(Football news) The Premier League is back in action this week with a new slate of games, beginning on Thursday when Chelsea faces Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United team at Old Trafford in a crucial encounter. In the Premier League rankings, Chelsea is currently in 12th place and is having a terrible year. The away team will have to put in a lot of effort to win this game after suffering a close 1-0 loss to Manchester City over the weekend.

United’s chances of accomplishing their key preseason goal before the season’s last day this weekend were enhanced by Liverpool’s loss to Aston Villa at home on Saturday afternoon. In order for the Merseysiders to squeak into the top four, they must win their last day trip to Southampton and pray that United loses their next two games.

However, United’s home performance has put them in position to clinch a top-four finish; they haven’t lost in the league at home since the season’s first day and haven’t lost at Old Trafford in any tournament since September.

The Premier League Golden Glove award for this season was officially given to David de Gea after his team’s victory at Bournemouth on Saturday. With 17 shutouts already under his belt this season, he will be looking to add another one against Frank Lampard’s team.

However, Manchester United has had a good start to the season and is now in fourth place in the league rankings. In their most recent match, the Red Devils narrowly defeated Bournemouth 1-0. This week, they’ll try to raise their game. Erik ten Hag’s team is coming off consecutive victories and enters the match against a struggling Blues team needing a point to guarantee a top four Premier League position for 2022/23. United earned all three points in its games against Bournemouth and Wolves, and Marcus Rashford’s return this evening should provide them a lift.

H2H

• In the 192 games that the two sides have faced off, Manchester United has a strong record versus Chelsea, winning 81 of them to Chelsea’s 55 wins.

• In the Premier League, Manchester United has gone unbeaten in their past ten games against Chelsea, and this week they have a chance to break that record.

• Chelsea has lost all nine of their road games in the Premier League against Manchester United, with their lone triumph coming in 2013 by a score of 1-0.

• The Premier League matchups between Manchester United and Chelsea have all ended in draws, and this week they have a chance to break yet another club record in that regard.

• In three of their previous five Premier League campaigns, Chelsea have dropped their last away game, but they did triumph over Leeds United by a score of 3-0 in their most recent such contest.

Predictions

In the coming week, Manchester United will try to clinch a spot in the top four after demonstrating a noticeable improvement under Erik ten Hag. In this game, Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford, who both have productive days, will want to increase their goal totals. Chelsea has had a difficult year and will try to conclude it on a much-needed upbeat note. However, Manchester United is the superior team right now and ought to be able to prevail in this match.

Manchester United 3 – 0 Chelsea

Also read: Erik ten Hag insists ownership saga won’t influence Manchester United’s transfer plans