Usually when Manchester United and Chelsea face off, the stakes involved are a battle in the title race or a Champions League tie or something equally exciting. This time, things are rather more dire: Chelsea are desperately trying to stay out of the relegation zone, and Manchester United are trying to turn around a bad dropoff in their form -- and if they can’t, it will probably cost Louis Van Gaal his job.
Manchester United vs. Chelsea 2015 live stream: Time, TV schedule and how to watch online
The first big test for Guus Hiddink as Chelsea’s manager is also do-or-die time for Louis Van Gaal at Manchester United.
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These two teams have been the poster children for this weird and chaotic Premier League season, with Chelsea going from defending champions to trying to stave off relegation and firing Jose Mourinho, and Manchester United going from a team battling for the title to unable to beat anyone in a matter of weeks. These are two gigantic teams heading in the wrong direction -- this mutual slide is unlikely to last for the whole season, obviously, but watching them go head-to-head in such a desperate situation is going to be fascinating.
What’s at stake
Chelsea are still hovering right above the relegation zone, just two points above Newcastle in 18th place. The Hiddink era got off to a rough start with this weekend’s 2-2 draw to Watford, and for the sake of getting their awful start to the season turned around, they need to start racking up wins, now. For Manchester United, they’ve been in a bad slide ever since climbing back into second place in the league in November. They haven’t won since then, a span of seven all-competitions matches, including losses in four straight. They’re falling down the table fast, and this might be the last chance for Louis Van Gaal to save his job, especially considering Chelsea’s own struggles. A loss here would almost certainly see him fired.
Recent history
This has been a pretty one-sided rivalry for the last three years, with Chelsea winning five of the eight games in that time, and the other three ending in draws. The two years before that had been a different story, though: in eight matches, Chelsea lost six of them and won just one, and these teams have often exchanged runs of form that go one way or the other for awhile over the years. History suggests we could see that form flip back around to Manchester’s favor, though the individual teams’ form of late suggests that this could really go either way.
Manchester United injuries and suspensions
Out: Jesse Lingard, Marcos Rojo, Antonio Valencia, Luke Shaw In doubt: Matteo Darmian
Chelsea injuries and suspensions
Out: Radamel Falcao
Match Date/Time: Monday, 12:30 p.m. ET, 5:30 p.m. local
Venue: Old Trafford, Manchester, England
TV: NBCSN (U.S. - English), NBC Universo (U.S. - Spanish), Sportsnet regional networks (Canada), BT Sport 1, BT Sport Ultra HD (U.K.)
Online: NBC Sports Live Extra (U.S.), Sportsnet World Now (Canada), BT Sport Live Streaming (U.K.)
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