Chelsea travel to Old Trafford on Thursday aiming to claim their first win at the ‘Theatre of Dreams’ since 2013.
Juan Mata scored the winner last time the Blues triumphed here; he now finds himself as an outside character for tomorrow’s opposition, who are in calamitous form at the moment after just three wins in ten.
Thomas Tuchel’s side are also in indifferent nick, but their top four aspirations were given a massive boost by Sunday’s late win against London rivals West Ham.
The Hosts – Manchester United :
Chelsea’s hosts find themselves in crisis with three leagues losses in their last four, including a thrashing away at rivals Liverpool, and a Champions League finish now seems like an impossibility for Ralf Rangnick’s men.
United simply cannot seem to find any rhythm or tactical consistency, with players like Marcus Rashford and Harry Maguire particularly struggling for form. This has led to a plethora of formational and personnel switches from Rangnick in recent weeks, making the hosts somewhat difficult to predict.
United have an extensive injury list to likewise contend with. The Red devils will certainly be without Paul Pogba, Cavani, Luke Shaw, Fred, Jadon Sancho and captain Harry Maguire so expect a similar team to the one that lost against Arsenal on Saturday, perhaps with Rashford instead of the absent Sancho.
United reverted to a back three with little success against Liverpool, so their typical 4-2-3-1 would be a sensible prediction for Thursday’s contest. Expect starts for Scott McTominay and ex-Chelsea favourite Nemanja Matic in midfield, with the increasingly disillusioned but nonetheless dangerous Bruno Fernandes as an attacking midfielder.
Rangnick’s side are overdue a good performance, but their defensive incapabilities make them a vulnerable opposition. Expect goals in this one.
Chelsea Team News :
Chelsea will be without Mateo Kovacic, Ross Barkley, Ben Chilwell and Callum Hudson-Odoi for Thursday’s game, whilst Andreas Christensen is also a doubt, but manager Thomas Tuchel will welcome back Madrid-bound Antonio Rüdiger to bolster the Blues’ defence.
Chelsea are in dire need of a few composed performances in preparation of next month’s FA Cup final versus Liverpool, with recent capitulations against Arsenal and Brentford exposing the fragilities of Tuchel’s squad.
Rüdiger should provide more defensive stability, but in reality Chelsea have been uncharacteristically dominated in midfield in recent games – last Wednesday’s pivot of Loftus-Cheek and an off-colour Kante offered limited control both in and out of possession.
Despite his awful penalty miss on Sunday, the Blues seem a more measured outfit with Jorginho in midfield, rather than deploying two box-to-box players simultaneously.
Romelu Lukaku could also be a notable mention when discussing the lineup as this is his former side and one which he also struggled at. It’s understood that Lukaku coming on for just 8 minutes in Chelsea’s home fixture against Manchester United sparked the subsequent interview that Lukaku did to Italian media and frustrations led that he didn’t start against his old club, so, does he have a shout for this game? Yes, but I’m expecting Tuchel to stick with Havertz.
Predicted line up (3-4-1-2): Mendy; James, Silva, Rüdiger; Loftus-Cheek, Kante, Jorginho, Alonso; Mount; Havertz, Werner.
Prediction: 2-2
Chelsea will control proceedings and craft the better chances, but recent defensive errors will creep into their game once again and gift the hosts a couple of frustrating goals
