Beating Manchester United at Old Trafford has become an extremely difficult task for Chelsea over the last 11 years. Now it is Enzo Maresca’s turn to try and end the dismal record, and it’s really important he passes this test.
Chelsea have struggled on the road in the north west. They have not beaten the Red Devils away from home in the Premier League since May 2013. Yes, over 11 years since their last league victory.
That came courtesy of a Juan Mata, also formerly of Man United, deflected goal in the 87th minute to claim a 1-0 victory for Chelsea and Rafa Benitez, who went onto win the Europa League later that month.
Since then, Man United are unbeaten in their last 11 home league games against Chelsea – winning five and drawing six. Sunday’s meeting gives United the opportunity to win three in a row against the Blues at Old Trafford for the first time since 1957.
Maresca has fallen to defeat to Manchester City and Liverpool already this season. Chelsea are not in a position to challenge for the league title yet, but in both performances they showed signs of progress and being able to compete long-term. Now they come up against United, who will be managed by Ruud van Nistelrooy after Erik ten Hag’s dismissal.
Six points separate Chelsea and Man United. Three points would be a huge deal for the Blues for many reasons, not only because of their awful records at the ‘Theatre of Dreams’.
On Saturday, Man City suffered a 2-1 defeat to AFC Bournemouth, while Arsenal lost 1-0 to Newcastle United at St. James’ Park in a blow to their title chances to allow Liverpool to extend their lead at the top of the table.
Should Chelsea collect the three points, they will leapfrog Arsenal by two clear points and could end the weekend as high as third depending on the outcome of Aston Villa’s meeting with Tottenham Hotspur.
Arsenal await in the Premier League next weekend for Chelsea, so a victory on the road could set them up perfectly to build a comfortable gap with their London rivals heading into the November international break.
Nicolas Jackson and Cole Palmer will prove pivotal to their chances of success at Old Trafford. Chelsea will need to be clinical in front of goal, while hoping Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia comfortably win and control the midfield battle.
Maresca will no doubt tweak his tactics and systems to deal with the threats United pose, but this will be a big test of Chelsea’s credentials come full-time. If they can get through the 90 minutes and be victorious, a huge weight will be lifted, both in terms of ending their winless run record at Old Trafford, as well as climbing up the league table in their bid for Champions League qualification.
