Chelsea vs Man Utd LIVE: Stream, TV channel, teams, score & kick-off time – Cristiano Ronaldo on BENCH in Premier League

COLD CRISTIANO

The footballing icon Cristiano Ronaldo does not look like a man who wants to be on the bench to me…

Or maybe he is just cold.

CARRICK ON CRISTIANO

Michael Carrick addressed the public to announce why Cristiano Ronaldo has not be included from the start against Chelsea.

A few tweaks and changes to the freshen things up. Cristiano Ronaldo is your standout name [to be on the bench]. I have had a good chat with Cristiano and he was great.

Michael CarrickMUFC

MANCHESTER UNITED BENCH

The Red Devil’s are not short of attacking options should things be not going how they’ve planned it, but they’ll be one player in particular who won’t be pleased with being on the bench.

But on the other hand, Mason Greenwood has been giving the all clear in his Covid-19 test so the youngster is eligible to feature if needed.

26 Henderson, 20 Dalot, 4 Jones, 14 Lingard, 8 Mata, 34 Van De Beek, 11 Greenwood, 9 Martial, 7 Ronaldo

MANCHESTER UNITED XI

Well well well, there has been quite a few changes from caretaker manager Michael Carrick but the most noticeable on comes up-top with Portugese hero Cristiano Ronaldo being dropped to the bench.

Apart from Eric Bailly filling in for the suspended Harry Maguire, the back-line remains the same.

Nemanja Matic gets a call to the first eleven action to join up with Scott McTominay and Fred instead of Donny van de Beek.

And no starting place for Anthony Martial or Cristiano Ronaldo in the attack but the English duo of Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford have been trusted instead with Bruno Fernandes floating in behind.

(4-3-1-2): 1 De Gea; 29 Wan-Bissaka, 2 Lindelof, 3 Bailly, 27 Alex Telles; 17 Fred, 31 Matic, 39 McTominay; 18 Fernandes; 25 Sancho, 10 Rashford

TIMO TIME

The German superstar Timo Werner has arrived and is hoping to prove his boss’ selection to be the right one.

CHELSEA BENCH

If you thought that the first eleven was strong, then take a look at the players in reserve.

1 Arrizabalaga, 28 Azpilicueta, 4 Christensen, 17 Saul, 18 Barkley, 29 Havertz, 19 Mount, 10 Pulisic, 9 Lukaku

CHELSEA XI

As expected, Thomas Tuchel has been forced into making changes from the side who dealt with Juventus last Tuesday, but eyebrows will be raised as to why certain members of the side have been left on the bench.

The ever-present back three of Trevoh Chalobah, Thiago Silva and Antonio Rudiger remain the same.

N’Golo Kante’s knee hasn’t recovered in time so in steps Ruben Loftus Cheek to replace the French World Cup winner.

With no Ben Chilwell available, it gives the chance for Spanish international Marcos Alonso to show what he can do down that left channel.

But the surprise comes in the forward positions. Both Romelu Lukaku and Mason Mount will start this match from the bench which means that the only change is Timo Werner coming in for Christian Pulisic leaving Hakim Ziyech and Callum Hudson-Odoi to keep their spots.

(3-4-3): 16 Mendy; 14 Chalobah, 6 Thiago Silva, 2 Rudiger; 24 James, 5 Jorginho, 12 Loftus-Cheek, 3 Alonso; 22 Ziyech, 11 Werner, 20 Hudson-Odoi

IT’S HERE GUYS! IT’S HERE!

THE TEAM SHEETS HAVE BEEN SUBMITTED!

GO COMPARE

The word close is an understatement when looking at the statistics of Chelsea vs Manchester since data was recorded.

In 58 games played, the Blues have the slightest of edges over their opposition having won 18 of those matches to United’s 17.

Even the goals scored in this fixture for both teams are almost level.

Take a look at the rest of the head-to-head numbers below.

