FA Cup: Chelsea vs Manchester United preview and possible lineups

Chelsea vs Manchester United preview and possible lineups

By Mgdon

We look ahead to the FA Cup fifth round tie between Chelsea and Manchester United at Stamford Bridge - a match of vital importance in determining the futures of the two sides' respective managers. Maurizio Sarri is facing mounting pressure after a recent 6-0 defeat to Manchester City, while Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will hope his tenure doesn't start to go downhill after losing 2-0 to PSG.

TEAM NEWS

Chelsea
Having rested some of his stars against Malmo on Thursday, Maurizio Sarri is set to field a stronger XI in this encounter. Eden Hazard and Gonzalo Higuain should return to the side, with Olivier Giroud expected to fall back to the bench. Ross Barkley could beat Mateo Kovacic to a place in Chelsea's midfield, having scored a goal against Malmo. Ederson Palmieri is likely to start at left-back, with rumours circulating that Marcos Alonso fell out with Sarri after the 6-0 defeat to Manchester City. Rueben Loftus-Cheek may not even make the bench due to a niggling back injury.

Manchester United
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer lost Jesse Lingard and Anthony Martial to injury during his side's 2-0 defeat to PSG in midweek, providing a boost to fellow wingers Alexis Sanchez and Juan Mata's chances of starting against Chelsea. Solskjaer is a known fan of pace on the wings, however, meaning one of these two could miss out to Marcus Rashford, with Romelu Lukaku potentially coming in to play as the main striker. United's woes at right-back continue, with Antionio Valencia and Matteo Darmian both ruled out for a few weeks, meaning Ashley Young should retain his place in defence.

MANAGERS' THOUGHTS

Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri on his side's performance against Malmo and the importance of consistency:
"We played our football. We need to move the ball more forward and back. In the last period we had a problem about up and down, 4-0, 5-0, 6-0, we needed to have continuity and consistency."

"We need to have the right application. If you have a bad mental application in England you can lose three or four matches. We need to have consistency. It is not easy, but we have to try."

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer on his memories of Chelsea and his selection dilemma in attack:
“In 99 we beat them down at Stamford Bridge to get to the [FA Cup] final and then we beat Arsenal and Liverpool, we did it the hard way then and we will have to do it the hard way this year, looking forward to it.”

Chance for anyone who plays, Alexis, Romelu, Chongy or Angel, Anthony and Jesse have done really well for us, they’re vital but then again with Rom and Alexis, they’ve got different skill sets and will be able to show what they can do. So we just need to gel a team together for Monday.

DID YOU KNOW?
The two sides' last FA Cup meeting was in last season's final, which Chelsea won 1-0.

Chelsea could become the first team to beat Manchester United in five consecutive FA Cup matches.

In their last two Premier League away games Chelsea have conceded a total of 10 goals while United have conceded none.

POSSIBLE LINE-UPS

Chelsea: Kepa; Azpilicueta, Rudiger, Luiz, Emerson; Jorginho, Kante, Barkley; Willian, Higuain, Hazard.

Manchester United: De Gea; Young, Jones, Lindelof, Shaw; Matic, Herrera, Pogba; Sanchez, Lukaku, Rashford.