Sky Bet's in-play football betting: A guide for FA Cup fifth round - Chelsea v Manchester United
Sky Bet have launched new tools for their in-play football betting, we pick out some statistics for Chelsea v Manchester United.
The biggest change in 2019 is the addition of live in-play player statistics, updated as the game develops.
This includes all the main categories such as shots, shots on target and passes - making it much easier to track those stats-based bets.
The events tab displays all-important team news in the form of complete line-ups, as well as goal scorers, plus those players who have picked up yellow and red cards.
Alongside all that, the usual possession, corners, shots on target and shots off target are easy to find, so you can judge the balance of play based on the statistics.
With Chelsea v Manchester United the highlight of the FA Cup weekend, we look at some of the factors to consider for betting in-play on Monday night.
Shots
It's been a bizarre few weeks for Chelsea. One common theme throughout their last three games though is goals, and plenty of shots to go with it.
The Blues were beaten 4-0 by Bournemouth at the end of January, but they responded with a hefty 5-0 win over Huddersfield at Stamford Bridge. They couldn't build on that though, with Manchester City hitting six past them last time out.
One positive factor is that their home form is strong and that could put them in a good position here. Maurizio Sarri's men have won their last five in front of their own supporters in all competitions, although United have won their last six away.
That should set it up to be an open, attacking game where we should see a high goal count, that's reflected in the 5/6 price on over 2.5 goals.
Goals also tend to mean a high shot count and this game should be no exception. Chelsea had 23 shots in their favour in that home win over Huddersfield, while they posted 12 in their previous FA Cup round success against Sheffield Wednesday.
Manchester United saw 15 shots against Fulham, while they had 10 in a narrow win over Leicester. As a minimum, we'd expect an attack-minded United side to at least hit double figures in this category.
One player to consider in-play is Jorginho. Sky Bet often offer markets on players to have shots from outside the area in big games and the defensive midfielder is one to back if the option is available.
He may have only had 12 shots in the Premier League this season, but 11 of those have come from distance with just one inside the penalty area. Jorginho had limited playing time in the Europa League, not even making up two games worth of minutes, although he did post another shot from distance there.
For the away side, Paul Pogba leads the way for shots taken by a considerable margin. He's demonstrated an ability to strike from most attacking areas of the pitch, with 40 of his 79 Premier League shots coming from outside the area.
32 have been from 18 yards or less while seven have been from inside that six-yard box. When it comes to in-play betting, the value is there for some Pogba-based statistic bets.
Tackles
A popular market, especially for games which see two sides who can attack come up against each other.
The midfield area should be key here with both teams possessing players who can dispossess the opposition. Not only are the players in the middle of the park key for Chelsea, but so too are their wide defenders who have a huge responsibility to stop any attacks coming down either flank.
That's why Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso lead the way for successful tackle in this Blues side. Azpilicueta sits seventh for tackles completed in the Premier League this season with 70, that's the highest for any player in a top-six side.
N'Golo Kante and Jorginho are also key in this department and Chelsea could see a high tackle count in this game, they will be desperate for a clean sheet after their performance at the Etihad.
While both Chelsea full-backs have more completed tackles than any United player, what we have seen in this area is that they are more evenly spread across Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's squad.
Midfield duo Ander Herrera and Nemanja Matic lead the way with 83 Premier League tackles between them while Luke Shaw and Paul Pogba are narrowly behind.
A point of interest is that the majority of those tackles do come in games away from home, particularly for the midfielders. It could also be a busy evening for Shaw and Ashley Young, with Eden Hazard, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Willian providing the wide threat for the opposition.
Offsides
Both sides sit in the top-five for offsides in the Premier League this season. That said, Alvaro Morata leads the way for Chelsea and he has since joined Atletico Madrid while Romelu Lukaku is now second choice to Marcus Rashford.
Willian has been caught offside eleven times though, a significant part of Chelsea's total of 63. Like the tackles, there's more of an even spread among the Manchester United squad with Juan Mata and Alexis Sanchez on seven alongside Jesse Lingard and Marcus Rashford with six each.
In Chelsea's Carabao Cup win over Tottenham, the last time they faced a top-six Premier League side at home, there were a total of five offsides in the game.
For United, their 3-1 FA Cup victory away at Arsenal had seven offsides, six of which were given to them. Rashford was caught twice in that game, which is why he is worth considering to be flagged offside at least once here.
As time progresses, the odds will grow for the offside tally. It may not be individual players, but team offsides are worth considering - particularly in the second-half where the game should open up a bit more.
The offside count won't be as high as the shots or tackles, but it's still an area to explore with both sides strong on the front foot.
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