Midweek Matchup: Manchester United vs Chelsea

Chelsea and Manchester United do battle in Premier League action tonight, with both sides seeking the win in their bids for Champions League football next season.

Two sides who at the start of the season tipped to be embroiled in the fight for the title, Manchester United and Chelsea have been somewhat disappointing this campaign.

While both at points did look to be challengers, they dropped off as quickly as they got up there, and now find themselves fighting a different battle.

For the Blues, what was once a solidified third-place finish now looks to be in contention after some poor results. Now, their spot is up for grabs, and the teams fighting for fourth, which includes United, will be looking to capitalise at any opportunity.

So this game is big for both sides. The three points will be huge in their hunt for Champions League football next season. But who should your money be on for getting the victory?

 

Goals 

Manchester United: 53 

Chelsea: 67 

 

Despite not having one main goal scorer as their striker options aren't exactly the most reliable, Chelsea have still managed to score the third most goals in the league and 10th most from all the teams in Europe's top five leagues so far this season.

Mason Mount is their top scorer with 10 goals, although recent games has seen Kai Havertz step up in the striker role and net a couple goals for the Blues.

Manchester United were expected to be up there with the big boys of Europe for goals, too. While that hasn't quite panned out, their total is nothing to laugh about. It is still the fifth most goals scored in the league.

United's top goal scorer is their main man, Cristiano Ronaldo, who has 16 goals in his first season back in the Prem. He is third in the league for most goals, behind Mo Salah (22) and Son Heung-min (17).

Most notably, he has four goals in his last two games, including a hat-trick against Norwich in matchweek 33.

 

xG per 90 minutes 

Manchester United: 1.50 

Chelsea: 1.75 

 

The best example to show that both sides have been good scorers this year is the difference between their xG per 90 minutes and their actual amount per 90 minutes.

Manchester United is only a slight overachiever, with their actual total coming in at 1.53 goals per 90 minutes, just a small +0.03 difference.

It is the actual amount that matters most, though, and for United, their goal scoring is what might just get them a place in the Champions League next year.

For Chelsea, though, it is a much bigger improvement in comparison. They are overachieving their xG total by +0.31, with their actual total coming in at 2.06 goals per 90 minutes.

That is one of the biggest differences in Europe this season. 

 

Shots total per 90 minutes 

Manchester United: 13.71 

Chelsea: 14.75 

 

These two are somewhat evenly matched for shooting in some statistics. They have taken a similar amount of shots this year - 472 for Chelsea and 466 for United. Although, Chelsea would have a bit more of a lead if it weren't for the fact that they are two games down United, so their rate of shots per 90 minutes being slightly superior would give them a better advantage.

Chelsea also maybe unsurprisingly have a higher goals per shot rate, with theirs being 0.13 and United's at 0.11.

 

Shots on target per 90 mins 

Manchester United: 4.79 

Chelsea: 5.16 

 

Chelsea may have an advantage again here, but when looking at other metrics, it's even. The metric in question now is that of their shots on target percentage, which comes to 35% for both sides. That's joint third best in the league.

But again, Chelsea have the lead for goals per shots on target, with their 0.36 beating United's 0.31.

 

Goals conceded per 90 mins 

Manchester United: 1.50 

Chelsea: 0.84 

 

A big gap between the two here, as Chelsea is one of the best defensive sides in the league, nay in Europe, and United are really not.

Chelsea have conceded 27 goals this season, the third least amount for both the league and from Europe's 'Big Five'. They have the second best save percentage in the league, and are third for clean sheets and clean sheet percentage.

United, with their ever-so-shaky defence, ranks 14th in the league for goals conceded, 13th for clean sheets and clean sheet percentage, and 11th for save percentage.

Defensively, they can be described as shaky at best.

 

Penalties 

Manchester United: 2/4 

Chelsea: 7/8 

 

Referees this season have been rather generous to the top three for penalties, with Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool all having taken eight penalties. More interestingly, all three have only missed once.

United, on the other hand, have only been given half the amount, and to make matters worse for themselves, have only converted half of those. Most recently, Bruno Fernandes missed a penalty against Arsenal despite Cristiano Ronaldo being on the pitch, a miss which if scored could have prevented their eventual loss.

 

Corners per game 

Manchester United: 5.29 

Chelsea: 6.31 

 

Just over a corner per game more for Chelsea here, as they have received the fourth most corners in the league. United do break into the top 10, though, coming in at the number seven spot.

As for goals from set pieces, Chelsea have scored 11, while United have scored six.

Need you be reminded that it took until the middle of February for the Red Devils to get their first goal from a corner this season.

 

Cards 

Manchester United: 70 Y, 2 R 

Chelsea: 52 Y, 1 R 

 

Manchester United's poor disciplinary record this season is really put on show when compared to one of the teams that have hung around the top spot all season long.

70 yellow cards is the fifth most in the league, and along with two red cards, it really reads poorly from them. A rate of 2.06 yellows per game for them means that a bet on a yellow for them isn't a dumb idea.

Chelsea fare much better, with their better discipline showing out to be 1.62 yellows per game.