MANCHESTER UNITED VS CHELSEA: BIG MATCH PREVIEW

 Will  Ole get one over Frank again?

After midweek's win over PSG, Manchester United's Premier League campaign resumes with a mouthwatering clash against Chelsea at Old Trafford. Like United, The Blues, finished in the top four last season, and are looking to mount a title challenge this time around. Meanwhile, Ole and United are looking to build on the recent impressive victories over Newcastle and PSG. United looks like a team that has finally woken up from an early-season slump.

Manchester United VS Chelsea: Key Facts and Stats

Only once in their entire history have Man United lost each of their opening three home league games of a campaign, with that coming in 1930-31 as they went on to finish bottom of the table. Indeed, you have to go back to February 1979 for the last time the Red Devils lost three consecutive league games at Old Trafford at any stage of a season, while their winless home run stretches back even further. United have only picked up two points from the last 12 on offer on their own patch and could go five consecutive matches without a home league win for the first time since February 1990.

Home and away, Chelsea are conceding an average of 1.5 goals per game under Frank Lampard in the Premier League, which is the worst rate of any of their managers to have taken charge of more than one game in the competition. That failure to hold on to leads could come back to bite them against Manchester United; only Arsenal have dropped more points from winning positions than the Blues so far in 2020, while no team has gained more points from losing positions than Saturday's hosts in that period.

Team News

Manchester United's win over PSG was made all the more impressive by the fact that they were missing captain Harry Maguire and his first-choice back-up Eric Bailly to injury. Bailly will miss up to four weeks and so this game comes far too soon for him, but Solskjaer was more hopeful about the prospect of Maguire returning in time for this match. Anthony Martial serves the second of his three-game ban following his red card against Spurs, which could open the door for deadline-day arrival Edinson Cavani to make his debut after being left at home for the trip to his former club PSG. Mason Greenwood is also a doubt after being left out of the last two squads - an absence Solskjaer insists is down to injury despite speculation that he has been warned about indiscipline by club chiefs. Jesse Lingard may be back available for the hosts, but he is unlikely to be included regardless while Paul Pogba may again have to settle for a place on the bench.

Chelsea now have close to a full-strength squad to choose from, with Billy Gilmour the only remaining absentee after Mendy returned ahead of schedule against Sevilla. Lampard played down concerns over the fitness of Thiago Silva after he fell awkwardly against Sevilla, while fellow summer signing Hakim Ziyech is pushing for his first start.

Manchester United form (all competitions): WWWLWW
Chelsea form (all competitions): WDLWDD

Head To Head

Chelsea won the most recent showdown between these two sides - an FA Cup semi-final triumph in July - but their last three wins in this fixture have all come in that competition, stretching back to their last Premier League triumph in 2016. Man United won both meetings by a 6-0 aggregate scoreline last season, in addition to beating the Blues in the EFL Cup, and could win three consecutive top-flight games against Chelsea for the first time since Sir Matt Busby's team achieved the feat in September 1965. Lampard, on the other hand, would become the first Chelsea boss ever to lose his first three games against Man United if Saturday's showdown also ends in defeat, including a 4-0 loss in his very first match at the helm last August. Chelsea have not won at Old Trafford since 2013 - a seven-game streak which makes for their longest run without a top-flight victory away to Man United since a 16-game spell which stretched from 1920 to 1957.

Manchester United possible starting lineup:

This back five was flawless against PSG, They kept the likes of Mbappe and Neymar are bay. They fully deserve to keep their places. With Maguire not being fully fit and clearly needs rest. After the substitute appearance against both Newcastle and PSG, Both Pogba and Van De Beek deserves to start with fixtures coming thick and fast. It seems this might be the perfect match to give Bruno a breather. With Chelsea's defense looking shambolic, Van de Beek might be the player to exploit that weakness. With Kante out of form and Jorginho being Jorginho, they don't track runners from midfield. With Pogba's passing range there is no better person to find those runs made by Van De Beek. Last game against PSG, Telles showed he has a great delivery. Cavani is one of the best headers of the ball, he'll have aerial prowess to unsettle that Chelsea defense.

Mendy; James, Silva, Zouma, Chilwell; Jorginho, Kante; Mount, Havertz, Pulisic; Werner

Prediction: Man United 2-2 Chelsea

Given neither sides' defense has been particularly impressive this season, it wouldn't be a surprise to see both managers look to keep things tight in the early stages. If an early goal does go in, the game could open up with two of the most promising attacks in the top flight - but a battling draw is more likely at this point.