Chelsea welcome Manchester United to Stamford Bridge for a mouthwatering Premier League clash on Saturday.
Following their 2-1 win in September, United are looking to complete the Premier League double over Chelsea for just the second time after the 2019/20 campaign.
Match preview
Chelsea head into this clash in poor form, managing just one win from their last seven Premier League matches (D2 L4), with only Tottenham Hotspur picking up fewer points than the Blues during that period (one).
The Blues’ quest for Champions League football next season suffered another setback after last weekend’s 3-0 home defeat to title-hunting Manchester City.
Nico O’Reilly broke the deadlock in the 51st minute when he headed home a Rayan Cherki cross after shrugging off Andrey Santos.
Six minutes later, former Blue Marc Guehi doubled City’s lead, calmly slotting into the bottom corner after being set up once more by Cherki.
Jeremy Doku completed the scoring in the 68th minute after he dispossessed Moises Caicedo outside the box and fired past Robert Sánchez to bring City within six points of Arsenal.
Following the defeat, Liam Rosenior’s side remain sixth but are now closer to 11th-placed Bournemouth (three points) than they are to Liverpool in fifth place (four points) with six matches remaining.
Chelsea will take confidence from their strong home record against Manchester United, having lost just one of their last 12 Premier League meetings at Stamford Bridge (W6 D5), and they now have the chance to secure three straight home wins over them for the first time since April 2006.
Manchester United suffered a major setback in their Champions League pursuit after falling to a 2-1 home defeat against relegation-threatened Leeds United, who secured their first Premier League win at Old Trafford in 45 years.
Noah Okafor gave the Whites the early lead, five minutes into the game, before doubling his tally and Leeds’ lead in the 29th minute.
Lisandro Martinez was sent off in the 56th minute for violent conduct – a hair pull on Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
In the 69th minute, Casemiro pulled one back for United, but it wasn’t enough to save Michael Carrick from losing his first home game as interim boss.
The Red Devils remain third in the Premier League standings, level on points with fourth-placed Aston Villa, and will be eager to get a result at Chelsea to boost their Champions League qualification hopes.
Team news
Reece James, Levi Colwill, Jamie Gittens, Filip Jorgensen, and Trevoh Chalobah are sidelined with injuries for the host, while Benoit Badiashile will be assessed ahead of kickoff.
Enzo Fernandez will return from a two-game club suspension after comments made over his Chelsea future and could return to the starting XI.
The visitors will be without Leny Yoro and Matthijs de Ligt due to injuries, while first-choice centre-back pairing Harry Maguire and Martinez are absent due to suspension.
Kobbie Mainoo is a doubt with a knock that forced him to miss the defeat to Leeds.
Predicted line-ups
Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Sanchez, Gusto, Fofana, Hato, Cucurella, Caicedo, Santos, Fernandez, Palmer, Neto, Joao Pedro.
Manchester United (4-2-3-1): Lammens, Dalot, Casemiro, Heaven, Shaw, Ugarte, Mainoo, Diallo, Fernandes, Cunha, Mbeumo.
Prediction: Chelsea 2-1 Manchester United.