Unlike Sunday’s opponents, Manchester United, Chelsea look pretty settled this season and appear to be heading in the right direction under Enzo Maresca.
Chelsea travel to Old Trafford this weekend with a spring in their step, while Man United are dealing with the fallout of sacking Erik ten Hag as their manager.
The Blues sit fifth in the Premier League ahead of Sunday’s away trip to Manchester, so they’d love three points to keep themselves firmly in the top-four picture. Meanwhile, Man United are down in 14th position.
Interestingly, Man United are interested in signing Chelsea left-back Ben Chilwell, who’s been frozen out of the picture and made just one appearance this season.
Ray Parlour predicts Manchester United vs Chelsea
TalkSPORT pundit Ray Parlour has tipped a score draw between Man United and Chelsea this weekend.
Parlour told talkSPORT: “This is going to be an interesting game this weekend. I’ve gone 2-2. I think there might be goals in this, definitely. I think Ruud [van Nistelrooy] will go out and try to score that first goal; get this crowd right behind them. But Chelsea are dangerous. I mean [Cole] Palmer is on fire again.”
Paul Merson is leaning towards Chelsea beating Man United. Regardless, there’s extra intrigue on this gigantic fixture because of the manager sacking at Old Trafford.
It’s worth pointing out that the Blues have only beaten Man United once in their previous eight meetings, but it was the most recent encounter during a dramatic 4-3 victory at Stamford Bridge back in April.
Chelsea have the firepower to outgun Manchester United
So far, Chelsea have been much more lethal than Man United this season as an attacking force.
In fairness, Man United’s boss Ruud van Nistelrooy led his side to a 5-2 win over Leicester City in the Carabao Cup during midweek. However, the goals have been tough to come by in the Premier League.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 1 |  Man CityManchester City | 9 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 20 | 9 | 11 | 23 |
| 2 |  LiverpoolLiverpool | 9 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 17 | 5 | 12 | 22 |
| 3 |  ArsenalArsenal | 9 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 17 | 10 | 7 | 18 |
| 4 |  Aston VillaAston Villa | 9 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 16 | 11 | 5 | 18 |
| 5 |  ChelseaChelsea | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 19 | 11 | 8 | 17 |
| 6 |  BrightonBrighton | 9 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 16 | 12 | 4 | 16 |
| 7 |  Nottm ForestNottingham Forest | 9 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 11 | 7 | 4 | 16 |
| 8 |  TottenhamTottenham | 9 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 18 | 10 | 8 | 13 |
| 9 |  BrentfordBrentford | 9 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 18 | 18 | 0 | 13 |
| 10 |  FulhamFulham | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 12 | 12 | 0 | 12 |
| 11 |  B’mouthBournemouth | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 12 |
| 12 |  NewcastleNewcastle | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 10 | -1 | 12 |
| 13 |  West HamWest Ham | 9 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 13 | 16 | -3 | 11 |
| 14 |  Man UtdManchester United | 9 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 11 | -3 | 11 |
As you can see above, Chelsea have fired in 19 goals in their nine league games this term. In contrast, Man United have only scored eight times in the same period.
Even with the Blues possessing so much firepower in attack, they’re still linked in the transfer rumour mill with new additions. It’s been claimed this week that Chelsea are monitoring Bayern Munich superstar Jamal Musiala.
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