Chelsea vs Manchester United 18/02/20

18 February 2020

Chelsea and Manchester United come face-to-face at Stamford Bridge for a true heavyweight Premier League (PL) clash.

The hosts will hope to put an end to their three-game winless PL run (D2, L1) but face a daunting prospect of reversing their fortunes, considering they’ve failed to beat United in all four of their previous top-flight H2Hs (D2, L2). Moreover, the Blues have won just three of their last seven PL home matches (D1, L3), with five of their results (win/loss) during that period seeing the winner on the day keep a clean sheet. Chelsea’s pursuit of three points will heavily depend on whether they can prevent United from breaking the deadlock. Indeed, Franck Lampard’s men lost all four of their PL home fixtures in which they’ve shipped the opening goal. Another potential worry for Lampard is that only 37.21% (16) of Chelsea’s 43 PL goals scored came at home. Also, lapses in concentration after the break saw the Pensioners concede 67% of the 12 league home goals in the second half.

With six points separating them from fourth-placed Chelsea, the visitors need to wrap up three points here to keep their hopes of securing Champions League promotion alive. However, the Red Devils head to London on a run of three straight PL games without a win (D1, L2), having drawn a blank in each of those fixtures. It gets worse for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men, who have managed just two wins in their past seven league road trips (D1, L4). Interestingly, all four of their previous four PL away results (win/loss) have yielded the identical 2-0 scoreline, with the last three seeing the winner on the day lead at the break. What’s more, United’s last PL away win over Chelsea dates back to 2012, with Manchester losing four of their six top-flight trips to London since (D2).