TIME TO CHIL

Ben Chilwell took to social media to address his unfortunate injury and to thank all the fans for their support.

Get well soon Chilly.

CHELSEA TREATMENT ROOM

Despite having multiple sources of talent amongst the dressing room, Thomas Tuchel was dealt two heavy blows ahead of the Super Sunday clash against Manchester United.

The duo of English full-back Ben Chilwell and French World Cup winner N’Golo Kante both suffered knee injuries in the midweek 4-0 thrashing over Juventus.

Tuchel has confirmed that he didn’t want to take any chances on Kante who will be out for a couple of days due to a twisted knee but as for Chilwell, it is feared that the 24-year-old could miss the rest of the season depending on the results of his surgery.

In Friday’s presser, the Chelsea gaffer’s exact words were: “Ben is out, he has a partial injury of his ACL, and the decision is to treat it conservatively. The next six weeks will tell the story if he makes it and be available or if he will need surgery.

“He is actually very positive, I spoke to him a few minutes ago. His body has reacted positively to the first treatments. After a while you have to refocus and focus on the positive things which are the next weeks and do everything that is possible so that he can get back on the pitch and help us again.”

And in relation to Kante, Tuchel said: “N’Golo twisted his knee a little bit against Juventus and feels better but it seems he will be out for some days. We still have a little hope but it’s almost a miracle if he makes it.”

Mateo Kovacic’ hamstring concerns are still ongoing so he too will be another absentee for the battle against the Red Devil’s.

But on a more positive front, Kai Havertz, Timo Werner and Romelu Lukaku are all in contention to feature this afternoon.

CHELSEA CURRENT FORM

 There’s not enough adjectives to describe the Blues’ recent results at the moment, but I will start with scintillating.

Taking the 1-1 draw with Burnley out of the equation, Chelsea have won their last nine games across all competitions which is incredible.

This includes scoring seven against Norwich, hitting both Newcastle and Leicester for three and most recently bagging four goals against Juventus.

SPECTACULAR STAMFORD

It’s hard to understand that a club with the magnitude such as Chelsea’s, doesn’t even secure a top 10 spot in the biggest footballing stadium dotted around the United Kingdom.

The Blues are the fourth most decorated club in English football and remain the only London outfit to have lifted the UEFA Champions League trophy.

Either way, Stamford Bridge is still a beauty and let’s hope that magnificent pitch gets treated to an excellent game of football.

MANCHESTER UNITED SQUAD UPDATE

The Red Devil’s are set to be without their main centre-half partnership going into this huge clash against Chelsea.

Raphael Varane is still nursing a thigh problem which he sustained at the beginning of October and Harry Maguire’s sending off in the humiliating 4-1 defeat to Watford has resulted in a one-match suspension.

EURO 2020 sensation Luke Shaw is another defender who could potentially miss out due to a concussion received at Vicarage Road, but it has been confirmed that he will be assessed ahead of this afternoons encounter.

Looking further forward, Paul Pogba will continue his three-month absence following a leg injury picked up in training on international duty with the French squad.

Up top, Edinson Cavani is 50/50 on whether he will feature as the Uruguayan veteran is struggling to overcome the tendon issue which has kept him out since the beginning of the month and Mason Greenwood is expected not to participate due to the English starlet contracting Covid-19.

MANCHESTER UNITED RECENT RESULTS

Ralf Rangnick was probably not the name most Manchester United fans expected to come in as interim manager but the Germans reputation suggest that he is more than capable of bettering their previous results.

Despite progressing to the last 16 of the Champions League on Tuesday, England’s most successful club have suffered three humiliating defeats in just over a month to Leicester, Liverpool and Watford.

Not to mention a derby day loss against the reigning Premier League champions Manchester City.

However, United did show that they can still do what it takes to be up there with the best when they smashed Spurs 3-0 on their own turf at the end of October not to mention cruising past Villarreal last Tuesday.

