GW 1: Manchester United vs. Chelsea

The start of the new Premier League campaign has awarded us with a blockbuster fixture between Manchester United and Chelsea on gameweek one. These clubs have been two of the giants of English and world football over the past couple of decades and the match should be incredibly exciting to watch as it could end up as a landmark game for how these clubs go about their seasons. At the moment, it’s very hard to judge where both of these teams are at in terms of their progress after both managerial and player changes during the off-season, but last season this matchup was extremely tense and even at all times. In the 2018/19 campaign, both the games between the teams were drawn. The last match between them was played at Old Trafford (the venue for this upcoming fixture) where the sides drew 1-1 in a dead even match where there was almost nothing to separate the teams. At Stamford Bridge though, Chelsea were the more dominant side despite the 2-2 scoreline as they kept 62% of the possession while also taking more shots with more finding the target. As mentioned earlier though, a lot has changed since that point and Chelsea have not had one of their greatest summers in recent history.

United have had a better summer than Chelsea so far in many ways and although there are still a number of worrying factors surrounding the quality of some of their positions, they seem to be on the up and looking to improve under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. At the time of writing, United have managed to get three players over the line in Harry Maguire, Aaron-Wan Bissaka and Daniel James which means they have fixed two of the defensive positions which was much needed considering they conceded 54 goals last season. Both last season and during this summers pre-season, Solskjaer has been trying out multiple formations with 4-2-3-1 and 4-1-2-1-2 being the most common. For this game though, it might be best to go with the 4-1-2-1-2 as it will give more support to Matic in the defensive midfield role and also the two centre-backs who are not necessarily the strong point of the team, even after securing Maguire’s signature. Also, it gives the full-backs, who are both very competent players, the chance to roam the touchline and show their strengths when going forwards while providing the attacking width. This formation could lead to many possible pairings up front as Lukaku could be used alongside Rashford as a more physical presence or Solskjaer could go with Martial or Greenwood, enabling Rashford to be the main force inside the box.

Either way, Rashford could be the key to United’s attacking play, not only in this match but throughout the season. Last year he had his best season to date as the result of more time as a lone striker and more support from his manager and by the end of the season he had 10 goals and 6 assists. Now, with another year under his belt and presumably the responsibility of being the main attacker in Solskjaer’s system, he could flourish even further and against Chelsea, he has a perfect opportunity to show that he is ready for the role he could be given. With his shot numbers and locations improving last year, now he just needs proper service from the players around him for him to succeed. The responsibility of providing this support will likely fall on Paul Pogba as it always seems to do and if Pogba doesn’t leave United before the end of the transfer window then it’s expected that he should yet again be their main creator. In this match, Pogba could either play as the left sided central-midfielder or as the attacking midfielder if United decide to play with a 4-1-2-1-2 and although he might be able to do more damage from attacking midfield, pressing Jorginho, United are limited in the central-midfield area and he could be required to play there. If he is to play deeper, his main role will likely be to progress the ball up the field while giving support to the attacking midfielder and the two strikers. Considering that Pogba managed 9 assists last year and was also completing 1.64 key passes per 90, he should definitely be allowed to roam forwards in order to allow United to pressure Jorginho and force him into defensive errors which could change the game for them.

Due to the fact that Chelsea were handed a two window transfer ban midway through last year, they weren’t able to add anyone new to their ranks except for Kovacic, who was already on loan with them last year, and Pulisic, who they signed last January but spent the back half of last season on loan at his previous club Borussia  Dortmund. Along with this, Sarri has left the club and gone to Juventus and has been replaced by former Chelsea player Frank Lampard while they have lost their obvious best player in Eden Hazard. All of these negatives combined could potentially lead to a very rough season for Chelsea but they haven’t been too bad in pre-season and if Lampard can successfully bring in the youth talent that Chelsea have available to them, then they could manage to get by until their transfer ban is uplifted at the end of the season. Under Lampard in Pre-Season, Chelsea have typically played with a 4-2-3-1 which has allowed for more creativity in the side. This is because they are playing with three advanced midfielders which is necessary considering they don’t have an elite striker at current. However; this shape can lead to defensive frailties because while Jorginho is a very adept creative passer, his defensive work is lacklustre meaning the side will only have one player shielding the defence.

This will leave a lot of pressure on N’Golo Kante who will presumably be the main defensive midfield player, alongside Jorginho or possibly Kovacic. Last season he was making 3.3 tackles and interceptions per match which is incredibly solid when you consider the amount of possession that Chelsea tend to have and. Also, this was in a more attacking role where he was required to transition the ball while this year he’ll have more defensive duties. If Kante can successfully produce the same output that he has over the last couple of seasons than it’s very possible that Chelsea will be able to keep it tight at the back but at the same time, it would be very risky to leave him by himself guarding the defence despite his tactical awareness. Besides from Kante’s defensive midfield role, the other most important position in Lampard’s system is the attacking midfielder who plays behind the main striker. In pre-season we’ve seen this role filled by both Ross Barkley and Mason Mount and while both have been very effective, it’s Mason Mount that looks the more promising of the two. Mount played under Lampard last year at Derby and was very impressive and now that he’s getting his chance to shine on the biggest stage he seems to be taking his opportunity. Manchester United are quite weak in the defensive midfield area at the moment and while Matic has been decent over the past couple years he is getting on now at 31 and a quick and energetic player like Mount could overcome him. If Mount does get a chance to play his first ever Premier League game he could be crucial to Chelsea as you’d expect him to be both the main creative outlet as well as a potential goalscorer.

Although the clubs have just been on a two month long summer break they both come into the new season with a number of worrying injury problems. Manchester United are struggling less than Chelsea in terms of injuries with only Eric Bailly expected to miss this match because of a knee injury that could keep him out of action until late December. The biggest issue for Chelsea at the moment is the absence of Antonio Rudiger who is still recovering from a knee surgery that he had back in April and considering he played in 33 of their 38 Premier League games last season, he could be a real miss. Young players Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Callum Hudson-Odoi are also suffering from long term injuries after being brought into the side last season and while they might not have been automatic starters in the side, the option of them off the bench would’ve given Lampard more flexibility. Finally, Kante could possibly miss the match as well simply due to his lack of match fitness recently and the limited amount of minutes that he has played in pre-season, however; considering the importance of the match, it's likely that he’ll start. 

You couldn’t ask for a much bigger occasion on matchweek one, playing at Old Trafford, two of the best teams in recent Premier League history and a chance to make your mark on the 2019/20 campaign so early on. While Chelsea finished 3rd last season meaning they earned Champions League football, United slumped to 6th in another relatively disappointing season but things are set to be much different this year, and with some of the things that Chelsea have endured recently, United could go above their London opponents, not just in this match but over the course of the season. Also, the game is being played in Manchester which will give United an obvious advantage and although they were only 6 points better at home last season than they were away, it’s Chelsea’s poor away form that they can take advantage of. Last year Chelsea won only 9 of their 19 away games, drawing 3 and losing 7 which is quite simply not acceptable for a side who want to be pushing for top 4 and although they did manage some very impressive home form, that won’t be any help to them here. Because of all of this, it seems quite unlikely that Chelsea would go on to win this match and it’s all about whether or not United have the power and the confidence to gain all three points. Personally, I think United will be slightly sloppy on the first day of the season and I think the end result will be a 1-1 draw, despite United most likely having the better of the match.