Chelsea vs Man Utd Preview and Betting Tip

We were out of luck with our Atletico win to nil bet in midweek. The game panned out pretty much as I thought it would with Atletico defending in numbers and breaking with purpose. However, they missed a couple of great chances and they were punished for some sloppy defensive play by Olivier Giroud. Now the focus switches to Chelsea vs Man Utd at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, the biggest match in the Premier League by far this weekend.

The bookies make Tuchel’s Chelsea the clear favourites at 5/4 after their hard-fought win against Atletico. Solskjaer’s United are as big as 12/5 with a couple of firms after their scoreless snooze fest vs Sociedad. The draw is chalked up at 23/10. Can Chelsea continue their excellent start under Tuchel? Or will Manchester United maintain their superb away record in the Premier League? We’ll find out at 4.30 pm on Sunday and you can watch the match live on Sky Sports.

Blues On A Roll

After their 1-0 win against Atletico on Tuesday night, Chelsea are now unbeaten in eight games under Thomas Tuchel. It has been a fine run and there is no doubt that Tuchel has improved them. Especially at the back. Playing three centre-backs has shored things up for them as their record of just two goals conceded and six clean sheets illustrates. The return of Marcos Alonso has helped too, at both ends of the pitch.

While Chelsea have every right to be delighted with the result in midweek, Atletico did create a couple of very good chances. They defended very deep and tried to hit The Blues on the counter. Only for their wastefulness in front of goal the plan would have worked. Instead, it was Chelsea who pounced on a rare defensive error from Atletico. Once they got their noses in front, they saw the game out well to the end.

In their last Premier League outing against Southampton Chelsea were almost the victims of a smash and grab job by Southampton. They had 71% possession and limited The Saints to a solitary shot on target. Unfortunately for Tuchel’s side, that shot resulted in a beautifully taken goal for Minamino. Mason Mount’s penalty drew them level after 54 minutes but they couldn’t get the winner. They looked toothless at times and they will be hoping that Utd set up more offensively to give them more space to create.

Crunch Time For Utd

It is never ideal playing on a Thursday night before a big Premier League match. However, Man Utd couldn’t have asked for a more leisurely preparation than their Thursday night stroll vs Sociedad. It was a match that won’t live long in the memory but Solskjaer was able to rest some important players and his main men, Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford, played just 45 minutes apiece. They should be chomping at the bit for this crunch clash at Stamford Bridge.

Last week against Newcastle, Manchester United were far from their best and they did well to win 3-1 given the lethargic performance. Rashford, the rejuvenated Dan James (now injured) and Fernandes got the three goals but for me, the story was at the other end. David De Gea let in yet another poor goal and surely Solskjaer has to act sooner rather than later. If he trusts Dean Henderson he has to give him a run of games because the prospect of De Gea rediscovering his best form is becoming a less likely prospect with every passing week.

Harry Maguire was rested on Thursday night and it will be interesting to see who partners him as both Bailly and Lindelöf played well in midweek. Shaw also sat the entire Europa League game out and he should be as fresh as a daisy on Sunday. Utd will be sweating on the fitness of McTominay as his energy would be badly missed in midfield. Rashford, Greenwood and Fernandes all look certain to play and it will be between Cavani and Martial for the final starting spot up top.

Intriguing Contest

This match could boil down to how Man Utd approach it. Will Solskjaer go toe-to-toe with Tuchel or will he be content to sit back, soak up pressure and try to hit Chelsea on the counter? There is no doubting how Chelsea will play and I can see Utd sticking to the same conservative approach that saw them draw 0-0 with Arsenal, Liverpool and Man City.

Chelsea vs Man Utd Head-To-Head

When these two teams met earlier this season it finished 0-0. Both teams were struggling for form at the time and it was a dreadful game. Man Utd mustered a miserable 0.65 Xg while Chelsea managed a measly 0.22 Xg. That was the first scoreless draw between the two teams since December 2015 so hopefully there will be a lot more goalmouth action in this match.

Man Utd will draw hope from the fact they have won on their last three visits to Stamford Bridge, including a vital 2-0 victory last season that helped them on their way to sealing a top 4 finish. However, Chelsea have lost just twice at home this season (to Liverpool and Man City) and they have kept three successive clean sheets at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League under Tuchel.

Tough task for alonso

This truly is a tough one to call without knowing the starting line-ups. If De Gea starts it would be a big worry for Utd fans and both Cavani and McTominay will be sorely missed if they don’t recover from injuries. Chelsea, on the other hand, have very few injuries to worry about. Thiago Silva is their only absentee so Tuchel has almost a full deck to pick from.

If he starts, Marcos Alonso could represent a bit of value in the ‘to be shown a card’ market. The Spanish defender has already racked up two yellows from just seven starts this season and if he plays he will be tasked with stopping in-form Marcus Rashford. The Man Utd winger will likely take him on at every opportunity and try to make the most of his pace advantage. The Chelsea wing-back could be in for a tough afternoon. Back Marcos Alonso to be shown a card at odds of 13/5 with Bet365.

Chelsea vs Man Utd Tip: Marcos Alonso to be shown a card @ 13/5 Bet365

Key Quotes – Chelsea vs Man Utd

Thomas Tuchel – “We know we are up against a team that can hurt you any second, with individual quality and speed. They are a strong team away from home. If we get a win out of this game it will be huge for us, if they get a win it will be huge for them.”

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer on Tuchel – “You can see in the results, stats and possession they’ve had, the ability to keep teams away from their own goal, he’s done really well. It is never easy coming into a season halfway through and he must be pleased as well, but hopefully we can stop that run. That’s my job now.”

Dave Stevos