Chelsea v Manchester United predictions: United can stay in the top four hunt

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for Chelsea v Manchester United in the Premier League on Saturday.

Where to watch

Sky Sports Main Event/Premier League, 5.30pm Saturday

Best bet

Man Utd or draw double chance
1pt 8-11 Betfred, BoyleSports, Coral

Team news

Chelsea
N'Golo Kante, Wesley Fofana and Reece James are sidelined but Conor Gallagher (illness) is in the squad.

Manchester United
Cristiano Ronaldo will not be considered for the weekend while Harry Maguire, Anthony Martial, Donny Van de Beek, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Brandon Williams are ruled out.

Match preview

Manchester United have experienced many false dawns since Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement in 2013 but their 2-0 victory over Tottenham on Wednesday was hugely impressive and it could be followed by a strong showing against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

The Red Devils have an excellent recent record against the Blues, avoiding defeat in each of the last nine Premier League meetings, and they look ready to take at least a point from Saturday evening's showdown.

Chelsea are a point above United and are unbeaten in seven matches since Graham Potter's appointment.

But they were fortunate 2-0 winners at Aston Villa last Sunday, losing the shot count 18 to eight, and could have no complaints with a 0-0 draw at Brentford on Wednesday.

Potter prefers to plan for the long term and has been given the security of a five-year contract, but he was never likely to be an instant fix for Chelsea's problems and may need a few transfer windows to mould the squad to his liking.

Chelsea look a long way away from delivering a meaningful title challenge and success for them this season would be to perhaps win a cup and secure a top four finish.

However, the battle for Champions League places is shaping up to be a lively scrap with Liverpool recovering from their early-season slump and Newcastle emerging as possible contenders.

United's Champions League qualification hopes were written off after they started the season with defeats at home to Brighton and away to Brentford.

Erik ten Hag's side were incredibly poor against Brentford, where they lacked cohesion, focus and intensity, but they have come a long way in ten weeks and were absolutely outstanding in their midweek victory over Spurs.

United were up against a Spurs midfield bolstered by Yves Bissoma but they dominated the game and should have won by a wider margin.

Cristiano Ronaldo did his best to take the attention away from the performance by deciding against hanging around until the final whistle, but there was no deflecting from the quality of the display, which marks United down as serious top four contenders.

Ten Hag has the option of recalling Christian Eriksen, who has fully recovered from the illness which restricted him to a substitute's role against Tottenham, but he must be sorely tempted to stick with the same group of players.

Chelsea are likely to offer more of a challenge than Spurs, who were well below par, but United have the look of a team on an upward curve and they can cap off a fine week with at least a point in the capital.