Manchester Utd v Chelsea | Old guard seek to form new legacies

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Frank Lampard were terrific players and served the clubs they now manage – Manchester United and Chelsea very well as players.

But that was in the past.

Both men now have the chance to build new legacies as managers but patience will be key for both if they will succeed in the future.

While Solskjaer has had bedding in the period after Jose Mourinho was sacked last December, the jury is still out on his capability to return the Red Devils to their exalted perch under Sir Alex Ferguson. For Lampard, the revolving door at Stamford Bridge means he has to start on the right foot or else, he will be shown the door in the near future. Both have very big shoes to fill and great legacies to fulfil.

2018/19 EPL Statistics

Compelling Stat: Chelsea have only lost one of their last 20 opening weekend fixtures in the EPL – 16 wins and three draws.

Three Duels To Watch

Rashford v Azpilicueta

Romelu Lukaku is gone and scoring the goals that will make United a force once again rests quite heavily on Rashford’s shoulders, but, he looks capable. He will look to push Chelsea’s captain back with his darts around the back although the Spaniard is one of the best one-on-one tacklers in the EPL.

Wan-Bissaka v Pulisic

These are two club debutants, acquired with a lot of money and both are also relatively young. And both have shone for their new clubs in pre-season matches. While the former Crystal Palace right-back is very strong in the tackle and quite tactically aware, Pulisic will be playing on the shoulder and looking to exploit any gaps – an intriguing match-up to look forward to.

Pogba v Kante

These two Frenchmen have a different skill-set, which actually negates each other. While Pogba will seek the ball to drive his team forward, Kante will be more of a protector, though able to break forward with the ball. Who will stay in position the better of these two could be an indicator of how the match will swing.

Managers’ Talk

“I’m very confident that we’ll get goals from [Anthony] Martial, [Marcus] Rashford. Dan James will come in and create. I’m sure Jesse Lingard will get more [goals], so we do have a different attacking set-up this season.” – Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Manchester United Manager

“I am excited and the players are excited, and now we have to deliver. With the ban, it’s been very easy to write off this squad, but I am not writing it off. We are hungry to try and prove to everybody we will be up there this year.” – Frank Lampard, Chelsea Manager

Video: Man flogged for allegedly “insulting” LG chairman

 Current Form: Manchester United [W-W-W-W-W]; Chelsea [D-W-W-W-L]

Head to head

28/04/19   PRL Man. Utd   1 – 1    Chelsea

18/02/19    FAC Chelsea   0 – 2    Man. Utd

20/10/18    PRL Chelsea   2 – 2    Man. Utd

19/05/18    FAC Chelsea   1 – 0    Man. Utd

25/02/18    PRL Man. Utd  2 – 1    Chelsea

Probable XIs

Manchester United [4-2-3-1]: David de Gea; Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof, Luke Shaw; Paul Pogba, Scott McTominay; Marcus Rashford, Jesse Lingard, Daniel James; Anthony Martial.

Chelsea [4-2-3-1]: Kepa Arrizabalaga; Cesar Azpilicueta, Kurt Zouma, Andreas Christensen, Emerson; N’Golo Kante, Jorginho; Christian Pulisic, Ross Barkley, Pedro; Olivier Giroud.