February 2021

Team news, stats and prediction ahead of Chelsea vs Man Utd in the Premier League on Sunday (kick-off 4.30pm).

Team news

Chelsea remain without Thiago Silva for Sunday's Premier League clash with Manchester United.

The Brazil defender has not featured for the Blues since the 1-0 win at Tottenham on February 4 due to a thigh injury.

Boss Thomas Tuchel confirmed Silva should return to full training next week and has no other injury concerns ahead of the Stamford Bridge meeting.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is hoping Edinson Cavani, Donny Van De Beek and Scott McTominay can return for Man Utd.

Cavani and Van De Beek have missed the past three matches with muscle complaints, while McTominay has been absent since coming off 60 minutes into last week's Europa League last-32 first-leg win against Real Sociedad.

Daniel James will be assessed after limping off in Thursday's second leg and Solskjaer has confirmed Juan Mata will be out for a couple of weeks, joining Paul Pogba (thigh), Phil Jones (knee) and Hannibal Mejbri (shoulder) on the sidelines.

Jones Knows prediction

It's far too early to be making any sweeping statements about Thomas Tuchel's impact at Chelsea - but one thing we can say with confidence is their upsurge at keeping the ball out of their net. As my colleague Nick Wright wrote in a feature analysing Tuchel's first few games, since Tuchel's appointment, Chelsea have faced the fewest shots in the division and recorded the lowest expected goals against total too. Tuchel has made defensive stability a priority since his arrival, switching to a back three and making Chelsea more robust by deploying two defensive midfielders rather than one.

Now comes the biggest test. Can he keep the free-flowing Manchester United attack, led by Bruno Fernandes quiet? Well, I'd argue it might not be such a challenging task as it first seems.

One Fernandes penalty vs Tottenham is United's only goal in 'big six' Premier League meetings this season. United have not kept the pace with rivals City in the title race due to their record in matches against teams competing for the top six. Solskjaer's side are winless in their seven fixtures this season against traditional 'big six' teams and Leicester, with Fernandes seemingly going missing when the big occasion arrives. He has managed one goal, one penalty and one assist in 630 minutes of action against such opponents.

His individual performances in those games is summed up by the player ratings awarded by Sky Sports' team of journalists on the match in question. In those seven games, he has averaged a combined player rating of just 5.3, showcasing just how little he has impacted those type of matches.

Chelsea are set up to be counter-attacked, an area where United flourish, but it's hard to make a case for an away win when all angles are assessed. Like most meetings between the big boys this season, it's bound to be a tactical and very cagey affair with Chelsea dominating possession. One goal will probably do it for Tuchel.

JONES KNOWS PREDICTS: 1-0

Opta stats

Chelsea were beaten 2-0 at Stamford Bridge by Manchester United last season in the Premier League - they haven't lost consecutive home games against the Red Devils since October 1995.

In all competitions, Manchester United have won their last three away games against Chelsea, winning in the FA Cup in February 2019, League Cup in October 2019 and Premier League in February 2020. They have never won four in a row away against Chelsea.

Chelsea haven't lost four consecutive home games in all competitions against an opponent since a run of four against Watford between 1981 and 1986.

Chelsea have failed to score in three consecutive Premier League games against Man Utd, attempting 41 shots without success across these games. The last time they failed to score in four consecutive top-flight matches against an opponent was in April 1960 against Bolton Wanderers.

Chelsea have kept a clean sheet in each of their three Premier League home games under manager Thomas Tuchel, with the Blues last keeping four in a row in January 2018. The only manager to not concede a single goal in their first four home Premier League games in charge is Brendan Rodgers in October 2011.

Manchester United are unbeaten in 19 Premier League away games (W13 D6), a run that began with a 2-0 win at Chelsea in February 2020. This is the Red Devils' longest unbeaten away run in their top-flight history - their previous longest of 17 between December 1998-September 1999 ended with a 0-5 defeat at Stamford Bridge (Oct 1999).