Man Utd v Chelsea: Not so Magnificent 7 for Blues at Old Trafford

Last season, Frank Lampard’s match in charge of Chelsea was at Old Trafford and ended in a 4-0 defeat at the hands of Manchester United although the game was a lot closer than the score suggests.

Then, in the reverse fixture at Stamford Bridge, the visitors proved their worth by inflicting a 2-0 defeat upon their hosts.

Despite the defeats, Lampard still guided his charges to a fourth-place league finish and Champions League football this season.

The two sides also met in both the FA Cup and the League Cup.

A goal scored by Michy Batshuayi wasn’t enough to prevent Manchester United winning a League Cup tie 2-1 at Stamford Bridge.

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But following the restart of the season after the pandemic enforced break, Chelsea came out on top in the FA Cup Semi-Final when goals from Olivier Giroud, Mason Mount and an own goal saw The Blues through to the final with a 3-1 victory.

Chelsea’s hosts may well feature a couple of familiar faces in the Nemanja Matic and Juan Mata, the former being sold by Chelsea to Jose Mourinho when he was the Red Devils’ manager whilst the latter was sold to United by the Portuguese when he was in charge at Stamford Bridge.

Both sides played in the Champions League on Tuesday evening with the Mancunians enjoying a creditable 2-1 away win in Paris against PSG while Chelsea fought out a goalless stalemate against Spanish La Liga side Sevilla.

Chelsea are currently suffering their second-longest run of consecutive matches without a win at Old Trafford and will be hoping to end their winless streak with a victory after the previous seven attempts.

Meanwhile, Manchester United will be hoping to avoid their third consecutive home defeat.

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If Lampard’s men return to London with all three points, it will be the first time in 90 years that Chelsea’s opponents will have suffered three defeats in their opening three home fixtures.

Prior to the recent international break, Chelsea enjoyed a 4-0 win against Crystal Palace but, upon their return to the domestic campaign last Saturday, failed to hold on to a two-goal advantage against visiting Southampton and ended the day sharing the points after a 3-3 draw.

With Kepa Arrizabalaga and Billy Gilmour the only two players on the injury list, Lampard has confirmed that the rest of his players are fit although he conceded that Hakim Ziyech, a player yet to make his Chelsea debut, it still short of full match fitness.

With a few pennies left in my betting money box, I will be taking a chance and also hopefully upsetting a few of the plastic ‘so called’ Chelsea fans on social media by laying a couple of bob on Mason Mount to score at any time which is currently 4.50 with our friends at FansBet.

About the Author

Londoner David Johnstone is a home, away and European away Chelsea supporter and has missed just six matches since 2001 (although he’s quick to state there are plenty of other supporters with better attendance records than him).

He has been involved with the fanzine scene at Chelsea since around 1991 and started the ‘cfcuk’ fanzine in 1999 which was, until Mr Abramovich bought the club in 2003, named ‘Matthew Harding’s Blue And White Army’.

David was also responsible for forming both the Chelsea Supporters’ Group and the Chelsea Supporters’ Trust which are the main two bodies that represent the followers of Chelsea FC and take their concerns to those running the club.

A founder of the highly regarded Chelsea FanCast weekly podcast (but is no longer involved) and responsible for the crowd surfing banners and supporter displays that are seen in the Matthew Harding Stand at Stamford Bridge on matchday.