Monday Night Football comes from Stamford Bridge, as Chelsea welcome top-four rivals Manchester United. George Pitts looks at the betting.
Recommended bets
0.5pt Man United to win and under 2.5 total goals at 17/2
0.5pt Bruno Fernandes to score from outside the box at 11/1
For details of advised bookmakers and each-way terms, visit our transparent tipping record
Chelsea v Manchester United
- 2000 GMT kick-off on Sky Sports
The Premier League winter break has seemed to last an age. Although it has been split over two weekends, the steady trickle of fixtures have not quite been the same and done little to whet the appetite.
Rather than looking well rested, most teams have actually returned to action a little heavy legged and most games have been low scorers where we may have expected goals - Wolves 0-0 Leicester (although VAR controversially ruled one out) and Norwich 0-1 Liverpool, for example.
Now Monday evening's game has potential but, after seeing the games elsewhere, the expectation is that there could be little separating both teams again here.
With Manchester United seemingly in a strange place this season, many would expect Chelsea to win and rightly so.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side have had some terrible results at times this term, but they have also pulled off surprise scorelines when no-one expected it.
For a start, as much as people say it was flattering, they beat Chelsea 4-0 on the opening day of the season. When no-one gave them a chance at the Etihad in the Manchester derby they won 2-1. In the Carabao Cup replay back there even won on the night.
In the early stages of their run in that competition, they triumphed 2-1 at Stamford Bridge while in December they beat Tottenham at Old Trafford. Let's not forget that they are the only side to take points off Liverpool in the Premier League this term, holding them to a 1-1 draw.
They really are a strange side but when they are the underdogs they tend to perform a little better. Chelsea, meanwhile, have shown themselves to be vulnerable at home, throwing away a two-goal lead to draw with Sheffield United earlier in the campaign and they have lost four times in total in front of their owns fans. The back-to-back defeats to Bournemouth and Southampton were not good at all.
The visitors are available at a best price of nearly 4/1 and with the potential post-break sluggishness, they can grind Chelsea down and come away with something - possibly on the counter. The 2/1 price on them in a draw no bet is equally appealing against a side that still shows signs of naivety under Frank Lampard.
But even more tempting is the 15/2 on offer for them to have a low-scoring victory. United and under 2.5 total goals is 17/2 - ambitious but just look at how this break has affected teams so far.
Granted, Solskjaer is without star forward Marcus Rashford but the Red Devils have a new man in town now.
Bruno Fernandes arrived in January for an initial £47m and the Portuguese carries plenty of expectation on shoulders but showed promise on his debut against Wolves.
As Dale Tempest notes in his latest column for Sporting Life, the attacking midfielder had an impressive five shots, certainly a confident move on his bow in front of the Stretford End.
Three of his efforts were on target and all five were from outside of the box. His record of 63 goals in 137 appearances for Sporting shows he knows where the back of the net is.
He is 19/5 to score anytime but the 11/1 available on him to find the back of the net from distance is certainly worth a small play - especially when he is a top candidate to be on free-kicks in Rashford's absence.
Fernandes attempted nearly half of his 69 successful passes from 86 attempts in the final third on deut and he will be crucial to their play in the capital on Monday evening.
Prediction: Chelsea 0-1 Man United (Sky Bet odds: 12/1)
Best bets:
Man United to win and under 2.5 total goals at 17/2
Bruno Fernandes to score from outside the box at 11/1
Preview posted 1330 GMT on 16/2/2020
Dale Tempest says:
"Bruno Fernandes was the best player on the park in his Old Trafford debut against Wolves on the February 1. His touch and awareness were superb, but it was the one-man mission he was on that really impressed me.
"At every opportunity he was letting loose on goal with three of his five attempts hitting the target. He had 69 successful passes from his 86 attempts and, even more impressive, had 32 successful attacking third passes from 42.
"He’s 5/2 to have 2+ shots on target in the game which seems a cracking price to me. With the fact he’ll be on free kicks, penalties, corners and throw-ins, he just wants to be involved in everything, then we have to be involved."
Click here to read our football columnist's latest betting insight
Key stats
- Chelsea have lost just one of their last 17 Premier League home games against Manchester United (W10 D6), and are unbeaten in their last six since a 2-3 loss in October 2012.
- Following their 4-0 victory at Old Trafford on the opening weekend, Man Utd are looking to secure their first league double over Chelsea since the 1987-88 campaign.
- Manchester United have already won 2-1 at Stamford Bridge in the League Cup this season – the last team to win away at Chelsea twice in the same season were Liverpool in 2011-12.
- This is the 11th time in top-flight history that Chelsea and Manchester United are meeting on a Monday – the Blues have won none of the previous 10 (D4 L6) with the last such game finishing 0-0 in December 2015.
- Manchester United have lost each of their last three Premier League games in London, each time by a 0-2 scoreline (2 vs Arsenal, 1 vs West Ham). The Red Devils haven’t lost four consecutive league games in the capital since a run of five between April 1973-January 1974.
- Chelsea are winless in three Premier League games (D2 L1), last going four without a win in the competition in May 2016.
- Manchester United have taken just four points from 15 available in the Premier League so far in 2020 – only Crystal Palace (3) have earned fewer.
- Manchester United have failed to score in four of their last five Premier League games, including each of the last three in a row. They last failed to score in four consecutive league games back in April 1989.
- Chelsea have had 186 more shots than they’ve faced in the Premier League this season (407-221) – coming into the weekend’s games, only Man City (310) have a higher such difference in the competition this term.
- Eight of Tammy Abraham’s 13 Premier League goals this season have given Chelsea the lead in a match – no other player’s goals has put their side ahead more often this term.
See also on Chelsea v Manchester United...
- Click the images to take a look:
Keble: Nothing new under the sun
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Chelsea v Man Utd predictions
Soccer Saturday pundits Charlie Nicholas and Phil Thompson have their say on Monday's big game between Chelsea and Man Utd.
Odds correct as of 1200 GMT on 16/02/20
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