WRECK IT RALF

Former Manchester United midfielder Michael Carrick has been appointed on a temporary basis but it was revealed on Thursday evening that a six-month deal with Ralf Rangnick has been agreed for the German to take the reins of the club.

The 63-year-old is recognised as one of the pioneers of Gegenpressing; a term coined which describes a style of play where teams continuously press their opposition if possession has been lost.

Many coaches in the modern era have adopted this tactic including the likes of German triple threat, Jurgen Klopp, Thomas Tuchel and Bayern Munich’s Julian Naglesman.

Rangnick believes that Gegempressing is “very simple”.

In addition to that, the Professor elaborated on the term by saying: [Gegenpressing is] a very proactive style of football, similar to the way in which Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool have been playing under Klopp.

“We like to press high, with a very intense counter-pressure. When we have the ball, we do not like any square or back passes.

“The goalkeeper also should not be the one with the most contact on the ball. In almost every league and every country, the goalkeeper is technically the most limited football player on the pitch and therefore we have to make sure that he has the lowest contact with the feet.

It is a fast, proactive, attacking, counter-attacking, counter-pressing, exciting and entertaining [style of] football.”

Discussion are ongoing for Rangnick to be granted permission to step down from his released sports and development management role for Russian club Lokomotiv Moscow.

Also, the well-respected manager has a two-year consultancy clause included in his deal should things go well during his initial short tenure at Manchester United.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE CHECK IN

Both Chelsea and Manchester United are getting the business done in Europe’s biggest club competition.

Despite Juventus’ poor form in the league this season, the Blues had what looked to be a tough game on paper especially having lost the reverse fixture in Turin earlier on in the campaign.

But Thomas Tuchel’s men made lightweight of the situation by pummeling Italy’s most successful side 4-0 which resulted in automatic qualification and a chance of topping Group H should they better the Old Lady’s result on match-day six.

As for the Red Devil’s, they left it late in the day to dispatch of Europa League nemesis Villarreal, but goals from summer signings Cristiano Ronaldo and Jadon Sancho were enough to help clinch a last 16 qualification spot.

In addition to that, a draw for Michael Carrick’s side on the final match-day would see them top Group F.

LEAGUE POSITIONING

Former Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer may have potentially left the club in a better state than when he arrived but nobody expected the Red Devil’s to be 12 points off the pace this early on in the season.

However, their primary focus will be to gain some ground on those top four spots and a win today could bring England’s most decorated team within three points of that should other results go their way.

As for the hosts, Liverpool’s handsome 4-0 win against Southampton yesterday has reduced Chelsea’s leading gap to only one point but should Manchester City edge past West Ham, then the only source of separation at the top will be down to goal difference.

Three points this afternoon is crucial if Chelsea want to re-instate their gap at the summit of the pile.

GUNNAR MISS YOU

How things can change in football is such a scary site and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s sacking is a prime example.

In December 2018, the Manchester United treble winner surprisingly landed a job at the helm of his former club as an interim boss to replace Jose Mourinho.

But just three months later, Solskjaer was putting pen to paper for a permanent three-year-deal as a result of winning 14 out of 19 matches in charge of the Red Devil’s and guiding United into a top four finish which at the time, was an incredible achievement based on how England’s most successful club were performing beforehand.

Ole was well and truly at the wheel.

However, the Norwegian had hit a slippery slope in his managerial career having failed to secure a single trophy as the Manchester United manager which includes losing four semi-finals and a Europa League final last season to Villarreal.

Fans were not happy with this at all but the Old Trafford hierarchy continued to display their commitment to Solskjaer by granting him with the funds to make big summer signings in the transfer window such as Raphael Varane, Jadon Sancho and arguably the world’s greatest player Cristiano Ronaldo.

However, the Glazers had seen enough after witnessing their club suffer humiliating defeats to rivals Manchester City, Liverpool and Watford in less than 30 days which resulted in them terminating Ole’s contract.

