Chelsea kick off the Premier League’s Halloween weekend with a scary encounter against Manchester United.
Victory will lift Chelsea up to fourth in the table until Sunday evening at minimum, whilst Man Utd can climb as high as 10th with a win.
Team News
Maxence Lacroix is ruled out for Chelsea after he suffered a hamstring injury during their Carabao Cup exit at Liverpool on penalties.
Cole Palmer (suspension), Malo Gusto (fitness), Pep Chavarria, Jorrel Hato, Moise Caicedo (all knock) and Jamie Gittens (ankle) could be available
Emiliano Martinez (jaw), Reece James (knee) and Joao Pedro (thigh) are still sidelined.
Man Utd have no fresh injury concerns to report after their 3-0 defeat at home to Bournemouth last Sunday (25 October).
Kobbie Mainoo (unspecified) and Marcus Rashford (fitness) could be available for selection.
Benjamin Sesko (shin), Luke Shaw (unspecified), Patrick Dorgu (hamstring) and Manuel Ugarte (knee) are still absent.
When is Kick-Off?
Chelsea host Man Utd at Stamford Bridge on Saturday 31 October at 12:30pm BST, live on TNT Sports 1 in the UK.
Stat Attack
- Chelsea have claimed five points in three of their last five league meetings against Man Utd (W2, D1, L2).
- Man Utd have won one of their last six visits to Chelsea (W1, D3, L2).
- Chelsea have never met Man Utd at Stamford Bridge in a league meeting on Halloween, although they did meet in West London on Halloween in 2012 which the Blues won 5-4 in a League Cup tie.
- Chelsea are looking to avoid suffering consecutive league defeats under Xabi Alonso for the first time.
- No Man Utd player this season has made more passes in the top flight than Harry Maguire, with the defender having produced 491 passes in eight appearances.
Prediction
Now out of the Carabao Cup after a scrappy battle at Liverpool, Chelsea now must knuckle down and try to keep building form in the league because consistency has been a weak point, which certainly showed at Anfield amidst several changes.
Man Utd meanwhile have had a clear week to just reset because they frankly looked bland aside from the odd moments against a much hungrier Bournemouth, which is a huge concern but the board are right to stand by Michael Carrick because the mess is on their and the players’ behaviour.
Even if the players don’t feel like performing for the manager, they should at least have the psychological desire to play for the fans at bare minimum, yet they don’t even do that which is alarming and I frankly can see an one-sided result coming.
Prediction: Chelsea 2-0 Man Utd
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