With Morgan Rodgers: Former England striker Michael Owen has tipped Chelsea to beat Manchester United 3-1 in their Premier League clash on Saturday backing the hosts to exploit United’s defensive vulnerabilities and capitalise on their home advantage as both sides look to recover from defeats in their previous league outings.
Chelsea head into the contest after losing to Tottenham Hotspur at home, while Manchester United suffered a heavy defeat against Bournemouth. With both sides under pressure to respond, Owen believes Chelsea are better placed mentally to deliver a positive result, despite their own inconsistency this season.
Assessing the factors that could decide the encounter, Owen pointed to Chelsea’s attacking options and Manchester United’s defensive shortcomings as reasons for backing the Blues to emerge victorious.
"In terms of the results, I do think that Chelsea are in a slightly better position mentally than Manchester United at the moment. Home advantage and some in-form wingers give them the edge. I still think Manchester United’s defense is the weak part of their game. And I can see Chelsea scoring a few goals. They’ve scored quite a few goals already this season, and I can see them scoring a few more in this fixture.
"I’m going to go for a prediction of 3-1 to Chelsea to heap more pressure on Manchester United. I was going to say Michael Carrick, but I don’t think the problem is necessarily just Michael Carrick. It’s Manchester United as a club, because the fans seem to have turned on the board, the hierarchy, and the players more so than the manager. And I would say rightly so. Interesting game, but I think it’s going to be 3-1 to the Blues," Owen said in a video shared by JioStar.
Owen also identified the uncertainty surrounding United’s attacking setup as a key talking point, particularly the decision over whether Bruno Fernandes will return to the starting lineup after being dropped for the Bournemouth match.
Fernandes was left out following his reported outburst over the manager, tactical decisions, his teammates and the club. Owen supported the decision to discipline the midfielder, arguing that maintaining authority is essential for a manager operating at a club of United’s stature.
“On the flip side, who knows what Manchester United’s attack is going to be at the weekend. Obviously, the big decision against Bournemouth was to drop Bruno Fernandes for his outburst against the manager, against tactics, against his teammates, against the squad, against the club in general. And I thought it was the right thing to do from Michael Carrick, despite them losing.
“I don’t think you can show any form of weakness when you’re a manager, certainly not the manager of Manchester United. So, I thought it was the right thing to do. In fact, he possibly could have gone one step further and left him out of the whole squad entirely. But it will be interesting to see what he does against Chelsea, whether he brings him back in or whether he continues to make him pay and suffer for what he said not so long ago,” he added.
The former Manchester United striker also highlighted Chelsea’s attacking depth, although he noted that Joao Pedro’s injury would leave the hosts without one of their key forward options. Owen believes the presence of Danny Welbeck, alongside Morgan Rodgers and Cole Palmer, should still give Chelsea enough attacking threat to trouble United.
“Chelsea against Manchester United in the Premier League. Two teams are coming into this highly intense fixture on the back of a defeat last time out in the Premier League. Manchester United lost quite heavily to Bournemouth, and Chelsea suffered a surprise defeat at home to Tottenham Hotspur. Both Tottenham and Bournemouth deserved their wins against Chelsea and Manchester United respectively. Two huge teams, and it’s time to bounce back.
“You’d have to say that despite a little bit of ups and downs and inconsistency with Chelsea at the moment, there are some signs of them having a good season. They’re up near the top of the table, and individually they’ve got some very, very good players, particularly in attack. I do think Joao Pedro is one of the most underrated centre forwards and has been for some time.
“He’s probably getting the credit he deserves nowadays, and he’s been a top-class, classy striker for a number of years now. But he’s injured, so he won’t be playing in this match, and Danny Welbeck will be replacing him. With Morgan Rodgers and Cole Palmer in behind, it’s still a very potent attack that Chelsea have got even without Pedro in the side,” Owen stated.
“You’d have to say that despite a little bit of ups and downs and inconsistency with Chelsea at the moment, there are some signs of them having a good season. They’re up near the top of the table, and individually they’ve got some very, very good players, particularly in attack. I do think Joao Pedro is one of the most underrated centre forwards and has been for some time.
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Article Source: IANS