Manchester United and Chelsea will square off at Old Trafford.
With two fixtures on Tuesday night and the other six tonight, including a blockbuster between United and Chelsea, it’s safe to say the 2023-24 season’s festive period is very much underway.
Looking for the spark to turn their disappointing season around, the Red Devils know a win tonight would be a huge boost for the club, including to under-pressure manager Erik Ten Hag.
Chelsea, after losing 4-1 to Newcastle and suffering a 3-2 scare against Brighton last weekend, are in a similar position.
Despite spending over £1 billion on the side’s playing squad, US billionaire owner Todd Boehly has yet to reap the rewards of his eye-watering investment — and given the two team’s head-to-head record, that may not be changing anytime soon.
The Blues, who sit 10th in the table, have not beaten tonight’s opponents since July 2020 — suffering five draws and one defeat in their last six meetings.
Nevertheless, with tonight’s matchup set to be a very different contest to the one that saw United run out resounding 4-1 the last time the two teams faced off, fans, from both ends, will be expecting a tense encounter.
And ahead of the match, both managers have named their starting 11s.
United, who find themselves seventh in the table on 24 points after 14 games, will start with forward Marcus Rashford on the bench after Ten Hag decided to drop the Englishman following a spell of continued bad form.
Elsewhere, Mauricio Pochettino has opted to award Ukrainian winger Mykhailo Mudryk with his sixth Premier League start of the season.
Man United lineup vs. Chelsea
Chelsea lineup vs. Man United
Tonight’s game at Old Trafford, which is scheduled to kick off at 8.15 p.m. (UK time), will be broadcast live on Amazon Prime.