Man Utd Vs Chelsea preview, H2H, team news, line-ups and prediction

Manchester United and Chelsea will clash for the 195th time in the Premier League match week 10 on Sunday, in what promises to be an entertaining clash at Old Trafford.

On Monday 28th October at exactly 12:50 PM BST, United released a club statement revealing that the club have parted ways with Erik ten Hag as first-team manager, two years after taking over the role in April 2022.

Despite an impressive first campaign for Ten Hag at the helm of affairs, it has been a torrid past two seasons at Old Trafford, with a rollercoaster of emotions ranging from an abysmal start to two consecutive seasons, the win over Manchester City in the FA Cup final, navigating an injury-plagued squad to a draw against Liverpool at Anfield, and the 4-3 win over Jürgen Klopp’s led Liverpool side in the FA Cup.

However, the current campaign has started in a similar fashion to last season — or perhaps even worse — as the club currently languishes in 14th place with 11 points and only eight goals scored in nine matches.

Ten Hag leaves with a record of 70 wins and 35 defeats in 128 games across all competitions in his two-and-a-half-year spell at the club.

During his tenure, he managed 85 Premier League matches and suffered 27 defeats—the most by any United manager since Alex Ferguson. According to a stat by Opta, the Dutchman’s loss rate stands at 31.8%, the second-highest among United managers in the Premier League era, following David Moyes, who recorded a 32.4% loss rate but only led the team for 34 games.

The 2-1 loss to West Ham United last Sunday appeared to be the final straw that broke the backbone, as a third consecutive defeat to the Hammers meant the Red Devils have now recorded their second-lowest points tally after nine matches in a Premier League season.

With Ten Hag gone, assistant manager Ruud van Nistelrooy was entrusted with the mantle to take charge on an interim basis and the 48-year-old has wasted no time to stamp his authority.

With just one game in charge, the Dutchman has spearheaded United to the team’s second-highest-scoring game this season since the 7-0 win over Barnsley.

They hosted Premier League side, Leicester City in the Carabao Cup at Old Trafford and as you’d expect from a centre-forward that netted over 150 goals for the club, Van Nistelrooy’s side was already two goals up inside 28 minutes. Despite Leicester’s late attempts to mount comebacks, United’s firepower grew as the game went on and a 5-2 victory was enough to seal their qualification to the next round of the competition where they will face Tottenham Hotspur.

However, their biggest test will come this Sunday when an impressive Chelsea side will visit Old Trafford as Van Nistelrooy will hope to guide his troops to another goalscoring outing against a leaky Chelsea defence.

Chelsea’s last win at Old Trafford came in May 2013, when an 87th-minute deflected strike from Juan Mata found the back of the net, giving Rafa Benitez’s side a 1-0 victory.

Since then the Blues have gone on a poor run of five losses and six draws in their last eleven trip to Manchester to face the Red Devils.

Enzo Maresca will hope to continue his side’s impressive away form this season where they’ve won three of their four matches this season.

Their only loss away from home came in the 2-1 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield, while they recorded victories against Bournemouth, West Ham and Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League.

However, they could not replicate their Premier League away from in the Carabao Cup as they fell to a 2-0 defeat to Newcastle United at St. James Park in their last match.

Victory over United could see Chelsea climb to fourth place if Aston Villa fail to win Tottenham, but Old Trafford has not been a friendly environment for the Blues even in their best form and Sunday’s encounter will be no different.

Man Utd Vs Chelsea match details

• Date: Sunday, 3rd November, 2024
• Location: Manchester, England
• Venue: Old Trafford
• Kick-off time: 04:30 PM GMT, 04:30 PM UTC, 05:30 PM CEST, 11:30 AM ET
• Referee: Robert Jones
• Assistant referees: Lee Betts, Neil Davies
• Fourth official: Tom Bramall
• VAR: Michael Salisbury
• Assistant VAR: Nick Hopton
• Tickets: Supporters can buy Manchester United vs Chelsea tickets online from trusted reseller Seatsnet.com.

