The last four occasions these sides have met have ended in a draw and that cannot be overlooked, nor can the fact that Manchester United have avoided defeat at Stamford Bridge in their last six visits, across all competitions.

Factor in too that United have not conceded for 275 minutes, and Chelsea haven’t been breached for 533 minutes, and the 21/2 available on a 0-0 begins to look very appealing.

It never feels good backing a goalless encounter, and it always makes for a nervy watch, but at those odds, and with those considerations, it’s a logical bet for sure.

Both teams are enjoying a notable upturn in fortunes right now – give or take the odd hiccup as they adjust to new management – and with so much individual talent on display it feels almost inevitable that at least one of them will produce something decisive.

Take Bruno Fernandes as a prime example, who has flattered to deceive numerous times this season, but on Wednesday evening put in a season’s best performance against Tottenham. The Portuguese creative was central to everything that was good about the Red Devils and clearly, he’s relishing the leadership that comes with wearing the captain’s armband.

Perhaps too, he is thriving in the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo, because this is a player who can either be brilliant or anonymous when the main man, but is almost always the latter when not the main man.
Last April at Old Trafford, with Chelsea the visitors, Fernandes was poor bordering on atrocious throughout. Guess who was the man of the match, inhabiting the best passing lanes and stealing the limelight?

Ronaldo won’t feature on Saturday, not after his latest hissy fit had him exiting stage left ahead of the final whistle, and not with Erik ten Hag settling on a winning formula that prioritizes a volume of work-rate that CR7 is incapable of getting close to.

Firing into Spurs from the off, United collectively covered 114.4km midweek, a figure that makes the eleven who out-ran Liverpool two months back look like slackers, and such prodigious productivity duly reaped rewards. In the first half alone, ten Hag’s grafters racked up 19 shots, a top-flight high for 2022/23 so far. Ultimately their shots on target tally reached double figures against a side joint-second in the league.

Over 10.5 total shots by the visitors is a decent shout at 17/20

Should the same levels of energy and endeavour be replicated in West London this weekend then even Chelsea’s presently imperious defence will be troubled: a well-drilled back-line that has nullified Milan twice in recent weeks in Europe.

Since taking the reins at Chelsea, Graham Potter has experimented with several formations, all the while fully utilizing his squad, but if this hints at understandable trial and error early doors there have been very few mistakes to speak of, especially with Kepa Arrizabalaga in nets reminding everyone that he once cost £71.6m and for good reason.

Further afield the output has been mainly positive, if more mixed, and Potter will have been delighted to see Kai Havertz excel in a second striker role at Brentford on Wednesday, the same role that saw the German hooked at half-time vs Aston Villa three days earlier, with the manager opting for an entirely different set-up. With Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang benefiting from his cute passing and clever movement on Saturday, instead of Armando Broja, United’s back four will have their work cut out.

Back Havertz to score anytime this Saturday evening at 5/2

Then there’s the probable return to the starting line-up of Raheem Sterling who has frankly been played all over the shop this season so it’s to the 27-year-old’s enormous credit that he has largely impressed. Even so, some caution should accompany any temptation to back Sterling in the goalscoring market given that remarkably he has yet to notch against United in 23 outings despite accruing 38 shots. Throw in a meagre two assists and undeniably too often the England man’s opposite number has had his number.

The last 10 league meetings between these sides have averaged 4.9 cards per game while only Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest have won fewer corners than United. A bet builder backing over 4.5 cards and under 10.5 total corners offers up 9/4.

Lastly, a mention should go to Mason Mount, who has been a lot more impactful since reverting to a No.8, his preferred stationing. It’s no coincidence his two goals and two assists of this term have all come in the last three games.

One of those strikes was at Villa Park last week, arriving after just six minutes, but the odds are against any early advantage being gained here. For one thing, it will most feasibly take some time to break down either, or both, defences that have been so stingy of late. For another, Mount’s quick conversion was an anomaly for Chelsea, while United too, prefer to find their way into contests. Combined, these sides have scored 63.3% of their goals in the second half of games.

Take a punt on both teams scoring in the second half at 43/20