Manchester United are on a roll right now and the team are coming off back-to-back wins last week – at Partizan in the UEFA Europa League, and at Norwich in the English Premier League. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men will now play a third consecutive game on the road. This time, it will be against Chelsea in the Carabao Cup. Both sides will aim to secure a win that would put them in the tournament’s quarterfinals. Kick-off for this match has been scheduled for Wednesday at 20:05 BST.
Team News
Manchester United remain quite depleted when it comes to injuries. Nemanja Matic, Luke Shaw (hamstring) and Axel Tuanzebe (hip) all remain out. Paul Pogba (ankle) and Eric Bailly (knee) are long-term absentees and shouldn’t return until late December at the earliest. When previewing the game, Solskjaer confirmed the presence of two youngsters, Brandon Williams and James Garner, into the side. Fred and Andreas Pereira are also expected to play, especially with Matic and Pogba being out.
Meanwhile, Chelsea could be depleted at centre-back since Antonio Rudiger (groin) is out while Andreas Christensen (thigh) is doubtful after missing the team’s last two games. Marco van Ginkel (knee) and Reuben Loftus-Cheek (Achilles tendon) are long-term absentees. N’Golo Kanté (groin) and Ross Barkley (ankle) will be game-time decisions, although neither is expected to suit up. One player likely to feature is striker Olivier Giroud, though.
Form guide
It’s not a secret that Manchester United have not started their season as they as they would have liked it. However, The Red Devils have been showing signs of a potential turnaround in recent weeks. Over the last 10 days, they have gone undefeated with one draw (1-1 against Liverpool) and two away wins (1-0 at Partizan and 3-1 at Norwich). This will be the team’s second Carabao Cup match of the season. They got rid of Rochdale in their third-round match, although they needed a penalty shootout to win against them at Old Trafford.
On the other hand, Chelsea enter this game on a seven-game winning streak in all competitions. The Blues sit in fourth place of the Premier League standings, and were absolutely dominant in their opening game of the competition. They destroyed Grimsby to the tune of a 7-1 rout.
What is our recent record against Chelsea?
These two teams already met this season. It came on the opening week of the 2019-20 Premier League campaign, and Manchester United cruised their way towards a huge 4-0 win. Marcus Rashford scored a brace, while Anthony Martial and Daniel James also found the back of the net.
Manchester United went undefeated against Chelsea last season as well. Both EPL matches ended in draws, and the FA Cup fixture in the fifth round finished with a 2-0 win for the Red Devils thanks to goals from Ander Herrera and Paul Pogba.
Predicted outcome
Manchester United will have several absentees ahead of this contest, but Chelsea will be depleted as well. To make things even more complicated, both managers have hinted as potential rotations ahead of this encounter. With that in mind, this game could easily need extra-time or even penalties to determine which side will move into the next round of the tournament.
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