We’re just hours away from kickoff now- Manchester United hosting Chelsea in what is the blockbuster fixture of the Premier League opening’s weekend. United and Chelsea enter this season with very similar prospects/outlook for the league title.
The odds makers see Manchester City as the favorites, followed by Liverpool. Then there’s a slight drop-off to Totttenham Hotspur, with another, substantial drop down to the next three sides, the aforementioned Chelsea and United, as well as Arsenal. Those three teams have pretty much the same odds of winning the title, according to most sports books.
So this game on Sunday will be big for top four positioning. It’s never too early, because every game counts.
Above you’ll find video of the news conference that United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer did with the media ahead of this massive clash. The Chelsea debut of Christian Pulisic, and the fact that it’s coming at the Theatre of Dreams of all places, is a massive storyline in and of itself.
And below you’ll find more preview resources for the match tomorrow.
Manchester United Team News, Starting XI Prediction
Chelsea FC team news and starting XI prediction
Here’s the video of the news conference with Chelsea manager Frank Lampard embedded below:
Chelsea FC at Manchester United FYIs
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.