The world’s oldest football competition, FA Cup, is in its fifth round and many clubs were involved in the competition on Friday and Saturday respectively.
Brighton, Manchester City, Wolves, Crystal Palace, Newport County, Watford, QPR, Swansea and Millwall were in action during the weekend and some breathtaking goals were scored such as Riyad Mahrez’s goal against Newport on Saturday.
However, the most interesting and most anticipating fixture of the this round is set come up later tonight at Stamford Bridge where Chelsea play host to Manchester United.
Both sides negotiated their ways through to the final of the competition last season but Chelsea were the eventual Champions after defeating the Red Devils by a lone goal, thanks to Eden Hazard who converted from the spot.
Nine months after, things had drastically changed for both sides, they have changed managers and they are both contesting for a top-four finish by the end of the season.
Match preview
Chelsea’s last Premier League game ended in disappointment as Sarri recorded his heaviest defeat in his managerial career when City scored six goals against his men.
Though they returned to winning ways in Thursday’s Europa League clash against Malmo, it is obvious that the Blues are fragile at the back of the pitch since Sarri took over from Antonio Conte.
The Italian must find solution to his defence later tonight if he must avoid conceding baskets of goals against United.
As for the Old Trafford outfits, their last Premier League fixture ended in a 3-0 victory over Huddersfield Town.
However, Solskjaer’s unbeaten run came to an end as he was thrashed 2-0 by Paris St-German in last week’s Champions League encounter.
Solskjaer will hope to beat Maurizio Sarri’s men so as to further back up his claim for a permanent role at United manager. Sarri will hope to see his team beat the Red Devils to bolster his chance of securing his job beyond the end of the season.
Team News
Maurizio Sarri may be without Ruben Loftus-Cheek for tonight’s encounter due to injury, while Gary Cahill and Danny Drinkwater are tipped to make the bench.
At the other hand, United will be without injured Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard for today’s showdown. Both players limped off the pitch in their defeat to PSG on Tuesday and they are set to be sidelined for three weeks.
Longterm absentees Matteo Darmian and Antonio Valencia are equally unavailable for selection. Alexis is also a major doubt for Solskjaer’s side.
Prediction
With their respective forms , it won’t be too difficult to give the away team an outright victory. Nonetheless, the Blues have defeated the Red Devils in their previous three FA Cup fixtures, hence, the result could go either way.
United should be able to defeat Chelsea by a lone goal margin.
Our final prediction : Chelsea 0 – 1 Manchester United.