Manchester United entertain Chelsea at Old Trafford with all eyes on the managers
- Manchester United entertain Chelsea at Old Trafford on Saturday night
- The two sides have had a rough start to the season and will both be seeking to make amends
- Mental Health and Psychosocial considerations during the COVID-19
Manchester United entertain Chelsea at Old Trafford with all eyes on the managers.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side welcomes Chelsea to Old Trafford in their first match back at home since their 6-1 humiliation by Tottenham a fortnight ago.
While the Red Devils bounced back from that loss with comprehensive wins over Newcastle and against Paris-Saint Germain in the Champions League, the Norwegian will be aware of the threat that the Blues hold in their squad.
Manchester United
As the players made their way into the tunnel after the 6-1 humiliation by Jose Mourinho’s side, questions were asked of the Norwegian’s stay at the side. While the side played the better part of the match with 10-men, questions of tactics and approach to the game were levelled at Solskjaer.
In reaction, the side would pick a comprehensive win over Newcastle a week later. A trip to Paris appeared to be the big test for the 47-year old. Containing Neymar and Mbappe for a full 90 minutes while outplaying the French champions, the side produced a performance worth credit.
United faced Chelsea four times last season and won three of them, primarily by using the same 3-4-1-2 that defeated Paris Saint-German on Tuesday.
While United will be without Anthony Martial upfront, Marcus Rashford could be the man to deliver the goals. Bruno Fernandes will be called on to provide and create chances for the side.
The Portuguese can play fabulous balls behind the opposition for Rashford and the statistics say no Premier League club has scored more goals from quick breaks than United this season.
Speculations have been milled around on the possibility of Edinson Cavani making his debut while the involvement of Paul Pogba is still in question as the Frenchman has started from the bench in their wins against Newcastle and PSG.
Chelsea
Frank Lampard returns to the venue of his first match as Chelsea manager hoping for a different result to the 4-0 defeat he suffered.
On that afternoon, the former England midfielder had in his hands a bunch of young players who despite starting brightly were punished heavily for not taking their chances.
A lot has changed in the 14 months since then. With the ban lifted, Chelsea were the spending kings of the summer after a £231m spending spree and on Saturday evening comes a side with the potential of delivering a good result – not to mention produce some entertaining football.
In their clash against Southampton last Saturday, Timo Werner and Kai Havertz showed why the side pushed hard to bring them to Stamford Bridge. The two Germans combined superbly and looked bright throughout the match. With the possibility of Hakim Ziyech joining them tonight in the start will definitely give the side enough arsenal moving forward.
The side’s achiles heel however has been in the line of defence. The side has conceded nine goals in five games already this season then, six of those coming in 3-3 draws with Southampton and West Brom, is a worrying sign for the Blues.
In Edouard Mendy, the side seem to have found their goalkeeping issues. Taking from error-prone Kepa Arrizabalaga, the Senegalese international has been more solid and decisive.
