Chelsea vs. Manchester United: Premier League betting odds, preview, and pick

Michael Carrick will be caretaker manager when Manchester United arrive in Stamford Bridge on Sunday to take on league-leaders Chelsea. The Red Devils parted ways with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and arrive in London a massive 12 points adrift of Chelsea, which simply highlights the gulf between the two teams nowadays.

Chelsea are flying high, and Thomas Tuchel’s men are worthy favorites to see off a United side in disarray.   

Can’t Tuch This

Can anybody stop Chelsea when they are in this kind of form? Thomas Tuchel’s men have dropped just seven points this season and swept past Leicester in convincing fashion last week. They battled hard with 10 men to come away from Anfield with a 1-1 draw in August, and although they were outclassed by Manchester City in September, Chelsea have been ruthless against teams outside the title contenders.

The Blues rank second in the league for goals this season (30), third for shots per game (15.5), and third for shots on target per game (5.7). On defense, they rank first for goals conceded this season (4), first for clean sheets (8), and third for shots conceded per game (9.7). It is nothing short of dominant from Tuchel’s men.

Their main strength is their defense, and since Tuchel took over on Jan. 26, Chelsea have kept a remarkable 20 clean sheets in 31 league games (65%). Keeper Edouard Mendy has saved 29 of the 32 shots he’s faced, giving him a 93.8% save success rate – the highest in Europe’s top five leagues by far.

Manchester Un-united

Manchester United looked broken in last week’s 4-1 defeat to newly promoted Watford. Harry Maguire’s red card just added to the ordeal, and he’ll now miss this trip while he serves his suspension. That won’t help this defense that in the last four games have shipped five goals to Liverpool, two to Manchester City and now four to Watford.

The Red Devils have kept just two clean sheets in 17 games in all competitions this season, and only Newcastle and Norwich have conceded more league goals this year.

Going forward, United are blessed with a wealth of attacking options including Cristiano Ronaldo, Mason Greenwood, Marcus Rashford, Bruno Fernandes, and Jadon Sancho, but that hasn’t always translated to goals, as they’ve failed to score in three of their last seven league games.

They have won one of the last seven league games, but with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer gone and Michael Carrick in charge, United fans may be expecting a bounce back in performance. Solskjaer himself won his first eight games in charge when he took over at United, at a time when the Red Devils had won just one of their last six.   

Chelsea vs. Manchester United Betting Trends

• Both teams have scored in just three of the last 10 league games between Manchester United and Chelsea
• There have been Under 2.5 goals in 12 of the last 18 league games between Manchester United and Chelsea
• Chelsea have kept a clean sheet in eight of their 12 league games this season
• Chelsea have scored in 11 of their 12 league games this season
• Manchester United have conceded a goal in 10 of their 12 league games this season
• Manchester United are 4-2-4 in the last 10 league games vs. Chelsea

No bounce-back at the Bridge

It would be no surprise to see a rejuvenated Manchester United at Stamford Bridge this weekend. Free from the cloud that hung over the squad and the rumors that the dressing room was against Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, we may see a better performance from a hugely talented group of players – but that might not be enough to stop Chelsea.

The Blues have been ruthless this season, and Manchester United’s failings at the back will open up plenty of opportunities for the home side, despite their poor recent record against United. It’s hard to see Carrick’s team breaking down Chelsea, who kept Liverpool at bay even with 10 men earlier this year. While this looks to be a low-scoring game, Tuchel’s men have enough to edge it.

Score prediction: Chelsea 1-0 Manchester United (+575)

Chelsea vs. Manchester United pick: Under 2.5 goals (-109)

Same Game Combo: Chelsea to win, Under 2.5 Chelsea goals, Under 0.5 Manchester United goals, Jorginho to score anytime (+1600)