Man United stumbled against Arsenal on Saturday and that loss has, more or less, pushed them out of the top-four race. Things are not going to get any easier because next up, they will face Chelsea.
The Red Devils welcome Chelsea at Old Trafford in midweek and there’s every chance that the home side is staring at yet another defeat. United haven’t kept a clean sheet in their last eight matches and with the kind of form they are in right now, it will almost be impossible for them to keep a clean sheet in midweek as well. The only way they can survive is if the likes of Ronaldo and Sancho can find the back of the net on multiple occasions.
Ralf Rangnick has a few injuries to deal with so once again, Man United will not be at their strongest. They need to pick up all three points on Thursday if they wish to remain in the top-four race, at least theoretically.
A loss to Chelsea could push Man United below West Ham United, into the 8th spot on the league table which means even a Europa League spot could elude them next season.
Manchester United Top scorers in 2021/22 season:
1️⃣ Cristiano Ronaldo ⬆: 21 goals
2️⃣ Bruno Fernandes: 9 goals
3️⃣ Greenwood: 6 goals
4️⃣ Rashford, Jadon Sancho: 5 goals.
5️⃣ Fred: 4 goals
6️⃣ Anthony Elanga: 3 goals pic.twitter.com/8wlKdfjRBT— CristianoXtra (@CristianoXtra_) April 18, 2022
Man United team news vs Chelsea:
DEFENCE:
Keeping Harry Maguire on the bench against Arsenal did not help at all so the England international will hopefully come back into the side, replacing Lindelof.
Alex Telles had another poor run at left-back but with Shaw ruled out, Rangnick has to keep using him. The other option for the manager is to use Diogo Dalot as the left-back with Wan-Bissaka coming into the right-hand side of defence.
MIDFIELD:
Paul Pogba is out for the rest of the season with a calf injury but thankfully, Fred should be fit for the Chelsea game.
The manager had updated last week: “The doctor told me that it will take four weeks, minimum, for him to recover and, since the last game is at the end of May, I don’t think it’s very likely that he will be able to play again.”
Fred is going to return to training this week so he will most probably be fit to start in midfield, alongside Scott McTominay.
Bruno Fernandes missed a crucial penalty against Arsenal and even in general, the playmaker has been very poor. He has no goals or assists in his last seven Premier League appearances so logically, he should be dropped against Chelsea but if Rangnick keeps him on the bench then there will be no creativity left in the Man United side.
😯 Bruno Fernandes' last seven league games:
🆚 Arsenal (no goal, no assist)
🆚 Liverpool (no goal, no assist)
🆚 Norwich (no goal, no assist)
🆚 Everton (no goal, no assist)
🆚 Leicester (no goal, no assist)
🆚 Man City (no goal, no assist)
🆚 Watford (no goal, no assist) pic.twitter.com/pA7L6CZGgR— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) April 23, 2022
ATTACK:
Cavani remains sidelined with an injury so the forward line will look very similar to what Man United used against Arsenal. Jadon Sancho and Ronaldo will hold onto their place but there’s a chance that Anthony Elanga could make way for Rashford.
It’s not like Rashford is in very good form but the Man United manager will look to freshen things up in the attacking third because they looked absolutely clueless and out of ideas vs Liverpool and then against Arsenal.
Man United predicted line up vs Chelsea:
Predicted Starting Line up(4-2-3-1): De Gea; Maguire, Varane, Telles, Dalot; Fred, McTominay, Bruno Fernandes; Ronaldo, Jadon Sancho, Anthony Elanga/Rashford.
