Preview: Chelsea look to end abysmal run at Old Trafford
Manchester United host Chelsea with Ruben Amorim desperate for a change of fortune.
By Filip Mishov
The clock is ticking fast at Old Trafford
Ruben Amorim‘s public outbursts have evolved from charismatic to something a little more egocentric this season, and the underperforming Portuguese manager is under pressure and walking a fine line after only four Premier League games and United’s early exit from the EFL Cup. Furthermore, the 40-year-old holds the lowest win percentage of any permanent United coach since World War II, which is damning to say the least.
By contrast, Enzo Maresca enjoyed a decent start to the season as Chelsea remain unbeaten in the Premier League, although the draw at Brentford and the loss to Bayern Munich in the Champions League may have spoiled the mood a little.
A difficult trip to Manchester comes next, and even though Old Trafford has lost some of it’s aura in the post-Ferguson era, that has not been the case for the Blues, with their last win at the Theatre of Dreams coming all the way back in 2013, when Juan Mata scored a late winner.
Key players
It was no surprise to see Bryan Mbeumo claim the Player of the Month award for August at Carrington as the Cameroonian forward has already scored a couple of goals this season, and if it was not for Gianluigi Donnarumma‘s heroic save at the Etihad last week, the 26-year-old might have scored one of the goals of the season. Also, the former Brentford man has been involved in six goals across seven appearances against Chelsea during his time with the Bees, marking him our as a key threat against the Club World Cup champions.
Cole Palmer, on his day, continues to be one of the best players in the league, and he showed it on the European stage with his performance at the Allianz Arena during the week. The Englishman scored in the first half and then added a second before the final whistle which was later ruled out by VAR. The 23-year-old earned a FotMob rating of 7.7 with only Harry Kane boasting a higher rating on the night. Palmer, a childhood Manchester United fan, is back in form after returning from injury and his record against the Red Devils is impressive with four goals in as many appearances – including a hat-trick at Stamford Bridge and a goal at the Theatre of Dreams back in 2023.
Team news
Ruben Amorim will welcome back Mason Mount and Matheus Cunha to the squad after the duo missed the derby defeat through injury, but Diogo Dalot and the long-term absentee, Lisandro Martínez are still out. Also, it will be interesting to see whether Altay Bayındır and Luke Shaw will keep their places in the starting XI after their subpar performances with the likes of Senne Lammens and Ayden Heaven pushing for a start.
No major changes are expected in Chelsea’s starting line-up, but Enzo Maresca opened the door for Alejandro Garnacho to be given his first start, with none of their injured players expected to return until after the next international break.
Prediction
Manchester United always come up with a performance to derail Chelsea’s plans despite all their struggles, and with Ruben Amorim left with no choice but to go all-out attack in a bid to salvage his job, something tells me that once again the Red Devils will find a way to prevent the Blues from ending their 12-match winless run at Old Trafford.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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