Tomorrow night could be make or break for Manchester United’s top four hopes. Should they win at Chelsea, they’ll be just three points behind the fourth place Blues. If they lose, they fall nine points off the pace meaning their hopes for qualifying for UEFA Champions League, via a top four finish, will be all but dashed.
Of course, if the UCL ban on Manchester City is upheld, and the club finishes top four, both very likely scenarios, then the fifth place team in the table gets into Europe. Either way, it’s up to United to take care of their own business and make good on their end of the bargain. If you’re going to be betting on this game, perhaps with a bet365 bonus code, then you know that Chelsea are the odds on favorite, backed to win at 5/6. A draw is priced at 11/4 while Manchester United are backed to win 7/2.
If not, they will miss out on added revenue (not like they need to worry about money right now) and might have some issues in recruiting top tier players
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer doesn’t think it will be that big of a deal however. He believes making UCL would be a boost, but missing out wouldn’t be a back-breaker.
“The Champions League gives the club more resources, more money, that’s one thing,” the Norwegian said at his news conference on Friday.
“It’s a prestigious tournament to be in, of course. Doing as well as we can and if we play well the rest of the season, and players that we might want are impressed by that, it might be easier to convince them that we’re here.”
“But I don’t think one season — this season is the Europa League — if next season is with or without the Champions League, I wouldn’t say that’s the be-all and end-all for a player to sign for us.”
United have missed out on qualifying for Champions League in half (’14, ’16, ’19) of the six seasons that have been completed since Sir Alex Ferguson retired.
Manchester United at Chelsea FC FYIs
February 17, 8pm, Stamford Bridge
Team news for both sides: go to this link
Starting XI predictions: Chelsea Manchester United
TV: Sky Sports Main Event, Premier League and Ultra HD
Referee: Anthony Taylor
Probabilities via Google: Chelsea win 50%, Draw 27%, Manchester United win 23%
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