When I was playing for Chelsea, this used to be the most important game in the Premier League. In the Premier League, Chelsea and Manchester United have dominated for about 10 years. Unfortunately, it's even more out of reach now that both clubs have found their peak.
The current situation between the two sides is a reflection of how badly the club is being run, although United seem to have embarked on positive reforms in recent weeks in a bid to seek a brighter future off the pitch.
On the pitch, the Roadrunners, who are seeking a higher league position, and Manchester United have been very poor in the league of late, and it is absolutely unacceptable that they are being forced by teams they should be beating.
Chelsea and Manchester United also have a top four match to look forward to. Combined with the performances of key players on both sides, this is pretty much the only positive they have this season.
What would Chelsea be without Galpenma? Although Chelsea has underperformed, he was excellent in his first goal since joining. He scored 17 goals and handed out 11 assists in all competitions. Recently, he earned a call-up to the England national team.
The rest of Chelsea's players paled in comparison, and it almost reminded me of high school varsity soccer, where the other players seemed to think that they could just pass the ball to Galpenma and expect him to contribute to the team. Although Chelsea had been undefeated for 5 games prior to this match, they had lost by a total of 10 goals. Hopefully, seeing Tiago Schwarz back in this game adds some much needed experience to Chelsea's defense, which is riddled with mistakes. I know they are missing some key players in the backline, such as Reyes, Chivier and Wesley Cofinna. From a defensive point of view, only the play of Marco Gusto was outstanding.
For United, and as I said a few weeks ago it is their young players that keep the Red Devils struggling to survive, Maneo proved his mettle in the Otford. I had the great pleasure of watching him in person at the recent Friends of England game and it was excellent.
Unfortunately, with the exception of 1 or 2 players, his teammates at the club are not moving in the same direction, which has resulted in United's performance in the last five games being the worst out of the top 13 teams in the Premier League, with only Crystal Palace, Luton, Ewarton, Nottingham Forest, Sydney United, the Bonny Boys, and Brentford, performing worse than United in the last five games. That's a shocking statistic for Tannhäuser and his team.
Like Chelsea, Manchester United have a group of players who have won English soccer teams, other national leagues and even world championships. Unfortunately, currently leading the way are an 18 year old player from their own youth training and a 21 year old recruit making his first appearance in the Premier League.
I can't see either side being strong enough or hungry enough to win this game, so I expect a 2:2 and wave.
