Chelsea vs Man United: Match Preview, Team News & Predictions

This characteristic of grinding out results have helped Manchester United reach to where they are this season and this is exactly what Chelsea have been lacking. Along with that, United are also a bogey team for the west London side as they have failed to beat them in their last 10 Premier League meetings (6D, 4L), with their last win coming in 2017-18 season. Last time out, Chelsea were in better form and went to Old Trafford to play against a struggling Red Devils team but to everyone's surprise the Blues were 'played off of the park' and lost the game deservedly 2-1.

This time around the narrative remains the same with Chelsea being somewhat the inform team with them being unbeaten in the last five games (2W, 3D) whereas Utd have lost two of their last five games. Having dropped points against Burnley, this game is a must win for the home team because they have to return to winning ways in their bid for European football next season. With seventh place being sufficient for that, Mauricio Pochettino's men have two games in hand to West Ham who currently occupy that spot. United's bid for Champions League football next season is pretty much over with them being eleven points adrift of top four. But it is never over until it's mathematically impossible. With pressure mounting on Erik Ten Hag, anything less than a win could push him near to the sack.

Team News:

Both the teams have a whole host of injuries to deal with as Chelsea are still missing the likes of Wesley Fofana, Reece James, Christopher Nkunku, Romeo Lavia, Lesley Ugochukwu and Robert Sanchez confirmed being out of the tie. Malo Gusto and Ben Chilwell are fresh doubts for the game after the Frenchmen went off with a hamstring injury against Burnley and the Englishman arrived back from the international break with a knock. The likes of Carney Chukwuemeka and Trevoh Chalobah are also doubtful for the games as they sustained injuries before the Burnley game but Levi Colwill could return from a toe injury to give Chelsea a boost.

As for the Red Devils, both Raphael Varane and Victor Lindelof were substituted with issues during the draw with Brentford. Jonny Evans remains a doubt for the game too with Luke Shaw, Tyrell Malacia, Altay Bayindir and Anthony Martial are ruled out for the tie.