Manchester United vs Chelsea Preview:
Possible starting lineups:
Manchester United:
De Gea; Young, Smalling, Lindelof, Shaw; Herrera, Matic, Pogba; Lingard; Rashford, Lukaku
Chelsea:
Kepa; Azpilicueta, Rudiger, Luiz, Emerson; Kante, Jorginho, Kovacic; Pedro, Higuain, Hazard
Manchester United host Chelsea in the most interesting fixture this weekend. This is a direct battle for the Champions League in which are included four teams. Just to mention, Tottenham lost to West Ham on Saturday. United are on the sixth place with 64 points. The Red Devils are in poor form at the moment. Man United have lost seven of their last nine matches across all competitions. That is their worst run of form in 57 years. In addition, they are in series of three defeats without a single goal scored and nine conceded. First they suffered a 3:0 defeat to Barcelona and were eliminated from the Champions League. On Sunday they suffered another painful defeat. The Red Devils lost 4:0 to Everton at Goodison Park. It was United biggest defeat to any opposition since October 2016 when they lost with the same result from Chelsea. Ole Gunar Solskjaer's men have suffered another defeat on Wednesday night, losing 2:0 to Manchester City. The defense looks pathetic, United have gone 12 consecutive matches without a clean sheet in all competitions. The atmosphere in the squad is far from ideal, while the players confidence is low. Solskjaer has some injury issues ahead of this match. Ander Herrera, who is struggling with a hamstring injury, may be ready for this fixture as he has spent the last few days training. Phil Jones remains a doubt, while this match probably comes too soon for Antonio Valencia and Eric Bailly.
Chelsea are on the fourth place with 67 points and they are also looking for a place that guarantees the Champions League football for the next season. Maurizio Sarri's men have a 'back-up' option as play the semifinals in the Europe League. The actual form is mixed, they have one win, one draw and one defeat on the last three matches in the Premier League. The Blues first won 2:0 against West Ham thanks to the goals scored by Eden Hazard. The Belgian international is the best player this season, with 16 Premier League goals and 13 league assists to his name. No player have been directly involved in more goals this season. However, Chelsea weren't too good in the last two rounds. They lost 2:0 from Liverpool at Anfield, while shared the points with Burnley last weekend playing a 2:2 draw. N'Golo Kante and Gonzalo Higuain have scored the goals on that match, but that wasn't enough for three points as Chelsea conceded two goals from set-pieces. For this match Sarri has lot of injury issues. Callum Hudson-Odoi is out for at least six months after undergoing surgery on an Achilles tendon. N'Golo Kante, who left the match against Burnley with a rib injury, is rated as doubtful. Marcos Alonso and Antonio Rudiger missed the clash with Burnley through injuries and both remain doubtful. Should goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga start, he will make his 50th appearance for the club in all competitions, as well as Ross Barkley.
Manchester United vs Chelsea Preview:
Both teams need the points from this match. Manchester United have the home advantage, but I think Chelsea are in better form at the moment. The Red Devils are in series of three defeats across all competitions. Even worse, they failed to score a single goal in that period. The players confidence is low and I can't see them winning the match.
Manchester United vs Chelsea Pick: Chelsea +0.25 @ 1.71 with
Pinnacle