Man United vs Chelsea: Red Devils to qualify for UCL and 3 other things to expect

Man United vs Chelsea: Red Devils to qualify for UCL and 3 other things to expect

Ifeanyi Ufomadu 11:04 - 24.05.2023

Manchester United welcome Chelsea to Old Trafford for the penultimate Premier League game of the season with a place in next year’s Uefa Champions League yet to be decided.

Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United side need just one point against Chelsea to confirm qualification for next season’s Champions League.

var widgetLoaderConfig = widgetLoaderConfig || { CDN_URL: 'https://widgets.sportal365.com', APP_LINK: 'desktop', API_URL: 'https://africa.football.api.sportal365.com/', API_KEY: '2f852b4de2f3a5cf3188e74b33087bb4:2c18422f8e826a7d11aeed52edb2449e', LANG: 'en', REQUEST_INTERVAL: 30, ENABLE_BET_SLIP: false, AUTHOR: false, THEME: "light", TOURNAMENT_ORDER: "pulse_nigeria", LINK_OPTIONS_V2: { 'player' : { 'url': '/football/player/{playerId}' }, 'team' : { 'url': '/football/{teamId}' }, 'tournament': { 'url': '/football/competition/{tournamentId}' }, 'match': { 'url' : '/football/match/{matchId}', 'sort': { 'criteria': 'alphabetically', 'direction': 'asc' } }, 'configuration': { 'newWindow': false }, 'standings_tournament': { 'url': '/football/competition/{tournamentId}/standings' } } }; if (!document.querySelector('script[src="https://widgets.sportal365.com/loader.bundle.min.js"]')) { window.setTimeout(function () { let scriptCss = document.createElement('link'); scriptCss.href = 'https://www.pulsesports.ug/css/sport-widgets.css?v=1668785443'; scriptCss.rel = 'stylesheet'; scriptCss.type = 'text/css'; document.body.appendChild(scriptCss); let scriptTag = document.createElement('script'); scriptTag.src = 'https://widgets.sportal365.com/loader.bundle.min.js'; scriptTag.defer = true; scriptTag.onload = function () { window.setTimeout(function () { new SMPWidgetsLoader(widgetLoaderConfig); }, 200); }; document.head.appendChild(scriptTag); }, 0); } else { new SMPWidgetsLoader(widgetLoaderConfig); }

Manchester United to qualify for Champions League

Barring any catastrophic setbacks, we expect Manchester United to seal their place in Europe’s flagship club competition next season. 

Frank Lampard has only one win since his return to the Chelsea dugout and the Blues have been abysmal under his care. With the Red Devils highly motivated, losing at home to this Chelsea side is highly unlikely. 

Red Devils to finish third?

UCL qualification isn’t the only thing still available, there is the chance to finish in third place still up for grabs. 

var widgetLoaderConfig = widgetLoaderConfig || { CDN_URL: 'https://widgets.sportal365.com', APP_LINK: 'desktop', API_URL: 'https://africa.football.api.sportal365.com/', API_KEY: '2f852b4de2f3a5cf3188e74b33087bb4:2c18422f8e826a7d11aeed52edb2449e', LANG: 'en', REQUEST_INTERVAL: 30, ENABLE_BET_SLIP: false, AUTHOR: false, THEME: "light", TOURNAMENT_ORDER: "pulse_nigeria", LINK_OPTIONS_V2: { 'player' : { 'url': '/football/player/{playerId}' }, 'team' : { 'url': '/football/{teamId}' }, 'tournament': { 'url': '/football/competition/{tournamentId}' }, 'match': { 'url' : '/football/match/{matchId}', 'sort': { 'criteria': 'alphabetically', 'direction': 'asc' } }, 'configuration': { 'newWindow': false }, 'standings_tournament': { 'url': '/football/competition/{tournamentId}/standings' } } }; if (!document.querySelector('script[src="https://widgets.sportal365.com/loader.bundle.min.js"]')) { window.setTimeout(function () { let scriptCss = document.createElement('link'); scriptCss.href = 'https://www.pulsesports.ug/css/sport-widgets.css?v=1668785443'; scriptCss.rel = 'stylesheet'; scriptCss.type = 'text/css'; document.body.appendChild(scriptCss); let scriptTag = document.createElement('script'); scriptTag.src = 'https://widgets.sportal365.com/loader.bundle.min.js'; scriptTag.defer = true; scriptTag.onload = function () { window.setTimeout(function () { new SMPWidgetsLoader(widgetLoaderConfig); }, 200); }; document.head.appendChild(scriptTag); }, 0); } else { new SMPWidgetsLoader(widgetLoaderConfig); }

Newcastle are currently third on 70 points and a win would take Ten Hag’a men to 72 points with one game left of the season. A remarkable achievement considering where the club was when the Dutchman took over. 

Lampard’s team selection 

Chelsea have up to 9 players injured and unavailable for this game and it will be intriguing to see what lineup Frank Lampard selects. Benoit Badiashile was added to the list of absentees after picking up an injury in training that could rule him out for at least 4 months. 

Return of Marcus Rashford

United’s top scorer Marcus Rashford picked up an injury in the 1-0 reverse to West Ham and hasn’t played since.

The England international has completed three full training sessions and could be in line to make a comeback against the Blues on Thursday night and help the Red Devils seal Champions League qualification with a game to spare. 

Related content