The return of Wayne Rooney from illness can help the champions clinch what would be a vital victory
© Getty Images
Enlarge
Click here to bet on the Premier League at bet365
Sir Alex Ferguson said this week that if his side can "survive" their match at Tottenham this Sunday then they will have a great chance to win the league. Their experience is so important at this stage of the season and their record against Spurs is so good that I can see them not only surviving but taking all three points.
Tottenham may have been flying this season and in theory, victory over United at White Hart Lane could put them back in with an outside chance of winning the title. That's the good news. The bad news is that they have not beaten United since 2001.
It's an incredible record and one that I struggle to see Tottenham breaking, even if they have played some fantastic football this season. Having watched them fall apart against Arsenal last weekend, I am slightly concerned that they may be tiring ever so slightly and another defeat on Sunday would put them back into a fight for third, rather than looking up.
It is interesting that two of the past three meetings between these two at White Hart Lane have ended up as goalless draws. The time before that it was 1-1. You would think that with attacks like both possess, there would be a hatful of goals. Well, sometimes they cancel each other out, obviously.
Betting bullets
- Bet of the weekend: Manchester United to win at Tottenham - 7/5 bet365
- The weekend punt: Sunderland to win at Newcastle - 5/2 bet365
- The weekend treble: Chelsea, Fulham and Stoke to win - 9/2 bet365
There are plenty of people who have compared this United side rather unfavourably with those of recent history. The midfield, they say, is too old and static; the defence is creaking and the strikers are too reliant on Wayne Rooney being fit and in form. But the fact is they are still up there, they are defending champions and they know how to get it done.
I just think that with Rooney back from illness and with some of their most important players on top form, United will pinch it against a Spurs side who may just have an inferiority complex at the very top level, not helped by the humbling at Arsenal. United are 7/5 with bet365 to win it and that is the bet of the weekend.
Sunderland have not beaten Newcastle in 14 matches so the hosts will no doubt be pretty confident going into this weekend's north east derby at St James' Park. They have real firepower up front and are still in with a realistic (if ultimately, unlikely) shot at finishing in the top four so will be desperate for another win.
However, Martin O'Neill has got Sunderland playing well again after his arrival at the club and they will make life difficult for Newcastle in a match that means so much to the fans of both clubs. The fact that Sunderland lost 4-0 at West Brom last weekend, I am willing to believe, was a blip.
When Sunderland were briefly the more successful of the two, that didn't mean they would beat Newcastle because these derbies are so different to the customary fixtures. Both sides go all out from the first second and for that reason, I am sensing an upset. Bet365 offer 5/2 that Sunderland win it and that is the weekend punt.
And so to the weekend treble. Get this right and we'll be in the black again. West Brom may have beaten Sunderland last time out but they have been second-best against all the top teams and visiting Chelsea, needing the win, can do just that at 10/11 with bet365.
Fulham should be too strong for struggling Wolves at Craven Cottage, at 4/7 and to complete the treble, home advantage should be enough to see Stoke over the line against Norwich at 5/6. If those three come in, it will work out at 9/2. Good luck!
RUNNING TOTAL (as of March 2): -5.47pts
(Based on: 3pts stake for bet of weekend and 1pt each per weekend punt and weekend treble)
Please note that odds are correct at time of publication and are subject to change.
Simon Cambers is ESPN.co.uk's betting correspondent
© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
Simon Cambers
Simon Cambers is ESPN.co.uk's betting correspondant Simon Cambers is ESPN.co.uk's betting correspondant
