Premier League: Are Resurgent Red Devils Ready to Take on Potter’s Chelsea?

Chelsea vs Manchester United

The big games are coming thick and fast and the pick of this weekend is the meeting of Premier League heavyweights Chelsea and Manchester United at Stamford Bridge.

It’s South vs North and fourth vs fifth in one of the league’s fiercest rivalries, and two relatively new managers will come face-to-face.  

Chelsea will be back in front of their own fans on the back of a 0-0 draw away to Brentford, the first league points dropped under new manager Graham Potter, while Manchester United put in a superb performance to beat Spurs in their midweek fixture.

Erik ten Hag has made modest progress with his team having taken over a dysfunctional group on his arrival at Old Trafford in the summer.  

The Red Devils could leapfrog Chelsea with a win and, while the Premier League 2022 betting odds for the game will judge that unlikely, Erik ten Hag’s team has already beaten Arsenal and Liverpool, as well as Tottenham, with the odds against them. 

Talking Points

Auba and Sterling set to return for Blues

My SBOTOP colleague reckoned Chelsea’s midweek clash with Brentford was a mismatch, and in many ways it was as the Blues bossed possession and rained 14 shots down on the Bees’ goal.

But Thomas Frank’s side is nothing if not plucky, and with former Burnley stalwart Ben Mee at the heart of their defence, they managed to nullify the Chelsea threat.     

Potter rotated his squad and started with Raheem Sterling, Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang, and Christian Pulisic on the bench and I would expect all three to feature, the first two from the off for the meeting with Manchester United.

Sterling is top scoring with three goals and he may well come in for Kai Havertz, while Aubameyang is a straight swap for the inexperienced Armano Broja.

After a productive spell at Barcelona, Auba has looked back to his best at times in the early phase of his Chelsea career, and he was on target in the Blues’ recent 2-0 win over AC Milan in the Champions League.  

Back in midfield, Mateo Kovacic could well come in for Conor Gallagher who was taken ill in the West London Derby and, as the last line of defence, Kepa Arrizabalaga should get the nod after another sound performance – three times denying Brentford’s star striker Ivan Toney.      

Up until the draw at Brentford, Potter’s Premier League 2022 results were perfect and he’ll have his biggest players on display for the visit of the Red Devils. 

Manchester are beginning to look United

The Red Devils followed up a 0-0 home draw against Newcastle with another clash at Old Trafford on Wednesday against top four rivals Tottenham Hotspur. And they put in their best performance of the campaign so far with a quite brilliant second half as Fred and Bruno Fernandes struck.

Fred gave the hosts a deserved lead with the help of a deflection from Ben Davies, and Fernandes added a second to calm any Old Trafford nerves.  

With 28 shots to nine and 10 to two on target, ten Hag’s side was totally dominant over a Spurs team which has been in great form and is never easy to beat under Antonio Conte.

While unused substitute Cristiano Ronaldo disappeared down the tunnel on the final whistle, the rest of the team looked united in their celebrations.

The recruitment of Brazilian duo Casemiro and Antony late in the transfer window seems to have given the players confidence, with former Real Madrid defencive midfielder Casemiro adding steel and world class quality.         

Wednesday was a great night for Manchester United on their home turf, but these are still early days for ten Hag and his side remains sixth favourites to win the league at odds of 51.00 while Chelsea are fourth at 34.00.

History

These two giantshave had some fantastic battles over the years and the head-to-heads couldn’t be much closer.Chelsea have a slight edge with 26 victories to 24 in the Premier League era, and there have been 26 draws.

The last four encounters have resulted in a draw. In the 2020/21 season, the two teams played out 180 plus minutes of goalless football, while both meetings finished 1-1 last season.

Ronaldo won a point for the Reds at Old Trafford in April and, earlier in the campaign, Jorginho grabbed a point for the Blues after Jadon Sancho had put Manchester United in charge.   

Chelsea are unbeaten in seven games and have won five and drawn one of the last six. Meanwhile, Manchester United have won four, drawn one, and lost one, and are unbeaten in the last five.      

Betting Tip

Unbeaten at home, I don’t expect the Blues to lose to Manchester United who have had all their big wins at Old Trafford.

The Red Devils are available at 3.21 and the draw is at the same price with the Double Chance United Win or Draw at 1.64.

Chelsea’s big guns will be firing and the visitors are yet to play a top side away from home. And while they do look more United than they have for some time, ten Hag’s side have a habit of taking two steps forward and then one back.  

For an alternative bet, Under 2.75 goals at 1.80  is worth consideration as that one worked in United’s win over Spurs and these two teams seem to like a war of attrition.    

 

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