Chelsea and Manchester United’s goal is to hear the Champions League anthem again: without a ticket to Europe’s most important competition, the season would be a failure, to put it bluntly. However, the road to achieving this is not the same for both teams: the Blues can still qualify through the league, as they are among the group of teams aiming to finish in the top five. Enzo Maresca’s men are currently masters of their own destiny: fifth thanks to a better goal difference than Aston Villa – the Villans are also on 63 points in the standings – with two wins in their last two Premier League games, they would be certain of playing in Europe’s premier club competition again.
The Conference League final against Betis, scheduled for May 28 after the end of the league season, obviously takes a back seat. For Chelsea, the crucial matches are the next two: the one against the Red Devils and the head-to-head clash with Nottingham Forest, another team that, along with Aston Villa, could still snatch fifth place from the Londoners. In the race for the Champions League, last Sunday’s defeat at Newcastle (2-0) against a direct rival was a major setback: Bruno Guimaraes and Tonali punished a Chelsea side reduced to 10 men midway through the first half due to the sending off of Nicolas Jackson, who will be forced to miss the next three games (the season is over for the Senegalese striker).
Red Devils, focused solely on the cup
At Manchester United, meanwhile, the focus is now solely on the Europa League final against Tottenham, a match that could save both teams’ seasons. Without the cup (and the resulting qualification for the Champions League), the Red Devils and Spurs would face a disastrous end to the season, with Bruno Fernandes and his teammates currently sitting in 16th place, just one spot above their London rivals.
Ruben Amorim’s team has now thrown in the towel in the league: on Sunday, they suffered their 17th defeat of the season. All that remains now is to try to avoid what would be the worst finish in their Premier League history, a disgrace that would not be completely washed away even with victory in the Europa League. The Portuguese coach is also playing for his job in these last few games.
Odds comparison
Chelsea’s victory is priced at 1.33 on Goldbet and Lottomatica and 1.35 on Snai. The “Over 2.5” bet is priced at 1.45 on Goldbet, Lottomatica, and Snai.
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The prediction
On paper, this match only matters for Chelsea: the Blues should be able to beat a United side that hasn’t won in seven games and is now focused solely on the Europa League final, their last chance to qualify for the Champions League. Amorim will almost certainly rotate his squad, resting his best players ahead of the Bilbao match: Blues to win in a game with at least three goals in total.
Probable line-ups for Chelsea-Manchester United
CHELSEA (4-2-3-1): Sanchez; James, Chalobah, Colwill, Cucurella; Caicedo, Lavia; Palmer, Enzo Fernandez, Madueke; Pedro Neto.
MANCHESTER UNITED (3-4-2-1): Bayindir; Mazraoui, Maguire, Lindelof; Diallo, Eriksen, Ugarte, Amass; Bruno Fernandes, Mainoo; Hojlund.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 3-1