An emotional Ole stated that it was an honour to be the United boss for three years and he hoped that he left the club ‘in a better state’ than when he arrived.

ARCHIVES

The previous round of Chelsea vs Manchester United played out to be a 0-0 stalemate, but the Chelsea Twitter admin has blessed us with a couple of times the Red Devils were left feeling the blues.

Enjoy people.

THE LAST EPISODE

When Manchester United last travelled to the Bridge earlier on this year, it had quite the anticlimax feel to it because neither team managed to hit the back of the net.

Chelsea had the better chances to snatch all three points but a controversial VAR decision involving Callum Hudson-Odoi left the Red Devil’s with a sour taste in their mouths by the end of the game.

However, that potentially wouldn’t have mattered had English duo Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood successfully combined for the perfect counter-attack in the early stages but another Englishman in Ben Chilwell was alert to the danger enabling him to cut it out.

The Blues squandered a couple chances of their own most notably from Olivier Giroud when he wasn’t able to connect with Cesar Azpilicueta’s brilliant cross, crashing into the wood-work instead.

But the major talking point came on the 14th minute when referee Stuart Attwell refused to award the visitors a penalty despite being called over to the monitor which showed Hudson-Odoi clearly handling the ball in the Blues’ box.

This decision infuriated Ole Gunnar Solskjaer who went absolutely ballistic in the manager’s technical area.

The Norwegian was so bemused by the call that he was spotted still discussing the matter with the officials as the teams came out in the second half.

And had it not been for some impressive saves by David De Gea to particularly deny shots from Hakim Ziyech, Reece James and a curling effort later on in the match from Mateo Kovacic, Solskjaer would have been having more words with the referee after 90 minutes for certain.

United did stretch their away unbeaten run to 20 games but it was the Red Devils’ 5th goalless draw against a ‘big six’ side which ultimately lost them grounds on the title race.

BETTING ODDS

Chelsea to win – 11/20

Draw – 16/5

Man Utd to win 11/2

*All odds from Betfair are correct at time of publication.

HAPPY HANUKKAH

To all the fans from both sides and to the neutrals who are celebrating this special day, Happy Hanukkah!

GOOD AFTERNOON

Greetings SunSport community. I hope everyone is staying safe and is continuing to wash those hands.

For anybody tuning in from England, I am sure you will agree with me when I say that the weather has drastically changed from a decent temperature to freezing cold in a matter of days.

We’ve seen an example of this at Turf Moor where the Burnley vs Spurs game had to be called off due to adverse weather conditions.

But thankfully with a Premier League fixture such as today’s one, the atmosphere should start to heat up.

Our live coverage will follow two of the most expensive teams in the country going head-to-head; Chelsea vs Manchester United which is taking place at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea are arguably the strongest title contenders in the division up to this point. They have only held one defeat all season and that was at the hands of 2020/21 league champions Manchester City.

In addition to that, Thomas Tuchel’s side are proving that they can score goals for fun.

Their 3-0 romp over Leicester last weekend became the sixth time Chelsea have scored 3 or more in a league match this campaign already.

And to top that off, they hit 36x Serie A champions Juventus for four on Tuesday with no reply.

As for Manchester United, it was the end of an Ole era last Sunday when the Norwegian was sacked following a 4-1 pummeling by newly promoted side Watford.

That loss was the Red Devils’ fifth defeat of the season and the third time in less than 30 days where they have conceded 4 or more in a match.

However their tails will be wagging again because an inevitable goal from Cristiano Ronaldo along a first strike in the colours of Manchester United by Jadon Sancho, made sure of a last 16 qualification spot in the Champions League.

The Blues are undeniably the favourites to clinch all three points this evening but United are still a giant in English football so it wouldn’t be smart to count them out.

Coming right up we will have all the latest gossip, team news and the first elevens before kick-off which is scheduled for 16:30 UK time.