Manchester United and Chelsea have a date in the Premier League on match day ten at Old Trafford. The Red Devils are looking to get their season back on track after some early season poor run. On the other hand, Chelsea have recovered from a losing start to the season to get themselves among the sides fighting for a continental ticket under the impressive Enzo Maresca.ย
As for Manchester United, Erik Ten Hag managed to lead the side back into a spot in Europe last season. Their form in the league was quite terrible and they almost missed out totally until the FA Cup win over Manchester City at Wembley. The Dutchmanโs second season produced another trophy but he was not able to lead the side back into the Champions League again after doing so in his first season.ย
On the balance of things, the Red Devils underperformed to a great extent with embarrassing defeats to teams like Tottenham, Arsenal, Newcastle United, Manchester City, and Brighton. The smaller teams have also had their bite of the cherry, with Crystal Palace, and Bournemouth. Onana, who was a shadow of the goalkeeper he was at Inter Milan last season, has been one of their best players this season.
Despite some early season promise this term, United have lost to Tottenham and Liverpool at Old Trafford, while Brighton beat them at the AMEX. Ten Hag is under intense pressure to get his side to win consistently after a summer where they spent a reasonable amount of money.
In addition, the club underwent a phase of new majority owners in Sir Jim Ratcliffe who purchased a 25% stake in the club for around $1.3 billion. Following that move, some restructuring steps like the redevelopment of the tunnel at Old Trafford have been done and many are expected.ย
In terms of transfers out, United announced the exit of first-team players Anthony Martial, Raphael Varane, and Brandon Williams, alongside reserve players Charlie McNeill, Marcus Lawrence, and Kie Plumley heading into the summer. In addition, Donny van de Beek has left for Girona, Willy Kambwala (Villarreal), Omari Forson (Monza), and Mason Greenwood (Marseille). Meanwhile, Jadon Sancho left for Chelsea on deadline day to end another long transfer window for the winger.
In a bid to strengthen the squad, United made the signings of Leny Yoro (Lille), Joshua Zirkzee (Bologna), Noussair Mazraoui and Matthijs de Ligt arrived in a double swoop from Bayern Munich, and Manuel Ugarte was snapped up from PSG.
On the other hand, Chelsea, who spent massively in the previous season, were at it again this summer. Among the notable arrivals last summer were the ยฃ100 million acquisition of Moisรฉs Caicedo, who chose Chelsea over Liverpool, Robert Sรกnchez from Brighton, Axel Disasi and Lesley Ugochukwu from the French Ligue 1, Cole Palmer from rivals Manchester City, Nicolas Jackson from Laliga side Villarreal, Romeo Lavia from relegated Southampton, and Christopher Nkunku from RB Leipzig.ย
This summer, they have made some tidy deals which include the arrival of Tosin Adarabioyo on a free transfer, Estevao Willian from Palmeiras, Omari Kellyman from Aston Villa, Marc Guiu from Barcelona, and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall from newly promoted Leicester City. Jadon Sancho and Joao Felix were part of the other additions to the squad.
In terms of the exits, left-back Ian Maatsen, after his exploits with Borussia Dortmund last season, left for Aston Villa, while Lewis Hall made his move to Newcastle United permanent, Callum Gallagher to Atletico Madrid, and Omari Hutchinson moved to Ipswich. The likes of Thiago Silva, Hakim Ziyech, and Malang Saar left the club on a free transfer. Meanwhile, Raheem Sterling joined Arsenal on loan on deadline day
As for the Blues, they have not had so many successes with their summer dealings and that has shown in the multitude of signings they have made in the past two years. A new manager in Maresca has been able to get some of them going. Sancho is happy at Stamford Bridge, and as of the time of writing, he has racked up three consecutive assists in his opening three games. Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson are also contributing to the numbers up front.
As of the time of writing, Manchester are placed 12th on the log, while Chelsea are in 4th spot. It might still be early days in the Premier League season but the teams are quite aware of the challenges, expectations, and goals before them. The previous meeting at Old Trafford ended in a 2-1 win to United and they will need to raise their game if they want to win again in front of their home support.
Crystal Palace vs Manchester United’s head-to-head record shows that in the 75 meetings, they’ve had since 1995, Manchester United have won 22 times and Chelsea have won 24 times. 29 fixtures have ended in a draw.ย
Match tickets
This match at Old Trafford in Manchester kicks off on Sunday 3rd November 2024, at 5:30 PM UK time.ย
The 74,310-capacity stadium is the place for this clash between two strong oppositions looking to make an impression in the Premier League this term.
Getting Manchester United v Chelsea tickets could take a lot of work given the standard of this game. Hence, you are advised to search ticket reselling sites should they be expectedly sold out on each clubโs channels.ย
Team news
Line-ups
Andre Onana has been the undisputed number one under Ten Hag and should start against Chelsea here. Luke Shaw, Tyrell Malacia are all long-term absentees. Regardless, United should still present a strong squad for this game.
Manchester United XI: Andre Onana; Matthijs de Ligt, Lisandro Martinez, Diogo Dalot, Noussair Mazraoui; Bruno Fernandes, Kobbie Mainoo, Manuel Ugarte; Alejandro Garnacho, Rasmus Hojlund, Marcus Rashford.
Chelsea struggled with several injuries last season but they have found a way this term with some of their regulars. Cucurella has been playing his best football for the club, while Cole Palmer remains the player everything goes through in the team. The Blues will fancy their chances in this game.
Chelsea XI: Robert Sanchez; Wesley Fofana, Levi Colwill, Tosin Adarabioyo; Marc Cucurella, Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez, Cole Palmer, Nicolas Jackson, Jadon Sancho.ย
Prediction
Manchester United are not in the best of shape at the moment and will be hoping they can hold their own against a Chelsea side still growing under Maresca.ย
It is still early in the season, so it can swing either way. However, United have a slight edge over the London side because they play at home.
Manchester United 1-2 Chelseaย
