The Red Devils’ change of manager has been one of the biggest shocks in international football recently, with the team having named Ronald Langnick as interim manager to lead the team through the season. solskjær stepped down and United took a temporary breather with a win in the Champions League. But back in the Premier League, their next opponents are Chelsea, who are most favoured to win the season.

The grand finale of the round. Chelsea will host Manchester United in what will be the marquee match of the Premier League round, with both teams belonging to the BIG 6 sequence of the Premier League. Chelsea were expected to “slaughter” the Red Devils at Old Trafford Bridge on 28th November at 4.30pm and if there is one word to describe this season’s Chelsea team, it is invincible. The attack was strong, the defence was even stronger and the Red Devils were completely overwhelmed and given no chance.

As the top 1 team on both EUFA Champion League and Premier League so far, Chelsea, are an unbeatable “double” team. Chelsea’s league record is 9 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss, scoring 30 goals and conceding only 4. Manchester United’s record is 5 wins, 2 draws and 5 losses, with 20 goals scored and 21 conceded, leaving them 8th in the league with 17 points.

Chelsea’s only defeat this season was 0-1 at home to last season’s Premier League champions Manchester City. The two draws were both 1-1 against Liverpool and Burnley. Chelsea have won their remaining nine league matches, eight of which have been clean sheets, making them one of the best defensive teams in the top five leagues. The team also beat Norwich 7-0 in the 9th round of the league. What has made Chelsea so strong this season is that they have been able to defend without missing a beat and attack with equal vigour. They are also currently just behind Liverpool in terms of total goals scored in the league, and the Chelsea team is multi-faceted. In addition to the four strikers who have all scored this season, six midfielders and six defenders have also scored in the league. Reece James, a 21-year-old defender from Chelsea’s youth academy has made nine Premier League appearances for Chelsea this season, contributing four goals and four assists, who is currently valued at €45 million.

In turn, Man Utd is going to deal with German Ralf Rangnick as interim manager . His previous best managerial achievements were leading Schalke to the last 4 of the Champions League and Hoffenheim to three consecutive promotions and direct entry to the Bundesliga.

On the other side, United’s Cavani, Pogba and Varane will miss this game due to injury, while Chelsea are fully fit. The two teams are similar in value, with Chelsea totalling €890 million and Manchester United €910 million. In the last four years, the two sides have met 10 times in all competitions, with Chelsea having won 2, drawn 4 and lost 4. The two sides played to a 0-0 draw in both league meetings last season.

In the last two meetings between the two teams, United drew 0-0 against Chelsea. United’s only defeat to Chelsea in the last three years was 1-3 at home in the FA Cup on 20 July 2020.But it’s a different story now, and the trajectory of the two teams this season is completely incomparable. Chelsea are riding high on the league title, while United have had their ups and downs from the start of the title race to staying in the top four, and then struggling to stay in the top four after the change of manager. Everyone knows that Chelsea are now stronger than United and a notch above them, but no one knows where they will be at the end of the season, there are too many variables.

With Maguire suspended for a red card in the last game and Cavani uncertain to play in the front line, it will be difficult to force a draw away from home, let alone win, even with a fully strength team. There is a big gap between the two teams and United are playing away from their Northern home, with no exaggeration to say,  losing by less than 3 goals is considered a win.

Some fans suggest that the United lads should just give up this game and let the substitutes play, what do you think?

Words by Huaisheng Gao