Manchester United travel to London where they will take on Chelsea in 11th round of the Premier League. The Red Devils are sitting in second place in the standings and will be looking to continue their fine form. However, that cannot be said of Chelsea.
The Blues are in a completely different situation compared to Manchester United. They are struggling in the league; they are not top of their Champions League group as their rivals. More importantly, there are no indications that this time will be at the top of their game on Sunday afternoon. And that is good news for the visitors. However, Manchester United should not fall into the same trap as they did three weeks ago.
Chelsea and Liverpool In Similar Situations
All of this reminds of the Liverpool match at Anfield. Like then, Man United are going to play away from home against a team in crisis. Liverpool had a terrible month prior to the match against Jose Mourinho’s team. Now, Chelsea are in similar position. They have already lost three Premier League matches and their last two games in the Champions League pinpointed their shortcomings.
Antonio Conte’s side drew 3-3 at Stamford Bridge two and a half weeks ago, before their return match this midweek. And Roma really destroyed Chelsea. It was a comfortable 3-0 win for Giallorossi and it could have easily been more. Their defending was dreadful and childish, while offensively they could not threat Roma’s defenders.
Jose Mourinho’s Tactics Are Key
Like always, Mourinho’s tactics will play a key role. However, this time probably more than usually. His team played similarly against Liverpool and Tottenham. A win against Spurs was a kind of confirmation Mourinho’s tactics are working just fine, but that is not entirely the case. Manchester United have been too reliant on the way the opposition plays and a braver team than the abovementioned ones will not hesitate to try and exploit that.
Not to say that Chelsea are that team. Currently, they look very vulnerable, the same way Liverpool did too. Yet, Mourinho cannot let himself go with the same strategy for this one. Liverpool could have been picked apart, as Tottenham pointed out and Chelsea can too. If Roma were able to put three past them in London, Manchester United will at least be able to win the match. Still, that will depend on the way Mourinho sets his team for the clash.
Manchester United Should Be Wiser
Manchester United must try and win this game, no matter the name of the opponent. The league leaders Manchester City are already five points in front of United and every point counts. Why going for a 0-0 draw against a team in a poor psychological moment when you could completely knock them out of any title race dreams?
Chelsea will be too far behind if they lose this one, while Manchester United will keep the pace up. It has been a long time since United won against a “big six” side away from Old Trafford and this should be an ideal opportunity for them to change that.
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