at the weekend. Since losing the first leg at Stamford Bridge, Juventus have beaten both Napoli and Torino 1-0 in Serie A. However, a reasonably weakened Bianconeri side lost 2-1 away to Lazio last week in their Coppa Italia semi-final.

CHELSEA IN ITALY
The Blues hadn’t played away to Italian opposition for five seasons before their 3-1 defeat to Roma in November. What made the manner of the loss even more surprising was that their previous match in Italy had been played at the same ground and they had thrashed Lazio 4-0 on that occasion. Chelsea have made five trips to Italy in the Premier League era and have a mixed record: winning one, drawing two and losing two.

JUVENTUS AGAINST ENGLISH OPPOSITION

Posted: March 10th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment

Shocking statistics about how often clubs change managers

It’s almost unheard of for a coach to spend five years at one club

Roman Abramovich’s decision to axe Chelsea boss Luiz Felipe Scolari this week means that he has sacked just one less manager over the last five years than fellow Londoners West Ham have in their entire history. It also means that Guus Hiddink will become the fourth man to coach the Blues in just eighteen months. Over that period they have lost just six league matches, which is the same number as Manchester United have lost during the same spell. Here are more crazy statistics about managerial casualties:

» Just seven of the 92 clubs in the top four tiers of English football have kept their current manager for a period of over five years.

» The clubs of the four longest serving Premier League managers - Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger, David Moyes and Rafael Benitez - are all in the top six. Martin O’Neill has spent the sixth longest spell in charge of a top-flight club and Aston Villa are currently reaping the rewards for that continuity.

Posted: February 12th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | 1 Comment

Who are the media expecting to take charge at the Bridge?

Click here for all the prices in the next Chelsea manager market

chickendinner have our ears locked firmly to the ground in order to pass on all the latest whispers about who will succeed Luiz Felipe Scolari at Stamford Bridge. However, as our round-up below shows, it’s hard to rule anyone out:

Sky Sports say that either Guus Hiddink or Avram Grant will be hired within 24 hours
[Sky Sports]

But in Russia they are “200 percent” certain Hiddink will stay put
[Setanta Sports]

Elsewhere there are reports Gianfranco Zola and Steve Clarke will be appointed by this afternoon
[sport.co.uk]

Former Barcelona boss Frank Rijkaard will consider any approach from the Blues
[Sporting Life]

While Roberto Mancini was spotted boarding a tube near Chelsea recently
[The Spoiler]

Posted: February 10th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment

Guus Hiddink is the favourite once more for the Chelsea job

Click here for all the latest odds on who will succeed Scolari

Anyone who followed chickendinner’s coverage of the next Chelsea manager market in the summer will remember how volatile it is and that about a dozen different men spent time as favourite before Luiz Felipe Scolari was appointed. This time round it’s no different.

Guus Hiddink and Avram Grant started as joint 2/1 favourites and since then Sven-Goran Eriksson’s odds were briefly suspended, Gianfranco Zola closed as favourite last night and Frank Rijkaard emerged as the frontrunner early this morning. However, Hiddink has now re-emerged as favourite closely followed by Grant after claims from Sky Sports that Chelsea will decide between one of them in the next 24 hours.

Posted: February 10th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment

Fourteen teams have better Big Four records than Chelsea

Big Phil’s side are the worst in London at beating the big guns

Following Chelsea’s recent defeats against Manchester United and Liverpool, chickendinner has looked at every Premier League club’s record against the Big Four this season and the results don’t make good reading for Blues fans.

Luiz Felipe Scolari’s team average just 0.2 points per game against their rivals which pales in comparison to their West London rivals Fulham (1.67) and relegation-battling Tottenham (1.50). Another surprising stat is that only four teams have so far failed to take any points against the top-flight’s elite.

Only six non-Big Four sides have beaten the Champions League challengers though and five of those teams got their one win against Arsenal, with the exception being Spurs, who beat Liverpool:

*Teams are ranked first on their PPG (points per game) and then on their GD (goal difference)*

SIDE STAT: Chelsea topped the Big Four mini-league in each of their title-winning seasons with a combined record reading: P12 W9 D2 L1

Posted: February 5th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment

Redknapp’s record means he can still evade the blame

Five stats about this weekend’s football

1. Manchester United have won seven of their last eight matches while Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal have all only managed just three wins each over that period.

2. Luiz Felipe Scolari has lost four consecutive meetings against Chelsea’s Big Four rivals, while Rafael Benitez has won three and drawn one of four this season.

3. Just one of Arsenal’s last five league draws has been followed by a win, which doesn’t bode well for next weekend’s trip to Tottenham.

4. Bottom club West Brom haven’t lost consecutive league games since November, whereas last year Derby only once managed to get through two without a defeat.

5. Despite their recent struggles, Tottenham still have the ninth-best Premier League record from the weekend Harry Redknapp took charge onwards. Over the course of his sixteen games in charge they have taken just five points less than Arsenal and six less than Chelsea. However, if they still fail to deliver now after a month of heavy spending, Redknapp will no longer be able to fall back on Juande Ramos’ shortcomings as an excuse.

Posted: February 3rd, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment