Manchester United vs Chelsea
Premier League 2019/20 season
Venue: Old Trafford
Date: Sunday, 11 August
Kick-off time: 8pm BST
Manchester United host Chelsea in the headline act of the opening weekend of the new Premier League season.
Frank Lampard makes his competitive managerial debut for the Blues against another Premier League icon in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who continued his mission to lift United from a malaise that has dogged them since Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure six years ago.
£140m worth of new signings have been brought into help him achieve that, with Harry Maguire, now the world’s most expensive defender, in line to make his debut against the Blues.
Lampard has been hamstrung by a transfer ban during his first summer at the club but hopes to utilise Chelsea’s wealth of young talent in his first season back at Stamford Bridge, with Mason Mount and Tammy Abraham among those looking to seize opportunities.
Manchester United vs Chelsea team news
Romelu Lukaku’s relationship with Solskjaer has grown strained by the day and could be sold before the curtain raiser at Old Trafford.
United are still not certain Paul Pogba will be at the club come the start of the season, with Real Madrid aiming to lure him to the Bernabeu.
While the English transfer window closes on Thursday at 5pm, speculation is unlikely to stop with Spanish clubs free to sign players until September 2.
Solskjaer dismissed claims Pogba missed United’s final pre-season match against AC Milan last Sunday as a result of that speculation, and said he hoped the back problem he put his absence down to would clear up in time for the opening game of the season.
With the exception of Eric Bailly, who is facing another lengthy spell on the sidelines, United have a clean bill of health.
Chelsea have four long-term absentees in Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Reece James and Antonio Rudiger with N’Golo Kante in a fitness race of his own ahead of kick-off.
The France international missed most of Chelsea’s pre-season campaign as the result of the knee injury initially suffered the week before his side’s Europa League final meeting with Arsenal.
Kante came off the bench for his first minutes of the summer against Borussia Monchengladbach last Saturday however, and while Lampard insists his key midfielder will not be rushed back, he could be in contention come Saturday.
Man Utd XI: De Gea, Wan-Bissaka, Maguire, Lindelof, Shaw, Matic, McTominay, Pogba, Mata, Martial, Rashford
Chelsea XI: Kepa, Azpilicueta, Luiz, Christensen, Emerson, Kante, Jorginho, Pedro, Barkley, Pulisic, Abraham
Prediction: Manchester United 3-2 Chelsea
United and Chelsea have had similar pre-seasons in many ways, both rediscovering some attacking verve but with some familiar vulnerability at the back remaining.
Chelsea’s issues have been the more concerning, however, conceding eight times in their final four warm-up games.
United have also reinforced significantly with Maguire now among their ranks – although he is unlikely to solve their problems overnight.
Scoring goals hasn’t been a problem for these two leading into the new season – let’s have plenty on Sunday, please.
Tickets
Application for tickets for Sunday’s showpiece is already closed.
Betting tips via Betfair | UK users only | Subject to change
Match odds
- Man Utd to win: 6/5
- Chelsea to win: 5/2
- Draw: 23/10
First goal scorer
- Marcus Rashford: 5/1
- Anthony Martial: 11/2
- Tammy Abraham: 6/1
- Mason Greenwood: 13/2
- Paul Pogba: 13/2
- Olivier Giroud: 7/1
- Christian Pulisic: 10/1
TV channel and live stream information
The match will be televised live on Sky Sports Premier League, Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Ultra HD, and is available via NOW TV with a 10-month season ticket on offer for £199.
Sky Sports subscribers can stream the match online via SkyGo and the SkyGo app.
You can follow all the action and analysis on Standard Sport's LIVE blog with James Robson at Old Trafford.
