Manchester United should have plenty of faith in their Premier League clash with Chelsea from the Champions League win over PSG on Tuesday. Compared to the Blues, who last claimed victory at Old Trafford back in 2013, the Red Devils can also take heart from a strong home record. It was a topsy-turvy start to the season for United, but the trigger for a more regular string of positive results may be their 2-1 triumph in Paris. The unfortunate second-half goal of Anthony Martial cancelled out a spot-kick from Bruno Fernandes, but Marcus Rashford struck late to settle an end-to-end competition. I think that the result was good, “Solskjaer said,” I thought we deserved to win. “We’ve built openings.” In midfield, Scott McTominay and Fred were solid, while new wing-back Alex Telles looked like a natural ball-player on debut. Axel Tuanzebe and Aaron Wan-Bissaka were superb at the back to keep Kylian Mbappe and Neymar quiet.
In terms of team selection, Solskjaer has some hard choices to make, but in a good way after a previous 4-1 triumph in this competition at Newcastle. Everything else seems in position to march up the table if the Red Devils can overcome the defensive woes that cost them so dearly against Crystal Palace and Tottenham here.
In winning over Brighton and Palace, Chelsea gave glimpses of their ability, but now there have been more downs than ups this term. As well as losing to Liverpool on home turf, against West Brom and Southampton they dropped disappointing points in 3-3 draws.
During Tuesday’s goalless stalemate with Sevilla in the Champions League, Frank Lampard will be satisfied with an improved defensive performance as new keeper Edouard Mendy recovered from a thigh injury. “I was satisfied with the professional aspect of the result” Lampard said. Seville is, no doubt, a top team in European football.
The team ‘s focus and concentration on getting the result was fantastic. We’ve made a lot of good choices, so it’s a very good place to build for us. It’s a good outcome, I guess. A clean sheet was a huge deal for us. Mendy played really well, he already has two clean sheets now.
Chelsea was a little uninspiring in attack, however, and if this game is played at a quicker pace and opens up more, it remains to be seen how they can cope at the back.
Lampard later said we lost our opening game against Valencia last year, as I said before the game, so it’s a much better start for us and it gives us confidence ahead of what’s going to be a tough group, no matter how you look at it. ‘But, yeah, league games ahead of us right now … Manchester United is a huge test for us off the back of a very good result for them, but we have to go there with faith.’
After the defender dropped awkwardly in the second half and looked in some pain, Lampard allayed concerns about Thiago Silva’s fitness. “He didn’t flag it, so I think we’re all right,” Lampard said. ‘I thought the things I spoke about, his experiences and qualities, were shown by Thiago.
As they prepare to take on United this weekend, the Chelsea manager hopes his players are buoyed by their show.
“It will give us good faith to get through the game,” Lampard said.
Man Utd head into Saturday’s clash as the form favourites, with four wins and two losses from their last six matches in all competitions. Both of those defeats, however, came in United’s two home Premier League games. On the road the Red Devils look more relaxed than they do in their own backyard, which, this weekend, should inspire Chelsea.
In their last six matches, Chelsea picked up two victories, three draws and one loss, but also lost on penalties to Spurs. This season, Lampard’s men haven’t lost on the road, picking up one win and two draws in all competitions in 90 minutes. In their last five matches, the visitors are undefeated, if you don’t count the shoot-out loss, and have been scoring goals for fun.
Between these two old rivals, Man Utd lead the head to head record, which is not a surprise given their dominance of English football over the years. The last time the two clubs locked horns, however, Chelsea ran out the victors. On their way to a 3-1 win in the FA Cup, goals from Giroud, Mount, and a Maguire own goal helped Chelsea. Fernandes scored the only goal for United from the penalty spot late on.
For the hosts, Anthony Martial is suspended, however new signing Edinson Cavani could make his debut for Man Utd. Axel Tuanzebe could face a late fitness test, while both Mason Greenwood and Phil Jones have injury doubts.
Billy Gilmour, Edouard Mendy, and Thiago Silva are a concern for Chelsea, but the core of their team is expected to be fit and ready for the trip to Old Trafford. Both teams look fantastic going forward and have not kept many clean sheets, which bodes well for the much-anticipated Premier League clash on Saturday.
Over 2.5 goals have been produced in three of the last four meetings between these two clubs, and both teams have scored in three of their last five encounters. Both teams scored and over 2.5 goals were scored in four of Man Utd’s last six matches before the game against PSG. Both teams have scored in three of Chelsea’s last four outings, and over 2.5 goals have been produced in four of their last five games before the Sevilla clash.
Betting Tip
- Over 2.5 Goals – 20/31
- Both Teams To Score – 10/19
