Chelsea will be looking to cement their place at the top of the Premier League table when they take on Manchester United at Stafford Bridge on Sunday afternoon.
The Blues continued their superb form with an impressive 4-0 victory over Juventus in the group stages of the Champions League on Tuesday night which booked their place in the knockout stages of the competition.
Thomas Tuchel now turns his attention to domestic matters and Chelsea will look to widen the gap at the top of the Premier League table after seeing Liverpool move to within just one point with victory over Southampton on Saturday afternoon. A win for Chelsea would move them four points clear of the Merseysiders and maintain at least a three point gap to Manchester City.
However, Manchester United arrive in west London looking to build some momentum after a turbulent few weeks. Interim manager Michael Carrick got the club back to winning ways with a 2-0 win at Villarreal in midweek following last weekend’s 4-1 defeat at Watford but they desperately need to get back on track domestically.
Man Utd head into this game sitting ninth in the table and six points off the top four so Carrick knows they need a positive result to get them back in the hunt for the Champions League qualification places.
Team news
Chelsea will be without Ben Chilwell after he was ruled out for at least six weeks with a serious knee injury that he sustained during the win over Juventus. Marcos Alonso is set to return on the left flank.
N’Golo Kante is also expected to miss the visit of Man Utd after picking up a knee injury in midweek while Mateo Kovacic remains on the sidelines with a thigh problem. Ruben Loftus-Cheek is set to start alongside Jorginho in midfield.
Kai Havertz missed the win over Juventus with a thigh injury but has been passed fit to return and could start up front. Romelu Lukaku has made his return from injury but isn’t fit enough to start just yet.
Manchester United will continue to be without Raphael Varane and Paul Pogba while Mason Greenwood could miss out once again after missing the last two matches due to a positive covid-19 test.
Harry Maguire is suspended after being sent off last weekend while Fred is a doubt with an ankle injury. Edinson Cavani [tendon] and Luke Shaw [head] are also major doubts for Man Utd so Carrick has plenty of concerns to worry about.
Expected line-ups
Chelsea: Mendy; Chalobah, Silva, Rudiger; James, Jorginho, Loftus-Cheek, Alonso; Mount, Hudson-Odoi; Havertz
Man Utd: De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Bailly, Telles; Matic, McTominay; Sancho, Fernandes, Rashford; Ronaldo
How to watch/stream
Chelsea vs Man Utd will be broadcast live on Sky Sports, kicking off at 16.30pm on Sunday. Subscribers can watch the game on their TV’s via their set-top boxes or stream the game live via the Sky Go app on mobile, laptop or desktop.
Fans will also be able to stream highlights on the Sky Sports YouTube channel shortly after the final whistle or on Match of the Day on Sunday night. People can also watch the game live on a dodgy stream that can be found online shortly before kick-off – although obviously we cannot condone such a thing!
Predicted score
Chelsea 3-1 Man Utd: This is going to be a huge test for Carrick and while the win at Villarreal will inspire confidence Man Utd can pick up a positive result at Stamford Bridge, it’s hard to see past a Chelsea victory here.
The Blues are in formidable form and were hugely impressive during their destruction of Juventus in midweek. Tuchel has put together a superb unit and with United’s defence depleted, Chelsea should ease to victory tomorrow.
