The top of the Soccer Betting Premier League is expected to be a battle between Manchester United and Chelsea once again this season. The Blues are doing their part, starting the season with two wins while United has a win and a tie.

Manchester United was able to get a 1-0 win against Portsmouth even without a number of their key players including Cristiano Ronaldo. Also missing were Ryan Giggs, Michael Carrick and Owen Hargreaves.

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Portsmouth boss Harry Redknapp believes it is a two-team race in the Premier League once again. “They are still so strong that I can see them and Chelsea being the two slugging it out again for the title. They will probably meet again in a repeat of the Champions League final too, I shouldn’t wonder. Certainly, I think Arsenal and Liverpool have it all on to finish above them. Chelsea were very strong last week and United will be even stronger than they are now if they sign Dimitar Berbatov (from Tottenham), as I think they will, in the next few days.”

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The Premier League season gets underway on Saturday with seven games including Arsenal hosting West Brom. Defending champion Manchester United and second place finisher Chelsea will start their seasons on Sunday.

Manchester United will not start the season at full strength so manager Alex Ferguson will have to mix and match early on. Last year Manchester United started slowly with just two points in their first three games but came back to win the title. Manchester United will start this season without superstar scorer Cristiano Ronaldo who is out until October. Ronaldo had 42 goals last season. Also missing to start the season for United will be striker Louis Saha, Nani and Anderson. “Last season we had a staggered start, Tevez and Anderson joined us and weren’t 100 percent fit, Ronaldo got suspended for three games after the first game, then Rooney got injured in the first match against Reading and was out for three games,” Ferguson said, “By the time we got everyone focused and fit, we then went on a fantastic run with our consistency and really good football. I’d prefer to get a good start, we want that, but we are also able to go the long distance.”

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Chelsea star Didier Drogba is expected to miss the start of the Soccer Betting Premier League season. He is still recovering from a knee injury and is not expected back until the end of the month.”Didier will not play in our first game against Portsmouth and will probably miss the second against Wigan. If there are no more problems he should be ready for the game after that,” said manager Luiz Felipe Scolari.

It is possible that Drogba will be back for the game on August 31st against Tottenham but that is not a guarantee. “But when you have a knee injury, you just never know,” said Scolari, “I have been getting a progress report from the doctor every day. He’s getting better and is working with a fitness coach back at the training ground. I hope he will be ready to start training next week. But he will not play until he is in good condition.”

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Drogba could be signing a new contract soon that would keep him at Chelsea until 2012. “I am confident talks with Chelsea will lead to a positive resolve about my future,” Drogba said.

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Jose Mourinho was named manager at Inter Milan on Monday, replacing Roberto Mancini who was fired last week.

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Jose Mourinho has been without a job since leaving Chelsea last September. Inter Milan released a statement about the hiring saying, “Thanking Roberto Mancini and his staff for the successes obtained in four seasons in charge of the team,” Inter said, “All of FC Internazionale welcomes Jose Mourinho and his coaches and wishes them the best of luck in their new jobs.”

“He can win the Soccer Betting Champions League with this team and I would like to be a part of it,” said winger Luis Figo. Mancini was fired last week even though Inter won their third straight league title.

Read more on Inter Milan Soccer News: Inter Milan Hires Jose Mourinho

A berth in the Soccer Betting Champions League final and a second place finish in the Premier League was not enough for Chelsea manager Avram Grant, as he was fired on Saturday.

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The loss to Manchester United in the Champions League final seemed to seal his fate. “Everybody at Chelsea FC would like to thank Avram for his contribution since taking over as manager last September,” the club said, “We will now be concentrating all our efforts on identifying a new manager for Chelsea and there will be no further comment until that appointment is made.” Grant took over for Jose Mourinho in September and did a fine job but coming away without a title was not acceptable for Chelsea. Owner Roman Abramovich has said that he wants a more exciting style of play and a trophy. Grant was facing an uphill battle replacing the popular Mourinho, especially after Mourinho led the Blues to back to back league titles.

It is possible that Grant may have been fired even if Chelsea had won the Champions League final. The heart-breaking loss on penalty kicks to United definitely made it easier for the club to let him go.

