Premier League: How to watch Manchester United vs Chelsea live on May 25, 2023

Topics: TV Schedules, Manchester United, Chelsea, English Premier League

The Red Devils host the Blues needing only a point to secure UEFA Champions League qualification. Here's a preview of this interesting Old Trafford showdown.

Manchester United return to action this midweek following their crucial weekend victory at Bournemouth. The Red Devils are 90 minutes away from achieving one of their biggest goals of the season – to qualify for the UEFA Champions League – but will have to pick up the necessary result against Chelsea, the struggling English giants that are blessed with talent throughout their squad.

Manchester United are one point away from securing a top-four finish this season, an achievement that appeared done and dusted not too long ago until a run of poor results between April and May.

However, Ten Hag's men are currently on 69 points with two games remaining while fifth-placed Liverpool are on 66 points with only one game remaining. This means Bruno Fernandes and Co. simply need a point at home to the Blues in order to officially return to the UEFA Champions League.

The Red Devils should feel confident for this tie given the home advantage. Since their 2-1 opening day defeat against Brighton, Manchester United have won all but three Premier League games at Old Trafford, with those three slip-ups being draws, leaving them unbeaten.

The hosts have lost two of their last four top-flight outings but those two defeats came away from home, going 1-0 down against at Brighton and West Ham in consecutive fixtures. Since then, however, Ten Hag's men have won back-to-back fixtures without conceding, beating Wolves and Bournemouth 2-0 and 1-0 respectively.

The last time Manchester United locked horns with Chelsea, Casemiro rescued a point, with the Brazilian scoring an equalizer in the fourth minute of stoppage time to secure a 1-1 draw. A lot has changed since then, including the opposition's demise, meaning anything short of three points could be seen as a disappointment.

Chelsea have little left to fight for other than pride. The London giants cannot mathematically finish in the top half of the table but at the very least, Lampard's men would not want to finish behind 11th-placed Crystal Palace.

The two-time UEFA Champions League winners are 12th in the table but have two games left this season, meaning Enzo Fernandez and Co. could climb to 11th if they win both ties – a win and a draw could suffice depending on Palace's result on the final day.

The Blues enter their clash with the Red Devils on the back of their encounter with Premier League champions Manchester City. Despite Guardiola heavily rotating, Chelsea could not pick up a point against the Cityzens, losing 1-0 to a Julian Alvarez goal.

This leaves the London giants with only one win from their last 12 games across all competitions. While Lampard was appointed in an interim role with the goal of galvanizing the club following Graham Potter's sacking, things have only gotten worse for Chelsea.

Not only were they torn apart by Arsenal not too long ago, but the Blues were also beaten by the likes of Brentford, Brighton, and Wolves. Additionally, Nottingham Forest pulled off a draw at Stamford Bridge, meaning the visitors will need a drastic improvement if they are to come away from Old Trafford with anything.

Team news

Manchester United: Lisandro Martinez, Donny van de Beek, and Marcel Sabitzer are all unavailable but Marcus Rashford could return for this crucial tie. It will be interesting to see whether Anthony Martial will start following his reaction to being subbed off against Bournemouth. If not, Alejandro Garnacho will be hoping for a spot in the lineup.

Chelsea: The Blues' injury crisis continues to get worse, with Benoit Badiashile joining Mason Mount, Ben Chilwell, Armando Broja, N'Golo Kante, Marc Cucurella, and Reece James on the sidelines. Carney Chukwuemeka, who was blocked from representing England at the U-20 World Cup, will be hoping for some minutes due to the absence of Mateo Kovacic. Meanwhile, Joao Felix has returned to fitness and could start at Old Trafford.

Key stats

Chelsea are winless in their last 10 Premier League games against Manchester United (D7, L3).
Manchester United have never gone 11 straight games without defeat against the Blues in the Premier League.
The Red Devils have conceded no goals in their last six games at Old Trafford in the English top flight.
The London giants are winless in their last nine trips to the Theatre of Dreams but they also have the third most away wins in the Premier League against Manchester United (6).