Sure Prediction For Today, Monday 17th February 2020

With just one victory from five Premier League games of their own in the lead-up to the mid-season hiatus, Chelsea’s grip on the 4^th spot is being threatened by an increasing number of challengers.

At the core of the Blues’ problems is their inability to keep clean sheets, and their return of just two shutouts from 12 top-flight fixtures saw under fire keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga replaced by the veteran Willy Caballero in between the sticks for Chelsea’s 2-2 draw at Leicester in their last league outing before the interval.

In total, Chelsea conceded at least once in 20 of the 25 Premier League fixtures they’ve contested since the start of the season, and it’s little wonder that Frank Lampard was left frustrated after the Blues missed a chance to sign defensive reinforcements during the January window.

With Chelsea’s defensive troubles left un-tackled last month, there should be opportunities to score on offer for United on Monday, and having beaten Chelsea twice already this season, the Mancunians will arrive in London in confident mood.

United beat Chelsea 4-0 at Old Trafford in the reverse league meeting between the teams in August, and 2-1 in a Carabao Cup triumph in October, however, shorn of the talents of Marcus Rashford, who bagged four of United’s six goals against the Blues last year, the Red Devils’ final third threat has been noticeably reduced.

So, while we expect United to register on Monday, recent form suggests that they could struggle to score more than once.

Since Rashford’s injury, United have gone an alarming three Premier League games without scoring, though Ole Solskjaer will hope that the additions of Bruno Fernandes and Odion Ighalo can help to re-sharpen his team’s blunt attacking edge.

At the other end of the pitch, we also expect United to concede. However, David de Gea has seen goals fly past him in 10 of his team’s 11 Premier League matches on the road since the summer, and while United’s overall defensive record this season is the division’s 4^th best, clean sheets are still rare occurrences.

The strengths in Chelsea’s team are heavily weighted towards the top end of the pitch, and the Blues’ record of finding the net at least once in all but five of their 25 Premier League fixtures since August, suggests they should have enough bite to get themselves on the scoresheet again.

With the aforementioned factors considered, backing both teams to score on Monday seems a sensible avenue of approach, while our correct score forecast settles on a 1-1 draw.

Chelsea are conceding just 1.0 goal per game on average at Stamford Bridge in 2019/20 and with United averaging 1.0 goal per game away from Old Trafford since the start of the campaign, a 1-1 final scoreline on Monday aligns with the respective teams’ season-long statistical patterns.

United’s positive record against Chelsea this season should arm them with enough impetus to avoid defeat on Monday, though without Marcus Rashford’s match-changing ability, they lack to penetration to fully push for maximum points. Our prediction is a +2 Goals handicap for Manchester United.