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Manchester United defeated Chelsea in a penalty shootout 6-5 in the Soccer Betting Champions League final after the teams played to a 1-1 draw in regulation and extra time. Chelsea had a number of excellent chances to win but it was Manchester United that ultimately took home the trophy. United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar saved the 14th penalty of the shootout to give United the win. He stopped Nicolas Anelka and Manchester United won their third European Cup title.

The final between United and Chelsea was a hard fought game that included a late red card going to Didier Drogba. He was sent off in extra time but very little time remained. The expulsion really hurt Chelsea in the shootout since Drogba is one of their top scorers. The first goal of the game was scored by Cristiano Ronaldo who headed in a shot in the 26th minute. It was the 42nd goal of the season for the best player in the world as he took a Wes Brown cross and headed it into the corner. Manchester United easily could have led 2-0 but goalkeeper Petr Cech was brilliant in stopping Tevez and Carrick.

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For the first time in Soccer Betting history, the Champions League final will be an all-English affair as Manchester United and Chelsea meet on Wednesday in Moscow, Russia. The two Premier League squads know each other very well and Wednesday’s match promises to be a classic.

Manchester United is a -145 favorite with a total of 2 under at SBG Global. The three-way line has United +140, Chelsea +200 and the Draw +200.

There are big names on both sides as Manchester United has the world’s best player in Cristiano Ronaldo while Chelsea has big stars like Didier Drogba and Michael Ballack. It could come down to the goalkeepers. Manchester United has Edwin van Der Sar who has the experience edge while Chelsea has Petr Cech.

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Manchester United and Chelsea are preparing for the Soccer Betting Champions League Final in Moscow next Wednesday with Chelsea hoping to win and Manchester United expecting to win.

Chelsea Midfielder Claude Makelele believes that Chelsea would earn a lot of respect by winning the Champions League. “People look at winners and say: ‘This is a big team.’ I remember all the teams who came to play Real Madrid in the Champions League were scared. They knew that they would lose but they might lose by four or maybe six goals. It would be good to see Chelsea have this power. It is difficult winning it but it would be so good for the players as well as the club.”

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Nicolas Anelka was part of the Madrid team that won eight years ago and he also believes Chelsea can win. Anelka was signed by Chelsea in January but may start on the bench in the Champions League final with Didier Drogba as the main striker. “It is not frustrating, I am new in the club,” said Anelka. “The manager wants to play 4-5-1 and I have to stay on the bench. I don’t know if I will start. You need to ask the manager. Even if I am on the bench, I will have a chance to play and I will do my best.

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Chelsea won 2-0 at Newcastle on Monday to keep their Soccer Betting Premier League title hopes alive. With the win they drew even with Manchester United in the standings although Man U holds the goal difference advantage. Chelsea will now need to win their final game at home against Bolton and hope that United either loses or ties at Wigan.

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Chelsea didn’t score the first goal of the game against Newcastle until the 61st minute as a foul was called on Newcastle’s Abdoulaye Faye. Didier Drogba was able to put the ball into position for Michael Ballack who put a header past Steve Harper. The Blues scored their second goal as Florent Malouda took a pass from Frank Lampard and scored in the 81st minute.

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Chelsea defeated Liverpool 3-2 in extra time on Wednesday in a thrilling game that sends the Blues into the Champions League Final against Manchester United. Chelsea advanced 4-3 on aggregate goals. The game was an emotional one for the Blues after they squandered a 1-0 lead in the second half but Frank Lampard scored the go-ahead goal in extra time. It was the first match for Lampard since his mother died last Thursday.

Frank Lampard scored the penalty spot in the 98th minute. Didier Drogba added his second goal of the match in the 105th minute. “What a character Lamps is to come in on Sunday and train and try and block out what has been a terrible week for him and his family and everyone close to Frank,” Chelsea captain John Terry said. “I’m sure Frank will dedicate the goal to his mum tonight.”

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Fernando Torres and Ryan Babel scored for Liverpool. “I thought we were very close. We played well in the second half, but the third goal killed it,” Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez said. “We had control of the game. We had two chances in extra time and we were in control and we were preventing them from creating.” Drogba scored the game’s first goal in the 33rd minute after nearly scoring a minute earlier. Torres scored the tying goal in the 64th minute for Liverpool.

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