English Premier
2026-10-31 - Chelsea vs Manchester United
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Saturday 31st October 2026 - Kick Off 12:30pm
This game is live on TV
Chelsea
A Penalty Shoot Out defeat at Anfield means Chelsea's interest is down to two competitions before November has gotten underway and that will be a disappointment to the club. However, Xabi Alonso is well aware of the expectations he has to manage and the main priority for Chelsea has to be finding a way back into the Champions League and, hopefully, having a strong FA Cup run.
The past few days have been difficult for Chelsea who were beaten by Tottenham Hotspur last weekend and that dropped them into 5th place in the Premier League table. Inconsistent results have been a problem and Chelsea have earned 13 points so far this season, while The Blues have a 2-1-1 record at Stamford Bridge where they have scored 11 goals and conceded 8.
Chelsea returned from the international break to win consecutive Premier League games against Bournemouth and Everton, but the defeats to rivals Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool over the past week will have hurt. The loss at Anfield was on a Penalty Shoot Out, but Chelsea's unbeaten start to the season at Stamford Bridge was ended in the 0-2 defeat to Spurs last Saturday.
Emi Martinez and Joao Pedro are both expected to miss out according to the manager, but Cole Palmer is available having served a suspension. Pep Chavarria and Jamie Gittens face fitness tests ahead of the early Saturday kick off.
Manchester United
The heavy loss to Bournemouth coupled with the fans anger exploding against the players and the board made it a very tough ending at Old Trafford last Sunday. Most expected the latest Manchester United defeat to end with Michael Carrick being removed as manager, but this is an ownership group and boardroom that seem terrified to make hard decisions and the manager has been given a 'stay of execution'.
Reports out of Old Trafford is that Michael Carrick will be given time to turn things around, but Manchester United are 16th in the Premier League table and just a point clear of the bottom three ahead of this weekend. They will be heading to West London with a 0-3-1 away record having scored 4 goals and conceded 6 in those matches.
Manchester United's winless run has been extended to 8 games in all competitions and the defeat to Bournemouth means 5 of those fixtures have ended in losses. The last 3 away Premier League games have all ended in draws since the 2-0 defeat at Hull City, but Manchester United have lost Champions League games at Atletico Madrid and Como during that time.
Despite what Michael Carrick wanted to tell the press, it was clear Bruno Fernandes was dropped for giving a poor interview following the loss at Como. The two have 'cleared the air' and the Portuguese midfielder should be restored to the starting eleven, while Lisandro Martinez is another who has spoken out recently, but who should be available to begin from the start.
Kobbie Mainoo is back in training, but Luke Shaw is a doubt and Benjamin Sesko is expected to miss the rest of the calendar year.
Head to Head
Manchester United beat Chelsea in both Premier League games last season.
Chelsea had been unbeaten in 5 at home against Manchester United and had won consecutive fixtures at Stamford Bridge against them before the 0-1 defeat here in April.
Prediction
This is far from a straightforward game to call.
Most are going to be expecting Chelsea to win the game considering the disarray at Old Trafford and with Michael Carrick under immense pressure, but Manchester United's players know how the fans feel about them and that has to drag a reaction out of them. Back to back heavy defeats will have dented confidence, but Bruno Fernandes is expected back and the team have had a full week to prepare for the fixture as they look to all read from the same sheet.
It also should be stated that Chelsea are an extremely inconsistent team and one that is missing an important player in Joao Pedro.
That hurt them last week as Chelsea were beaten at Stamford Bridge for the first time this season, but Xabi Alonso will be more pleased with the performance in the League Cup tie at Liverpool, even if The Blues were eventually beaten on Penalties.
Chelsea have been a team that have made very fast starts in both halves, but they have also struggled to keep that momentum going through the entirety of the 45 minutes played.
Cole Palmer is back and Danny Welbeck does enjoy playing his boyhood club, assuming he will start.
It makes Chelsea dangerous, but they look short at the prices simply because you cannot be sure what you can expect from either of these teams. A case can be made for both Chelsea and Manchester United and that means looking at other markets that have been priced up.
The layers are expecting goals and plenty of attacking football, but you can argue against the numbers.
Last week, Chelsea only managed to produce 7 shots at home against Tottenham Hotspur, while Manchester United, for all of their faults, have not allowed as many shots as the amount of goals conceded would suggest.
Only 1 of the last 9 opponents have managed to have more than 12 shots against Manchester United and that was Brighton in the League Cup Third Round at Old Trafford. They are allowing an average of 12.5 shots per game away from home in the Premier League and Manchester United could be facing a Chelsea team without a focal point in Joao Pedro's absence.
Atletico Madrid and Como have combined for 22 shots against United in the Champions League games, while it should be said for all of Chelsea's goalscoring power, they have averaged 11.5 shots per game at home in the Premier League.
The Blues have actually allowed more shots on average at home, so some may be appealed by the 3.00 quotes that Manchester United have more shots.
However, the better approach may be backing fewer than 27 shots in this game at close to odds against.
This would have been a comfortable winner in both Premier League games between the teams last season and would be a winner in each of the last 4 League meetings between Chelsea and Manchester United.
You have to expect some caution from both teams in this one considering how the last couple of games have gone for both Chelsea and Manchester United and so the selection is for a fixture that sees a lot of possession but perhaps a tough time for either team creating real openings.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Chelsea 2-1 Manchester United
