United head to Stamford Bridge on Friday night for our final Premier League fixture before the Europa League final, looking to end a dismal run of domestic form against a Chelsea side fighting for Champions League qualification.
The Reds enter this match in the midst of a seven-game winless run in the league – our worst such streak in the Premier League era – following Sunday’s disappointing 2-0 defeat to West Ham at Old Trafford.
While all eyes are naturally on Wednesday’s Europa League final against Real Betis in Bilbao, Ruben Amorim will be desperate to see some improvement in our league performances to build momentum heading into that crucial fixture.
TEAM NEWS
Leny Yoro has emerged as a fresh injury concern after being substituted early in the second half against West Ham. The young French defender now joins a growing list of absentees that already includes Diogo Dalot, Matthijs de Ligt, Joshua Zirkzee, Lisandro Martinez, Toby Collyer, and Ayden Heaven.
Amorim has admitted he’s been carefully managing the minutes of several key players ahead of the Europa League final, with Harry Maguire and Noussair Mazraoui among those being handled with extra caution.
The return of Amad continues to be a bright spot, with the Ivorian winger putting in another lively performance against the Hammers after his recovery from an ankle injury that kept him sidelined for months.
THE OPPOSITION
Chelsea have enjoyed a resurgence under Enzo Maresca this season, looking much more like the top-four contenders of old after several years of transition. They currently sit fifth in the table, locked in a three-way battle with Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest for the final Champions League spot.
Their recent form had been excellent until Sunday’s setback at Newcastle, where they played over an hour with 10 men after Nicolas Jackson’s red card. Prior to that defeat, they’d won five consecutive matches across all competitions, including impressive victories over Liverpool in the league and Djurgarden in both legs of their Conference League semi-final.
The Blues have been particularly formidable at Stamford Bridge in 2025, remaining unbeaten in all nine Premier League home games (W7 D2) while conceding just seven goals – the fewest of any team on home turf this calendar year.
Chelsea’s striker crisis offers us a potential advantage, with Jackson suspended and both Christopher Nkunku and Marc Guiu sidelined through injury. But watch out for Cole Palmer.
FORM GUIDE
Chelsea (all competitions): WWWWL
Chelsea (Premier League): DWWWL
Manchester United (all competitions): DWLWL
Manchester United (Premier League): LLDLL
Our domestic form has been in complete contrast to our European performances. We haven’t won in the league since a 3-0 victory at Leicester on March 16, a run of seven games that has seen us plummet to 16th in the table.
However, our European form has been sensational, remaining unbeaten throughout the competition and smashing 14 goals in our last four games, including that unforgettable 5-4 win over Lyon and the emphatic 3-0 first-leg triumph in Bilbao.
Chelsea had been on a five-game winning streak across all competitions before their defeat at Newcastle. They’re still very much in the hunt for a Champions League place, sitting fifth in the table level on points with Aston Villa and just ahead of Nottingham Forest.
PREVIOUS MEETINGS
We haven’t had the best of records against Chelsea in recent years, winning just one of our last 11 Premier League away games at Stamford Bridge – a 2-0 victory under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in February 2020.
The fixture between these two sides has produced more draws than any other in Premier League history (27), including our 1-1 stalemate at Old Trafford back in November. On that occasion, Moises Caicedo’s volley quickly cancelled out Bruno Fernandes’ penalty during Ruud van Nistelrooy’s caretaker spell.
Last season’s meeting at Stamford Bridge was a thriller, with Cole Palmer scoring twice deep into stoppage time to seal a dramatic 4-3 win for the hosts after we had fought back from two goals down.
PREDICTED LINEUP
Bayindir;
Fredricson, Lindelof, Shaw;
Dorgu, Mainoo, Ugarte, Amass;
Diallo, Obi-Martin, Mount.
PREDICTION
Given our contrasting league and European form, it’s difficult to know which United will turn up on Friday night. With Amorim likely to have one eye on the Europa League final, we might see a rotated side, but there will still be a strong desire to build some momentum.
Chelsea have been impressive at home in 2025, remaining unbeaten in all nine of their Premier League games at Stamford Bridge. However, their striker crisis could play into our hands if we can stay defensively solid.
I’m going for an entertaining score draw that will at least end our losing run ahead of the big one in Bilbao next week.
Chelsea 2-2 Manchester United