Manchester United have just played atrocious as of late. They have not kept a clean sheet in the last 12 nor scored from open play for nearly nine hours. Striker Marcus Rashford summed up the issues as best anyone can right now, saying the following after United lost the Manchester derby to City on Wednesday.
“Today we didn’t play like Manchester United. It’s not right. The bare minimum is to work hard and give all for the badge, the supporters, the club and yourself. It has been a tough road to get to where we are, to get there and not be putting up the same performances as we were in January is disappointing.”
As United prepare to host Chelsea this weekend, in a match that has major top four implications, a lot of pundits and fans are saying United aren’t a team right now, just a bunch of individuals.
“We know what’s been going wrong, it’s mentality and willingness to run for your team,” Rashford continued.
“Forget the league and top four, you don’t lose this game. It’s that simple as a Manchester United fan. We [the players] never call each other out but we have to be real with each other.
“Forget the top four and the Champions League. We have to get to the bottom of it and start playing like Manchester United for ourselves.”
Right they need to be more like a real team and less like a fantasy team of high priced stars. In terms of our starting XI prediction for the Chelsea game, we’re going with a first team similar to the side that started against Man City in midweek.
Attack: Andreas Pereira Jesse Lingard Marcus Rashford
Midfielders: Paul Pogba Scott McTominay Ashley Young
Defenders: Luke Shaw Chris Smalling Victor Lindelof Matteo Darmian
Goalkeeper: David de Gea
Manchester United vs Chelsea FC FYIs
Kickoff- Sunday Apr 28, Old Trafford 430pm
Injury report for both sides: go to this link
Starting XI Predictions: Chelsea Manchester United
Form Guide: Manchester United LLWLW Chelsea DLWWW
Google Result Probability: Chelsea win 35%, Draw 29%, Manchester United win 36%
Prediction- Manchester United 1, Chelsea FC 1
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, regularly appears as a guest pundit on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
He also contributes sociopolitical essays to Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to his.