Manchester United suffered another stalemate in midweek as they drew their Europa League first leg 1-1 away to Anderlecht. United scored an important away goal, but failed to put Anderlecht away and allowed the Belgians to score a late equalizer.
That result extended United’s impressive unbeaten run to 17 games in all competitions. They are also unbeaten in their last 21 Premier League matches.
However, United have simply been unable to pick up wins at Old Trafford this season. They have six wins – easily the fewest among the top 8 – and nine draws in 16 home league games this season. They’ve drawn their last three home games in a row against Bournemouth, West Brom and Everton.
It’s simply hard to trust United to score too many goals at the moment. They’re too reliant on Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and no one else has stepped up, especially when he was suspended.
Manager Jose Mourinho hasn’t been able to find anyone who can ease the burden on his star striker, much like he hasn’t been able to get the better of his old team, Chelsea. He’s faced the Blues twice this season, both away from home, and lost both. The 4-0 thrashing he suffered at Stamford Bridge in their first league meeting was easily his worst as United boss.
Chelsea are inching closer to the Premier League title. The Blues easily handled Bournemouth 3-1 away from home last weekend, as they maintained their seven-point cushion at the top and further distanced themselves from that shock home defeat at the hands of Crystal Palace.
Eden Hazard was once again in sparkling form for Chelsea as he scored his third goal in two games. He previously put in two past Manchester City in a 2-1 Chelsea win. Hazard also tormented United in their first meeting back in October, as he scored in Chelsea’s 4-0 win.
Chelsea have not failed to score since their famous 3-0 defeat at Arsenal in September. With Hazard playing so spectacularly and Diego Costa (17 goals) always a threat to poach a goal, expect them to find the net at least once at Old Trafford.
Chelsea’s excellent defense has seen some slippage recently. They’ve failed to keep a clean sheet in their last nine Premier League games. Although, they did shut out a United team that went down to 10 men in their FA Cup quarterfinal clash last month.That win extended Chelsea’s terrific undefeated run against United to 12 matches in all competitions.
Writer’s Prediction
Chelsea (+175) finally snap United’s unbeaten run as they pick up a 2-0 win at Old Trafford.
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