'I wouldn't have Chelsea down as home bankers to beat Manchester United'

Former England defender Paul Parker, who played 105 times for Manchester United and made four appearances for Chelsea, gives his verdict on the clubs as they prepare to meet in the Premier League on Monday.

There has been so much negativity surrounding Manchester United that it's easy to forget what is still possible for them this season.

United can't win the Premier League title or the EFL Cup, but they head to Stamford Bridge on Monday night still fighting on three important fronts.

They're among the favourites for the Europa League, face Derby in the fifth round of the FA Cup, and if they beat Chelsea they'll be just three points behind the Blues in the race for the top four.

As a footballer at this stage of the season you can't ask for much more than that.

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Maybe if there was a different person in charge of the club, a bigger name with more managerial experience, people would be focusing on the positives.

As it is, though, everyone is condemning Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and saying he should never have got the job.

But some of the things that have gone against him – the injury to Marcus Rashford and the Paul Pogba situation, for example – are out of his control and he shouldn't be blamed for them.

Manchester United will always be a big story because the club has been so successful in the past.

They're still the number-one talking point but Ole and his players just need to ignore the criticism and focus on winning games of football because there's still so much to play for.

Anything can happen in the FA Cup and remember that United won the Europa League under Jose Mourinho with a poor team - and a bit of luck.

I certainly wouldn't have Chelsea down as home bankers to beat them at Stamford Bridge.

The English press always seem to want to write great things about Frank Lampard but if it was someone else doing a similar job at Chelsea then they might be under more pressure.

They have not been great at home this season and United's record in these big games is decent.

They won at City in the league and the League Cup, drew at home to Liverpool, and the only high-profile match in which they haven't competed well was on New Year's Day when they lost 2-0 away at Arsenal.

I was at the Emirates that night and I expected better from United but maybe you just have to give credit to Arsenal's centre-backs for doing their jobs well – a rare thing this season!

I also saw United's EFL Cup win at Chelsea in October which was pretty much the perfect away performance at a big club.

Can they do the same on Monday? I wouldn't rule it out although it's going to be tougher without Rashford, who scored both goals in that cup win and is a massive player in the United frontline.

But the signing of Bruno Fernandes is a huge positive for United. He's the kind of player you can build a midfield around and it should encourage his teammates to get forward, knowing that he'll see their runs and pick them out.

United need more continuity in defence but with Fernandes in midfield and Rashford coming back from injury there is still the potential for a strong finish to the season.

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