Match stats and head-to-head

• These two sides have met 195 times with United holding the superior head-to-head record with 83 wins against Chelsea’s 56.

• This fixture is one of the most drawn matches in the Premier League with a sky-high 56 matches ending in a draw.

• Chelsea’s centre-forward, Nicolas Jackson, has netted four goals away from home this season. The Senegalese forward has only failed to score in one away match this season which came in the 1-0 win over Bournemouth.

• Cole Palmer will aim to extend his goal tally against United for the third consecutive game. The only Chelsea players who have achieved such a feat are Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Juan Mata.

• United have scored the third-fewest number of goals this season with eight. Only Southampton and Crystal Palace have scored fewer goals than United this season with six each.

• Chelsea centre-back, Wesley Fofana has received a yellow card in his last six Premier League games, the fifth-most consecutive number of yellow cards in a row in Premier League history. Another yellow card against United could see him match Joey Barton’s record seven-game yellow card streak for Queens Park Rangers.

• Of any manager to lose 20+ games in the Premier League, United under Erik ten Hag conceded 90+ minutes winners in seven games, the highest percentage of any manager in that run in League’s history.

• With 33 goal contributions coming in 2024, Cole Palmer is on course to break Chelsea’s goals and assists record in a single year. Only Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink(25 goals, 11 assists) and Didier Drogba (22 goals and 13 assists) recorded more goal contributions for the Blues in a year in 2001 and 2010 respectively.

• Having won their last two games against Chelsea at Old Trafford, a victory for United would see the club equal their record of three consecutive home wins against the Blues—a feat last achieved in 1957.

• Chelsea will be looking to win consecutive games against the Red Devils for the first time since 2011.

Team news

Interim head coach Ruud van Nistelrooy may be without Kobbie Mainoo and Harry Maguire for Chelsea’s visit, as both players continue to recover from thigh and knee injuries, respectively.

Luke Shaw remains sidelined, and Tyrell Malacia is still on the path to full fitness following a lengthy absence.

United have yet to confirm the severity of Antony’s injury after he was stretchered off last week against Fenerbahçe, reportedly due to an ankle sprain.

Meanwhile, Leny Yoro is making progress in training with hopes of returning to action sometime in November.

Chelsea, in contrast, head into the weekend with a clean slate of health.

Wesley Fofana caused some concern last weekend after experiencing knee discomfort, yet the 21-year-old is anticipated to return to the lineup this weekend.

Reece James is also aiming for his third consecutive league start, having overcome recent injury setbacks.

On-loan United player Jadon Sancho will be unavailable to face his parent club, though he’ll undoubtedly be supporting his current team after a falling-out with United’s former manager, Erik ten Hag.

Predicted starting lineup

Man Utd predicted starting lineup

Onana; Mazraoui, de Ligt, Martinez, Dalot; Ugarte, Casemiro, Rashford, Fernandes, Garnacho; Hojlund.

Chelsea predicted starting lineup

Sanchez; Gusto, Fofana, Colwill, James; Caicedo, Lavia, Palmer; Madueke, Jackson, Neto.

Prediction

Under Maresca, Chelsea has adopted an attractive, possession-focused style that has generated ample scoring opportunities. While their goal-scoring ability has been impressive, occasional defensive lapses have left the team exposed to transitions on several occasions this season.

For United, Van Nistelrooy has showcased his managerial acumen as exemplified in his second-place finish to Arne Slot’s led Feyenoord as well as the KNVB Cup and Johan Cruyff Shield titles with PSV Eindhoven.

Having achieved numerous successes at United, he’s well aware of the standard at the club especially when playing at home against big opponents.

This match is expected to bring plenty of end-to-end action, with the team boasting a more solid defence likely to secure maximum points.

We’re predicting a 2-1 win for Chelsea.