Next low blow for United in London?

Will Ralf Rangnick really be the new coach at Manchester United? According to media reports, those responsible for the English record champions have reached an agreement with the former Bundesliga coach on a coaching contract until the end of the season. After that, the “professor” is to continue in an advisory capacity, while the “Red Devils” want to sign desired candidate Mauricio Pochettino.

This Sunday at Stamford Bridge, Michael Carrick will once again take his place on the bench. On his debut during the week, the ex-professional was able to celebrate an important victory. Whether this can be confirmed in London, however, is doubtful. After all, far lower odds are being offered on the home win before the kick-off of the renowned top match Chelsea vs. Manchester United.

From a purely tabular point of view, this assessment by the top five bookmakers is perfectly understandable, especially as the current leaders under the leadership of coach Thomas Tuchel will meet a struggling opponent who have slipped to eighth place after four defeats from the past five Premier League games. Twelve points already separate the clubs, which is why a prediction on a home win between Chelsea and Manchester United at the weekend can also be well-founded.

Chelsea – Statistics & current form

For the 50th time, Thomas Tuchel was on the bench at Chelsea Football Club during the week. On his anniversary, the reigning Champions League winners were in top form, beating Juventus 4-0 in front of their home crowd, so an away win at Zenit St Petersburg on the final matchday in the top flight will be enough to see them through to the last 16 as group winners.

Even more impressive than the gala performance against the “old lady”. In fact, in their 50th competitive game under their German coach, the Blues went without conceding a goal for the 31st time 

Chelsea have conceded just four goals in the league so far

No wonder the Londoners’ defence is currently regarded as the best in Europe. Chelsea have never conceded more than one goal in a game in 2021/22. In total, the back line has conceded only five goals in 17 Premier League and Champions League matches. With this in mind, it is definitely conceivable to place a bet on the host’s next clean sheet on Sunday afternoon between Chelsea and Manchester United.

In general, we are firmly convinced that the current leaders of the highest English division will celebrate the next victory. On the one hand, their current form is right, with two clear victories against Leicester (3:0) and Juventus (4:0) after the international break. On the other hand, the Londoners are currently the best home team in the league. In six games at Stamford Bridge, there have been four wins, one draw and only one defeat against United’s city rivals City. No other team has scored more goals at home than the Tuchel team.

The only downer is that the list of absentees is still quite prominent. Ben Chilwell and N’golo Kante were injured in the game against Torino and will be temporarily unavailable. Mateo Kovacic is also missing. Kai Havertz, meanwhile, is still a question mark. Lukaku could at least be enough for a wild card role again.

Predicted Chelsea line-up:
Mendy; Chalobah, Silva, Rüdiger; James, Jorginho, Loftus-Cheek, Alonso; Mount, Hudson-Odoi; Werner

Last matches played by Chelsea:

Champions League Grp. H
11/23 2021 – Chelsea London 4 – 0 Juventus Turin

Premier League
11/20 2021 – Leicester 0 – 3 Chelsea London

11/06 2021 – Chelsea London 1 – 1 Burnley

Champions League Grp. H
11/02 2021 – Malmö FF 0 – 1 Chelsea London

Premier League
10/30 2021 – Newcastle United 0 – 3 Chelsea London

Manchester United – Statistics & current form

Manchester United showed two different faces on Michael Carrick’s head coaching debut in the Champions League on Tuesday night. In the first half, the English had to thank their goalkeeper David de Gea that it was still 0-0 against Villarreal. After the break, however, the individual quality of the record champions prevailed, so that the 2-0 away win that was ultimately forced was enough to secure their place in the last 16.

On Sunday, Carrick will now take charge in the league for the first time. Certainly, he could have imagined a more pleasant calibre in his only and perhaps last Premier League match as head coach. This is underlined by an interesting statistic that ten of the 13 coaches to date who have played their first PL game against Chelsea have tasted defeat.

United on a poor run in the league recently

Apart from that, however, the current state of affairs is also a clear argument for preferring a prediction on the home team in the Chelsea vs Manchester United clash. The reigning runners-up have lost five of their last seven league games. On Sunday, three consecutive league defeats are on the cards for the first time since December 2015.

Anyone who watched the 1:4 defeat at Watford the previous week and also recalls the first half against Villarreal will understand why the high odds on a surprise coup between Chelsea and Manchester United are not an option for us. The fact that the Red Devils have not lost for eleven away games in London and have not conceded a single goal in the last four Premier League games against their upcoming opponents does not change that.

In terms of personnel, Carrick, who could be replaced by Rangnick as early as Monday, will have to do without the suspended Maguire. In addition, the injured Varane and Pogba are missing. Whether Fred, Cavani, Shaw and Greenwood will be fit in time will only be clear in the short term. All the more hopes rest on Cristiano Ronaldo, even though CR7 has scored only one goal in 15 matches with the Blues.

Predicted Manchester United line-up:
De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Bailly, Telles; Matic, McTominay; Sancho, Fernandes, Rashford; Ronaldo

Last matches played by Manchester United:

Champions League Grp. F
11/23 2021 – Villarreal FC 0 – 2 Manchester United

Premier League
11/20 2021 – Watford 4 – 1 Manchester United

11/06 2021 – Manchester United 0 – 2 Manchester City

Champions League Grp. F
11/02 2021 – Atalanta Bergamo 2 – 2 Manchester United

Premier League
10/30 2021 – Tottenham 0 – 3 Manchester United

Chelsea – Manchester United Tip

Many football fans across Europe are looking forward to the highly anticipated clash between Chelsea and Manchester United on Sunday afternoon. However, according to the betting odds, there is much to suggest that the current Premier League leaders will record their tenth win in their 13th league match.

Even though United have won three of their last four away games at Stamford Bridge and have not lost any of their last seven league games against the Blues, their current form combined with the outstanding numbers under Thomas Tuchel speak a pretty clear language. With the German coach on the sidelines, the Londoners have not conceded a goal in 31 of their 50 competitive matches. In addition, Chelsea are the best home team in the league.

In comparison, United have five defeats in their last seven games. The previous week Cr7 and co. went down 4-1 at Watford and their performance last week at Villarreal on Michael Carrick’s debut, regardless of the final result, did not necessarily go to plan either, especially in the first half.

We therefore opt for a bet between Chelsea and Manchester United that the home side will win by at least two goals. At Unibet, the bookmaker we tested, we get top odds of 2.48 for the handicap bet (-1), which we play with seven units. Alternatives are a win for the Tuchel team or an easy three-goal win for the favourites, who seem to be stronger than the record champions in all respects at the moment.