FA Cup
Chelsea vs Manchester United Preview
Chelsea and Manchester United meet in the tie of the fifth round of the FA Cup at Stamford Bridge on Monday night.
Manchester United will be looking to bounce back after suffering their first defeat under caretaker boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer against PSG in the Champions League.
Meanwhile, Chelsea bounced back after a 6-0 thrashing at the hands of Man City with victory against Malmo in the Europa League.
It is a repeat of last season’s FA Cup final, where Chelsea won thanks to a penalty from Eden Hazard.
Recent history is against Manchester United who haven’t won at Stamford Bridge since 2012.
Team News
Manchester United are missing Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard after limping off in the midweek defeat to PSG.
Chris Smalling could be back after being left out in midweek. Youngsters Angel Gomes and Tahith Chong could be involved.
For Chelsea, full-back Marcos Alonso is set to return after being rested against Malmo.
Center-back Gary Cahill is also back in first team contention. Midfielders Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Callum Hudson-Odoi could also return.
Previous Encounters
The two sides have met in three FA Cup finals. Manchester United thrashed Chelsea 4-0 in 1994.
However, Chelsea have won the last two FA Cup finals between the two sides in 2007 and last year.
Earlier this season, an injury time equaliser from Ross Barkley helped Chelsea rescue a point in a two all draw.
Manchester United haven’t won at Stamford Bridge since 2012 thanks to a late winner from Javier Hernandez.
Predicted Line-Ups
Chelsea (4-3-3): Kepa; Azpilicueta, Rudiger, Luiz, Alonso; Kante, Jorginho, Kovacic; Willian, Higuain, Hazard
Manchester Utd (4-3-3) Romero; Young, Lindelof, Jones, Shaw; Matic, Herrera, Pogba; Lukaku, Mata, Rashford
Match Prediction
The pressure is growing on Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri after last week’s 6-0 thrashing against Manchester City.
Defeat against Manchester United at home would just crank up the pressure another few notches.
However, Chelsea showed against Tottenham in the Carabao Cup that they can put in a performance when it matters and Sarri will be hoping they can do the same on Monday night.
Their hopes will have been boosted with the fact Man Utd are missing Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard.
One of the big keys to United’s success under Solskjaer has been the pace and movement up front.
With Martial and Lingard missing, it takes away from United’s threat in attack.
In the second half against PSG, United weren’t able to create anything of note when both players went off injured and this will be something that will be a big worry for Solskjaer.
Especially, with both expected to be missing for the next two weeks at least.
Expect Romelu Lukaku to be used in a more wider role, similar to the position he played against Tottenham a few weeks ago.
United do have the players who can still hurt Chelsea and with the blues confidence dented, they will still fancy their chances.
A win for Manchester United would further boost Solskjaer’s chances of getting the job on a permanent basis.
On the opposite side, a defeat for Chelsea could see Sarri head for the exit door.
Prediction: Chelsea 1-2 Manchester United
Photo credit to Smashdown Sports News via Flickr
