Chelsea FC seem strongly pegged to beat Man United on Thursday night, and it is hard to understand why. Sure they have the home pitch advantage, and United don’t look too formidable an opponent right now, but the Blues themselves have also seemed very unimpressive. Plus this series has also gone the way of United much more often lately.
Both teams have suffered a multitude of injuries this season, and have thus disappointed and underachieved. They’re also both coming off draws (that feel likes losses) to very lower table sides on the weekend.
Man United at Chelsea FC FYIs
Kick: Thurs. Apr. 4, 8:15 pm, Stamford Bridge
Starting XI Predictions: Chelsea FC Man United
Team News: Chelsea FC Man United
Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK
Google Result Probability: Chelsea FC win 48% Draw 23% Man United 29%
PL Standing, Form Guide: Chelsea FC 11th, 40 pts, DWDDW Man United 6th, 48 pts, DWLLW
When you have the history, brand recognition and player payroll of Chelsea and United, you just can’t drop points to Brentford and Burnley. You simply can’t. So thus this Thursday night brings a matchup of two teams that have quite a bit in common, but none of those commonalities are good.
Chelsea Starting XI Prediction vs Man United
Djorde Petrovic; Alfie Petrovic, Axel Disasi, Benoit Badiashile, Marc Cucurella; Moises Caicedo, Raheem Sterling; Conor Gallagher, Noni Madueke, Cole Palmer; Nicolas Jackson
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to Ravens Wire, part of the USA Today SMG’s NFL Wire Network and the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and the Washington Times. You can follow him on Twitter.