Chelsea and Manchester United face each other at Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon in the Premier League in what could be a vital game for both teams.
Chelsea struggling with consistency
While Xabi Alonso’s appointment at Stamford Bridge was met with applause from the fans, he has yet to really lead his side on a decent run of form this season. Across 11 matches this term so far, the Blues have won six, drawn two and lost three. Three of those wins came in the first three games.
Chelsea has delivered flashes of brilliance, with impressive victories over Brighton (4-3), Bournemouth (5-1) and Leeds in the EFL Cup (6-3). However, they also dropped points to Tottenham Hotspur, Hull and Brentford, meaning Chelsea head into this match lying fifth in the table.
So is a title challenge a realistic prospect? If Alonso can improve Chelsea’s defense, then it might well be. The club have scored 17 Premier League goals in just eight games, which ranks as the third-best record in the division.
Things aren’t quite as rosy at the other end of the pitch, however. Alonso’s men have conceded 15 goals in the league alone, with only Ipswich conceding more times this season.
Allow his forwards to keep doing what they are doing and fix a ropey defense. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? But as the manager has found out, the Premier League is far from simple.
A midweek defeat to Liverpool in the EFL Cup hasn’t been the best preparation for this clash, but with Chelsea, you never know what you are going to get.
Michael Carrick under severe pressure at Man United
Who saw this coming? Well probably just about everyone to be honest. Manchester United have once again fallen into the same trap of giving someone the permanent job after a positive interim spell, only for things to unravel.
Michael Carrick has won just two matches this season: one in the Premier League and one in the Champions League. That 4-0 victory over Sabah on September 10 was United’s last win in all competitions. Since then, the Red Devils have gone eight matches without winning. The last time United went nine without a win came in 1987.
The Englishman has been given a vote of confidence ahead of this game from the head honchos, but it looks as though his sacking seems inevitable.
Even a win might not be enough to save his skin, especially with games against AS Roma, Aston Villa and Liverpool coming up over the next few weeks.
All he will be caring about on Saturday is three points. Should United win, then Carrick can think about the next game.
Team news
Alonso will be missing Emi MartÃnez (broken jaw), João Pedro (muscle strain), Maxence Lacroix (hamstring) and Reece James (knee) for this match. Pep ChavarrÃa and Jamie Gittens have returned to training from their respective ailments, but neither is match fit. In some good news, Cole Palmer is available after serving his one game suspension against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup.
United have their injury woes as well. Manuel Ugarte still recovers from his World Cup knee injury. Benjamin Šeško (shin), Patrick Dorgu (hamstring) and Luke Shaw (undisclosed issue) are still unavailable. Marcus Rashford (hip) is still a doubt for the clash on Saturday afternoon, but Kobbie Mainoo could be on the bench.
Prediction
Both of these teams are in desperate need of a win, although you can argue that United’s case is far greater.
The Old Trafford side have won the previous two meetings between these teams, including a 1-0 win at Stamford Bridge in April during Carrick’s interim spell. That won’t count for much now given there is a new man in charge of the Blues, but Alonso is facing his own set of pressures.
Should the sides play at their best, this match could turn into a cracker.
Chelsea 2 – 2 Man United.
