Tomorrow brings the headliner fixture of Premier League opening weekend, the only battle between two of the big six, Chelsea FC at Manchester United. The match also brings the Chelsea debut of Christian Pulisic, which will be a major event in and of itself (more on that here).
With summer transfer window deadline day having just passed on Thursday, it’s a match-up between two clubs that received a fair amount of criticism for how they went about their business this preseason. In many a “transfer window grades” column out there, you’ll see plenty of harsh analysis for both clubs.
That’s because both clubs left a key player leave at the last minute, without replacing him.
Videos: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Frank Lampard Manager Press Conferences
For Chelsea, it central defender David Luiz, who moves to arch-rival Arsenal no less! And they couldn’t replace him because they are under a transfer ban for this past window and the next. With United, they had a malcontent striker, Romelu Lukaku, holding out this preseason and instigating a long tedious transfer saga that had to end some time.
The club’s third most expensive signing ever, Big Rom moves on without United having signed anybody to take his spot on the roster. That said, let’s take a look at the other storylines and FYIs for this match.
Manchester United Team News, Starting XI Prediction
Chelsea FC Team News
Midfielder N’Golo Kanté (knee), defender Antonio Rüdiger (knee) and winger Willian (hamstring) are all doubts for this one. Meanwhile forward Callum Hudson-Odoi (achilles) and midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek are out due to injury.
Over the course of the summer, we covered a lot of friendlies and tournaments in the United States, and along the way we interviewed a host of prominent names well connected to the programs close to Pulisic.
With that said, here is what those important football figures had to say about the Hershey, Pennsylvania native. We also included some of the more noteworthy takes on Pulisic that made the international media rounds.
These articles are all linked below:
Former Chelsea star Eden Hazard, Borussia Dortmund club legend Patrick Owomoyela, USMNT legend Brian McBride, Current/Former BVB Coach Lucien Favre and Jurgen Klopp, USMNT Coach Gregg Berhalter, Lampard.
Chelsea FC Starting XI Prediction for the Season Opener
Centre Forward: Tammy Abraham
Attacking Midfield: Christian Pulisic, Mason Mount, Pedro
Holding Midfield: Jorginho, N’Golo Kante
Defense: Cesar Azpilicueta, Kurt Zouma, Andreas Christensen, Emerson Palmieri
Goalkeeper: Kepa Arrizabalaga
Kickoff: Sunday, August 11, 4:30 pm, Old Trafford
Google Result Probability: Manchester United win 44%, Draw 29%, Chelsea FC win 27%
Score prediction: United 2, Chelsea FC 1
Summer Transfer Window Analysis/Season Previews
Arsenal Tottenham City United Liverpool Chelsea FC
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
You can follow Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com on Twitter here and his cat on Instagram at this link.