FA Cup 2018-19: Chelsea vs Manchester United: Preview and prediction
Chelsea will host Manchester United on Tuesday at 1:00 AM for their FA Cup fifth-round tie. It will be an interesting affair considering that Chelsea have been suffering from a lack of form lately, and United lost their last match against Paris Saint-Germain, their first loss under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Will Chelsea be able to trump United at Stamford Bridge? Here's our match preview.
Chelsea will be willing to come back in style after recent humiliations at the hands of Bournemouth and Manchester City. They have no injury concerns, but it remains to be seen whether Ruben Loftus-Cheek recovers from his back problems to play in the match. Marcos Alonso might also feature in the squad after being kept away from Chelsea's match against Malmo last week.
Jesse Lingard and Anthony Martial picked up injuries during United's match against PSG last week and will not feature in the match. Antonio Valencia and Matteo Darmian are injured as well. Solskjaer might give Alexis Sanchez and Romelu Lukaku a chance in the match, but Tahith Chong or Angel Gomes could also be considered.
For Chelsea, Eden Hazard will definitely be their trump card in trying to dismantle the United defense. If Gonzalo Higuain fires up, he can complicate matters for the Red Devils as well. Jorghino will be Chelsea's key in the midfield. For United, Pogba and Mata will be the most important players in building attacks, while Rashford will be the key up front.
Chelsea: Kepa; Azpilicueta, Rudiger, Luiz, Emerson; Kante, Jorginho, Barkley; Willian, Higuain, Hazard. Manchester United: Romero; Young, Jones, Smalling, Shaw; Herrera, Matic, Pogba; Mata; Lukaku, Rashford. The match will kick-off at 1:00 AM IST and will be telecast on the Sony LIV website and mobile application.
Manchester United would have been the clear favorites if Lingard and Martial were available for the encounter. But them not being present has given Chelsea a ray of hope on which they should ideally capitalize. United, who have been in tremendous form lately, except their Champions League loss to PSG, should win this match and proceed to the quarterfinals. We predict 1-2 to United.
Choose Kepa as the goalkeeper keeping a 4-3-3 formation in mind. Smalling and David Luiz can be the center-backs for match as Rudiger and Shaw take up the left and right back positions respectively. Kante, Pogba, and Jorghino can be the midfielders, while Hazard, Rashford and Higuain take up attacking duties.
