Will Chelsea Continue Domination Over United?
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In truth, it was probably the tie neither team really wanted in the 2016/17 FA Cup quarter-final but Chelsea meet Manchester United on Monday night, in a mouth-watering contest. Not only is the pursuit of silverware at stake but the numerous background stories make this a match not to be missed.
Trends show Chelsea are unbeaten against Manchester United in their previous eleven competitive games and this is a superb record, against one of the Premier League’s top clubs. Chelsea’s dominance was cemented with their 4-0 win in the league earlier this season, a result which caused huge embarrassment for Manchester United manager, Jose Mourinho. The Portuguese was relieved of his duties at Stamford Bridge last season and to see the players he left behind doing so well this term must hurt.
Since the Premier League humbling against Antonio Conte’s team, Mourinho has turned things around at Old Trafford and will be confident his players can deliver a much-improved performance in this match. Manchester United were a goal down after just one minute and Mourinho will expect his players to be switched on from the first whistle and keep things tight at the back throughout the whole 90 minutes and possibly beyond. With the match going straight to extra-time and penalties, this could influence how Mourinho plays the game and he could opt to defend deep and frustrate Chelsea, much like he did at Liverpool in the Premier League. The approach drew much criticism from the football world but having lost so heavily to Chelsea earlier in the season, surely no one could blame the Manchester United manager for adopting similar tactics this time?
In terms of team news, Conte has every player fit and available. The Italian has used cup competitions to give some fringe players a game this season but will surely opt for his strongest starting XI for this match. Asmir Begovic may get the nod over Thibaut Courtois in goal but that should be the only change to his usual Premier League team. As for Manchester United, Mourinho will be without Zlatan Ibrahimovic who is suspended and Bastian Schweinsteiger is a doubt. Marcus Rashford is expected to start up-front and Wayne Rooney could get some game time, with Henrikh Mkhitaryan still struggling for fitness.
Expect Manchester United to approach this game with a clean sheet in mind and they bring to the game a mentality of being tough to beat. Chelsea are unbeaten in their last ten games in all competitions but so are Manchester United, despite the fact they sit outside the top four in the Premier League. With Ibrahimovic missing, Mourinho will be relying on the pace of Rashford and Anthony Martial on the break to cause the Chelsea defence problems. The question is, can the Red Devils keep the likes of Diego Costa and Eden Hazard at bay in their own defensive third?
This should be a much tougher test for Conte’s men than the Premier League clash between the teams but having had a week to prepare for the match, while Manchester United were playing in Russia, could make the difference. In what will surely be a much tighter game than the one played earlier this season, Chelsea’s freshness should see them ultimately break down a stubborn Manchester United to claim a narrow victory.
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