Amidst lingering financial concerns, Chelsea look for a late push into the expanded European places as they host annual thorn Manchester United at Stamford Bridge on Thursday.
The Blues sit 11th in the Premier League table, which most seasons would make the run-in to the season merely a formality. Yet this season, with just a four-point gap to seventh and additional European qualifying spots likely to be afforded to the English top flight, the Blues can still harbour hope of snatching a spot if they make a late push down the stretch.
Chelsea will need to be nearly perfect across the final nine games to complete that charge, starting with this match against Man United, a club they surprisingly haven't beaten in Premier League play in 12 straight games.
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Manchester United are in the opposite position, as they sit sixth in the table and face a nearly insurmountable eight-point gab between them and Spurs in fifth. As such, the Red Devils are largely left to look over their shoulder, with West Ham, Newcastle, Brighton, Wolves, and Chelsea all giving chase. While the Blues hope to catch those above them, United will spend the rest of the Premier League season fending off those behind them.
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A matchup between two of the Premier League's most Jekyll and Hyde teams is one that remains exceedingly difficult to call. Both Chelsea and Manchester United, at various points this season, have looked vastly improved, only to see all the progress evaporate weeks — or sometimes days — later.
Such was the case in the last match for both these clubs — Chelsea twice coughed up a lead to 10-man
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