Chelsea v Leicester
Chelsea and their new boss Frank Lampard have had a difficult start to the season with a 4-0 opening day humiliation against Man Utd and a loss to Liverpool in the European Super Cup midweek.
It'd be fair to say that had Chelsea have been more clinical in the Premier League last weekend then the match at Old Trafford could well have had a different outcome with the Blues creating plenty of chances in the opening 30 minutes of the game. At the same time, Chelsea played a very open game against a United side that was packed full of pace and ready to hit them on the break. With Leicester set-up in a very similar way, it will be interesting to see how Chelsea go about maintaining a goal threat while not leaving themselves vulnerable in defence again.
Having spent 13 years at Chelsea playing under 9 different managers, Lampard will be cleanly aware that this is not a club that gives too many 2nd chances and anything but 3 points in his first home appearance is likely to leave the board, fans and players alike wondering if he is really the man for the job.
Leicester started their campaign last week with a tame 0-0 draw against Wolves. Despite losing Harry Maguire in the transfer window, Brendan Rogers has made a sizeable investment in the squad by bringing in the likes of Ayoze Perez, Youri Tielemans and Dennis Praet. Their midfield dominated possession in the opening match (70%) but struggled to find that telling pass in the final third. You would imagine that the game will follow a slightly different pattern today but do they have the cutting edge to take something from the trip to Stamford Bridge?
Wolves v Man Utd
Wolves will take a lot of confidence from their performances against the top 6 last year in what was their first season back in the top flight. In fact, Wolves beat Manchester United twice at Molineux last season and picked up a point on the return trip to Old Trafford. 10 points at home against the top 6 is a record that most sides challenging for a Champions League spot would envy and you can't imagine that United will find it quite as easy going in this game as they did against Chelsea last week.
That win while crucial in keeping some of the fan unrest in check following a mixed summer transfer window can't hide the very obvious short-comings of a side that only managed to keep 5 clean sheets on their travels last season and who finished the 2018/19 season in poor form.
Having not done enough to strengthen their midfield or forward line and with Paul Pogba still angling for a move away from England this match is another in what could well be a long line of important fixtures for Ole Gunnar Solksjaer as he looks to win over the doubters at Old Trafford. One area that United certainly did look better in during their match against Chelsea was their defensive discipline with Maguire and Wan-Bissaka slotting in well on their debuts.
Direct play and pace have always been the hall marks of the great United sides and this team has that in abundance. How much space they will be given to work in by this well drilled Wolves team remains to be seen and you would have though this is going to be a close fought match won by the odd goal.