Chelsea and Manchester United lock horns at Stamford Bridge on Monday as they look to ensure their place in the draw for the FA Cup quarter-finals.
Maurizio Sarri’s Blues have been going through a rocky patch of late, with their Premier League campaign suffering, but they come into the fifth-round tie buoyed by a win over Malmo in the last 32 of the Europa League.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side, meanwhile, in London on the back of a disappointing Champions League defeat to Paris Saint-Germain , which delivered a serious blow to their chances of progressing in that competition.
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The teams could not be separated when they met at the same venue earlier this season, with Ross Barkley’s injury-time equaliser rescuing a point for Chelsea.
TV Channel, Live Stream & How To Watch
In the United States (US), the game will not be broadcast on television but will be available to live stream through ESPN+.
In the United Kingdom (UK), the game will be shown live on TV on BBC One and it can be streamed live online using the BBC iPlayer service.
Squads & Team News
Chelsea starting XI: Kepa; Azpilicueta, David Luiz, Rudiger, Alonso; Kante, Jorginho, Kovacic; Pedro, Higuain, Hazard
Subs : Caballero, Christensen, Zappacosta, Barkley, Hudson-Odoi, Willian, Giroud
Man Utd starting XI: Romero; Young, Lindelof, Smalling, Shaw; Herrera, Matic, Pogba; Mata, Lukaku, Rashford
Subs : De Gea, Bailly, Dalot, Fred, McTominay, Andreas, Alexis
Betting & Match Odds
Hosts Chelsea are favourites to progress in the competition, with bet365 giving odds of 21/20 on a Blues victory.
Manchester United’s chances of winning are rated at 11/4 and a draw, which would see the game go to extra time and penalties, is also an 11/4 bet.
Click here to see all of bet 365’s offers for the game, including goalscoring markets, correct score predictions and more.
Match Preview
Solskjaer admitted that Manchester United not up to the level required following their Champions League loss to PSG, which brought an end to an unbeaten run that ran for 11 games, and he will be eager to ensure it was a mere blip in by returning to winning ways on Monday.
The Norwegian has overseen a dramatic change in fortunes for the Old Trafford club since taking over from Jose Mourinho, with players such as Martial and Paul Pogba thriving under his leadership. Having previously masterminded victories over Tottenham and Arsenal, the defeat to PSG is a major test for the resurgent team as they head into a difficult run of fixtures.
The upcoming game against Chelsea is followed by, among others, encounters with Liverpool, PSG again, Arsenal and Manchester City, so the sooner they consign their loss to the Parisians to the past, the better.
Chelsea, meanwhile, reached a critical juncture in their season, with Sarri forced to shield himself from the slings and arrows of critics following a humiliating and inconsistent period which saw his side concede six goals against Man City and four against Bournemouth.
Questions have now arisen over the former Napoli coach’s suitability to deliver success, but he can strike back at that perception by mounting a serious defence of the FA Cup.
Should they pass this considerable hurdle, Chelsea will be just two games away from another shot at silverware at Wembley, something which could well buy Sarri more time.