It is quite staggering that when Chelsea last won at Old Trafford, Sir Alex Ferguson was still in the Manchester United dugout, Frank Lampard had not become the club's highest goalscorer, and Yossi Benayoun was in the matchday squad.
Given the history of both clubs in the nine years since, Chelsea has found winning at United an insurmountable hurdle even when heavy favourites during the two title-winning seasons in 2014/15 and 2016/17. Although United may appear a mess structurally and woefully out of form, when you widen the Blues' Premier League form home and away against their next opponent, it increases concern.
The last league win came in November 2017 at Stamford Bridge with a rare Alvaro Morata winner. To express how much has happened since then, the two coaches on the touchline that day, Antonio Conte and Jose Mourinho, have gone on to manage Spurs.
READ MORE: Thomas Tuchel has £190m dilemma ahead of Chelsea's dangerous Manchester United test
All of that history, combined with Chelsea's recent display against another out of form side, Arsenal sparks concern that a banana skin might be around the corner again as Thomas Tuchel faces more selection dilemmas after Sunday's win over West Ham.
Team News
Tuchel confirmed in his press conference that Mateo Kovacic, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ben Chilwell are out of tomorrow's game. Reece James and Antonio Rudiger are set to train again today, and if they come through that alright, they'll travel with the Chelsea squad to face Man United.
Tuchel's Approach
Tuchel probably knows that even if Chelsea cannot confirm Champions League qualification on Thursday mathematically, a win would take his team within four points of it with five games left, a great position to be in. Manchester United under Ralf Rangnick has been hard to gauge tactically, to be frank – a bit of a mess.
Even though Rangnick opted for a 3-4-2-1 away to Liverpool last week, his players' inability to limit space and form a solid defensive shape Liverpool found it simple to get in behind United. At Arsenal, Rangnick moved to a back four, which didn't cut out individual mistakes but did allow for Anthony Elanga and Jadon Sancho to cause more issues out wide with their speed.
The selection of Cristiano Ronaldo might aid Tuchel in an attempt to gain control in possession due to the forward's lack of pressing. Chelsea created good opportunities in November's reverse fixture, but poor finishing cost them.
I'd expect a 3-4-1-2 with an aim to use the width of wingbacks and finding Mason Mount in between the lines who, with the sort of space United have been giving up, could define the night.
The Oppo
It's been quite a horrendous season for United at many levels, the sacking of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in November was supposed to improve fortunes, but instead, all it has done is solidify the perception of a broken dressing room and underperforming players.
Rangnick has managed to keep Ronaldo's influence, way out in front with 22 goals in 35 appearances – a level of scoring Chelsea has missed. Whilst Sancho slowly found his confidence in form after his transfer last summer. Although the winger will miss Thursday's game due to tonsillitis.
The arrival of Erik Ten Hag will overshadow anything that happens for the rest of this season, a club in desperate need of a reset culturally with their fans mostly disconnected from the club and players. United still do have some game-changing talent that can hurt Chelsea, but not beating this United side would feel like a missed opportunity.
The Lineup
Given injury issues and the size of this game, I hope we don't see the sort of rotation we did against Arsenal, which irritated supporters. Tuchel and the players should be treating this game very seriously and increasing the intensity and focus that has been lacking in the past two games.
Tuchel does have a £190m dilemma in the sense that all three of his substitutions on Sunday looked bright, with two having a big influence on the final score. Christian Pulisic should be confident after his dramatic winner, whilst Romelu Lukaku's persistence won the Blues a penalty and got Craig Dawson sent off.
Hakim Ziyech was definitely third in that trio, but he can maybe feel frustrated he hasn't got more minutes in recent weeks. I would hang my hat on Pulisic, being the one most likely to start from the left. The narrative over Lukaku returning to Old Trafford feels hard to resist, though I'd still stick with Kai Havertz from the off.
Predicted Chelsea Lineup: (3-4-2-1) Mendy, Chalobah, Silva, Azpilicueta, James, Kante, Jorginho, Alonso, Mount, Havertz, Pulisic
