Manchester United, so often a title fight, is now merely the sixth-best team in the land paying a visit to the 11th-best. If the managers get together for a drink after the game, they may have to meet in the Last Chance Saloon.
Back in December Man United played Chelsea at 8.15 on a Wednesday night at Old Trafford. They produced one of their more joined-up performances and won 2-1. Can they do it again at 8.15 on a soggy Thursday at Stamford Bridge?
The answer to that is surely another question: who knows? Both these teams have spent the past eight months being consistently inconsistent. Mauricio Pochettino’s Chelsea can beat Newcastle, in some style, and then fail to dispatch the 10 men of Burnley. They can lose at home to Forest and Brentford, while taking a point off Liverpool, Arsenal and Man City (twice).
Erik ten Hag’s Man United are not much better. They’ll creep up to fourth in the away table if they win tonight, but to prosper in the Premier League, you have to be good in the Greater London area, and United haven’t managed that. They have four points from five trips to London, largely thanks to a jammy win at Craven Cottage. They’ve lost at Spurs, Arsenal and West Ham. Their last convincing display in London was the League Cup final at Wembley, 13 months ago.
United are handing out so many chances that their next calamity may be just around the corner – quite possibly on Sunday, when Liverpool will be itching to make them pay for the 121st-minute heist in the FA Cup. Tonight’s game is harder to predict. You can see Chelsea winning 4-1, as they did at Tottenham in November, or losing 4-2, as they did at home to Wolves in February. Opta isn’t sure either: it gives them a 38pc chance of a win, with 32 for United and 28 for the draw.
It may all hinge on whether Chelsea’s brightest young thing, Cole Palmer, can torment United’s makeshift left-back. If that is Aaron Wan-Bissaka, still rusty after injury, Palmer should prevail; if it’s the more commanding Diogo Dalot, we can expect a good contest. In a crowded week, with injuries in both camps, the team sheets will be very interesting. I’ll be back with them shortly.
Source: theguardian.com
