Manchester United meet Chelsea at Old Trafford in a huge clash in the race for European qualification.
Victory would put Man Utd up to sixth in the table for at least 23 hours, whilst Chelsea can go eighth with a win if Brighton lose to Brentford or the Bees don’t outscore them in goal margins if both teams win.
Team News
Mason Mount could return for Man Utd after recovering from a recent calf injury.
Jonny Evans (thigh), Lisandro Martinez (foot), Casemiro (hamstring), Tyrell Malacia, Christian Eriksen (both knee), Jadon Sancho (personal) and Amad Diallo (knee) remain sidelined.
Chelsea will welcome defenders, Reece James and Marc Cucurella back from an one-match ban.
Conor Gallagher (suspension), Noni Madueke and Lesley Ugochukwu (both knock) are ruled out.
Malo Gusto (tendon), Trevorh Chalobah, Ben Chilwell (both hamstring), Wesley Fofana (ACL), Christopher Nkunku, Romeo Lavia (both fitness) and Carney Chukwuemeka (knee) remain ruled out.
When is Kick-Off?
Man Utd host Chelsea in a 8:15pm GMT kick-off at Old Trafford on Wednesday 6 December, live on Amazon Prime in the UK.
Stat Attack
- Man Utd are unbeaten in their last 11 league meetings against Chelsea (W4, D7).
- Chelsea have claimed three points in their last five league visits to Man Utd (D3, L2).
- Utd’s Casemiro scored in both meetings against Chelsea last season (W1, D1).
- Diogo Dalot has made more interceptions than any other Man Utd player this season, with 13 interceptions in 13 league appearances.
- Levi Colwill and Lesley Ugochukwu have been booked in each of Chelsea’s last two away matches (W1, L1).
Prediction
After labouring to a lacklustre defeat at Newcastle in which their defence struggled with the Magpies’ attacking intensity whilst their own attack was just poor, Man Utd need to reset and just focus on delivering a much sharper performance with better defending.
Chelsea meanwhile outclassed Brighton with two first-half goals proving crucial to the win because their discipline remains aggressive – as evidenced by another red card, whilst their defensive marking for both Brighton goals were poor.
Improvement therefore is needed within both teams for different reasons but if Man Utd can just show more unity and intensity in their play, they could well nick a draw otherwise I fancy Chelsea to edge this battle between two inconsistent teams.
Prediction: Manchester United 1-1 Chelsea
Result: Manchester United 2-1 Chelsea
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