Manchester United face Chelsea in a must win game

In an important clash in the top-four race, Chelsea host Manchester United on Monday.

After a two-week-long winter break, Premier League returned this week. There were exciting clashes over the course of the weekend as Tottenham Hotspurs clinched a late 3-2 win over Aston Villa on Sunday. However, the biggest clash of this game week is set to be played on Monday as Chelsea host Manchester United.

Chelsea made a promising start under Frank Lampard, but the last two months have seen the South London side drop points consistently. They have been struggling to win games at home, so Man United will be a big test for Lampard’s men.

Meanwhile, Man United are yet to win a Premier League game in 2020. Ole Gunnar Solksjaer’s men are struggling to find the back of the net since Marcus Rashford suffered a stress fracture in his back. The Red Devils need a win against Chelsea to stay in the hunt for a place in the top four or else they will have to shift their focus on to the Europa League.

Team News

Chelsea received some positive news on the injury front during the winter break. Lampard confirmed that Ruben Loftus-Cheek has started training on the pitch and will be soon back in action. The game against United will come too soon for the English midfielder.

Christian Pulisic remains on sidelines for the Blues. Lampard told media (via football.london) on Friday that Tammy Abraham missed a couple of sessions this week, but he expects him to be fit for the game against United.

Injury problems are also easing out for Solksjaer. Scott McTominay trained with the first team during their warm-weather camp in Marbella this week, but he will not be fit for Monday’s game. Axel Tuanzebe and Paul Pogba are on right track in their recovery process and could soon start training with the first team.

Nemanja Matic returns to the team after missing the game against Wolverhampton due to suspension. Marcus Rashford remains the long-term absentee for the Red Devils. Odion Ighalo will travel with the squad to London and should get some minutes off the bench.

From the dugout

Lampard was upbeat about his team’s chances on Monday. The former Blues midfielder admitted (via football.london) that his team is determined to not repeat the mistake that they did against United this season. He is looking forward to the next three home games that can influence the outcome of their season.

“It’s a game that we want to win. You can control the attitude and desire. We have three big home games.”

“I don’t like to reference too far, the goals we conceded we didn’t like to concede. The game in the cup we changed a lot of players. Those games are done. We have these games in front of us.”

Solskjaer meanwhile insisted that his team needs to kick on and start collecting wins in the Premier League. He also praised Chelsea while talking to media on Friday (via Manchester Evening News)

“Win gives us a three-point gap, and that’s what we’ve got to aim for, played them twice this season and done well. Chelsea are a good team, at home but we’re gonna try and win the game, we’ve got to give us more belief and more hope, we need to kick on.”

Head to Head

United have done fairly well against Chelsea under Solskjaer. The Red Devils have won two games against the Blues this season, one at Old Trafford and the other at Stamford Bridge in League Cup.