Two struggling sides meet at Stamford Bridge on Thursday night as Mauricio Pochettino’s Chelsea play host to fallen giants Man United.
Both sides flattered to deceive before the international break and endured frustrating returns to domestic football, with Chelsea held to a 2-2 draw by ten-man Burnley and United escaping Brentford with a 1-1 draw.
Chelsea, who have spent over £1billion on new signings under Todd Boehly, have struggled in Pochettino’s first season at Stamford Bridge, slipping into the bottom-half of the Premier League table with ten games remaining.
Indeed, the west Londoners are closer to the relegation zone than they are Premier League leaders Liverpool.
Manchester United currently sit five places and eight points above Chelsea but will still be underwhelmed and disappointed by a season in which they also suffered a group-stage exit in the Champions League.
Ten Hag’s side face an uphill battle to qualify for the Champions League next season as they chase Tottenham and Aston Villa, nine and 11 points above them respectively.
Looking ahead to United’s midweek trip to Chelsea, Merson told Sportskeeda:’Manchester United are a million miles away from the likes of Liverpool at the moment. Liverpool have kids playing at times, and United are still so far behind them.
‘Their performance against Brentford was very worrying, and they’re going to have to make a decision at the end of the season. Are they going to give Ten Hag another chance? I’m not sure.
‘It’s very difficult to predict this game. It’s not even a big game, is it? This used to be a mouthwatering fixture. Now, one of these teams got ripped to shreds by Brentford, and the other wasn’t able to dominate a ten-man Burnley side.
‘This is a manager’s game, if I’m being honest. Neither team would want to lose this football match. If Ten Hag loses this game and suffers another defeat against Liverpool next week, he’ll be under massive pressure.
‘Chelsea have the home advantage, but they’re not really dominant. It’ll be a big worry if they don’t beat Man United, because Chelsea fans will remember what Brentford did to United.
‘This won’t be an easy encounter, but Chelsea should be able to win this game. I’m going for 2-1.’
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