Chelsea's bid for a Champions League spot for next season looks to have one significant less hurdle. For Manchester United, there is suddenly a path to join them.
The two Premier League evergreens collide Monday night at Stamford Bridge coming off their midseason break looking to kick on for the stretch drive.
Both clubs have the chance to be the beneficiaries of UEFA's staggering decision to hand Manchester City a two-year ban from European competition on Friday. While that penalty will be appealed by the current two-time champions, it benefits Chelsea (12-5-8) more than Manchester United (9-8-8) in the short term.
The Pensioners are currently fourth in the table, nine points adrift of third-place Leicester City but also 10 back of Manchester City. Moving into a provisional third for Champions League play with the ban creates a greater margin for error for Frank Lampard's side, who host Bayern Munich in the first leg of their round of 16 tie on Feb. 25.
The morale boost could be needed given Chelsea entered their break in a state of flux. Lampard turned to Willy Caballero between the sticks a fortnight ago in their 2-2 draw at Leicester City, and that performance may have been enough to restore Kepa Arrizabalaga to the No. 1 status.
"The reaction from Kepa has been good as I'd expect, training hard, head down," Lampard told Chelsea's official website. "I haven't had lots of conversations with him this week and it'll be a decision for me to make. I've decided but you'll have to wait to find out."It doesn't matter how you came to the club, what age you are, what part of your career you're at. If it did, then I'd have to pick the whole team on how much they cost and it can't be that way. All the players know that. It's all about how you train every day and how you play on match day. I have to have that competition within the squad."
Chelsea also conducted some transfer business ahead of next season, agreeing to terms with Ajax forward Hakim Ziyech to bring him to London in the summer. The Morocco international has eight goals in 27 matches across all competitions for his Dutch club and 14 in 32 international appearances. In the short term, however, Ziyech will not be able to fill Christian Pulisic's spot as the American is closer to coming back from an adductor injury but not expected to be available in this match.
For Manchester United, the ban given to their eternal rivals throws them into what would currently be a seven-team scrap for the fourth Champions League spot. Despite being in ninth place, the Red Devils are just four back of Sheffield United for fifth in the table. A win and favourable results could vault them into sixth, but this match starts a challenging week in which Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's team face Belgian side Club Brugge in the first leg of their Europa League round of 32 tie and are home to Watford on Sunday.
"Yeah a win gives us a three-point gap and, of course, that's what we've got to aim for," Solskjaer said at Friday's news conference after the team returned from warm-weather training in Marbella. "We've played them twice already this season and done well, but Chelsea are a good team. They are at home, but we're going to go there to try to win the game.
"We've got to, to give us more belief and more hope and give us confidence that we can kick on, because we need to kick on."
United continue to be without injured first-choice striker Marcus Rashford, an absence that looms large considering he had a brace in the season-opening 4-0 victory that spoiled Lampard's coaching debut with Chelsea and another two-goal effort in United's 2-1 victory at Stamford Bridge in October in the Carabao Cup.
To address the lack of personnel in attack, United signed Odion Ighalo on loan from Chinese club Shanghai Greenland Shenhua. He had 10 goals in 17 matches in the Chinese Super League, part of a productive spell in which he totaled 46 goals in 72 matches over two-plus seasons there after totaling 33 in 82 matches for Watford from 2014-17.
Solskjaer was coy about whether the Nigeria international would feature in this match, but is counting on Ighalo to ease the burden on youngsters Mason Greenwood, Daniel James, and Anthony Martial.
"The club has always been very good and, in Odion, we get a proper man, a great lad and a good goalscorer," the United boss told Sky Sports. "Not only was he top scorer in the Africa Cup of Nations but I know him from way back when he was in Norway 10-12 years ago. His career has developed and he gives us a different option up front.
"I'm delighted that he wanted to come for a few months on loan, from now until the end of the season. For us, it's great to have him around and I know he's such a Manchester United fan, he will give absolutely everything - on and off the pitch."
United are 3-2-0 in their last five matches against Chelsea in all competitions and are looking for their first four-match unbeaten run at Stamford Bridge since going 3-2-0 from 1994-98.
February 17, 2020 at 05:30AM
Manchester United-Chelsea Preview
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