EFL Cup: Brilliant Blues and Resurgent Red Devils Battle at the Bridge

Chelsea vs Manchester United

The EFL Cup has thrown together a couple of mouth-watering ties in the round of 16. Aside from Premier League leaders Liverpool taking on Arsenal, the other marquee matchup of the round is Chelsea facing Manchester United.

Neither are among the top favourites according to the EFL Cup 2019 odds, but both still possess the ability to go deep in the tournament.

The Blues have been in brilliant form of late, winning their last seven games in all competitions. They will be brimming in confidence as they look to make it eight on the bounce against United.

But after a poor run of form, the Red Devils have slowly started to turn their results and performances around in recent weeks.

opacity 0

CLICK HERE
TO SEE UPDATED ODDS

UEFA – Champions League

Talking Points

All-conquering Chelsea

Chelsea just can’t be stopped at the moment. After a rocky start to the season, which includes back-to-back home defeats to Valencia and Liverpool, the Blues have reeled off seven consecutive victories.

That streak started with their 7-1 demolition of Grimsby Town in the previous round of the EFL Cup. Michy Batshuayi got the start as the lone striker in that match and made some EFL Cup 2019 highlights as he bagged a brace.

Batshuayi has been fine form of late, scoring in each of his last two appearances. That includes his late winner against Ajax in the Champions League.

Christian Pulisic supplied the assist for Batshuayi’s winner and has also been in impressive form. The young American made a strong claim for a starting spot as he fired home a hat-trick in Chelsea’s 4-2 win over Burnley last weekend.

Batshuayi and Pulisic will likely be given another chance to impress along with Callum Hudson-Odoi, which is quite a dynamic attacking trio.

Chelsea could also make some changes at the back, with full-backs Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso, who has started every match during their recent seven-match run, the night off.

Mini Man United resurgence

It wasn’t that long ago that Manchester United were in the midst of a disastrous six-match winless run. That included a laboured 1-1 draw at home against Rochdale in the previous round of the EFL Cup and only squeaked through on penalties.

But they held Premier League leaders Liverpool to a 1-1 draw the previous week and have since built off that fine result.

After getting past Partizan Belgrade 1-0 away in the Champions League, they recorded a 3-1 away win at Norwich, which is their most impressive win since beating Chelsea 4-0 on the opening game of the Premier League season.

The return of Anthony Martial has been a massive help to a United attack that had scored just three goals over a six-game span. The Frenchman has scored in each of his first two matches back in the side.

EFL Cup: Can Manchester United return home with a win against Chelsea — Anthony Martial celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal for Manchester United

Marcus Rashford has also stepped up his scoring game, scoring two goals with an assist in his last three. Although, both Martial and Rashford will be annoyed at not adding more goals after missing their penalties against Norwich.

United have been at their best season when they can sit back and allow teams to come onto them then spring lightning-quick counterattacks with Martial, Rashford, and Daniel James. That makes their matchup with Chelsea quite an ideal one, as the Blues will be eager to attack and take the game to United.

History

Manchester United thumped Chelsea 4-0 on the opening match of the season. Rashford bagged a brace while Martial and James also got on the score sheet.

With that win, United have now gone four matches undefeated against Chelsea (two wins, two draws). One of United’s wins was a fifth-round FA Cup tie last year.

But historically, the away side hasn’t fared well in this matchup. Prior to United’s FA Cup win, the last time an away side has won was back in 2013.

Meanwhile, the last time Chelsea and United met in the league cup was back in 2012. Chelsea won a blinder of a match which finished 5-4 after extra time.

Betting Tip

	Chelsea vs Manchester United	Chelsea 1X2 @ 1.88
	October 31, 04:05 (GMT+8)

SBOBET odds have Chelsea favoured at 1.92 to win and move on to the quarter-finals, with United priced at 3.80 to score the upset. A draw is 3.40.

While United have been playing better of late, it’s hard to bet against Chelsea at the moment. Frank Lampard has the Blues playing with a lot of confidence, and playing in front of their home crowd should be a big boost to the young side.