Chelsea vs Man Utd: Is the match on TV? Plus team news, referee, kick-off time & prediction

Manchester United face one of their most difficult away trips of the season this weekend, when they travel to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea.

The Red Devils head to the capital on the back of a thumping 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur in midweek, a fixture United dominated from start to finish and produced a hugely impressive 28 shots across the 90 minutes.

In contrast, Chelsea disappointingly dropped points at Brentford on Wednesday, a result that leaves the Blues in fourth place after 10 games. But a win for the Red Devils this weekend would see Erik ten Hag’s men leapfrog Chelsea in the table with United just a point behind them..

The Dutchman has already faced Graham Potter during his brief time in English football and the new Chelsea manager inflicted a 2-1 defeat on United on the opening weekend of the season, when the 47-year-old was still in charge of Brighton & Hove Albion.

Ahead of the meeting between two former European champions, here’s the key information.

When is Chelsea vs Man Utd?

Ten Hag will bring his side to Stamford Bridge on Saturday 22 October, with kick-off set for 5:30pm.

Is Chelsea vs Man Utd on TV?

The match will be shown live on Sky Sports in the UK. Full TV information can be found here.

Referee appointment

Stuart Attwell has been named as the referee for Sunday’s match. The 40-year-old was also on duty the last time United played in London, when they lost 4-0 to Brentford in August.

Atwell will be assisted by Darren Cann and Harry Lennard at Stamford Bridge, with Michael Salisbury set to assume the role of fourth official. From their Stockley Park base, Michael Oliver and Richard West will oversee VAR.

Chelsea vs Man Utd team news

United confirmed earlier in the week that Cristiano Ronaldo will not be involved at Stamford Bridge in response to his actions against Spurs on Wednesday when he stormed down the tunnel before the game had finished. In a statement on Thursday, the club said: “Cristiano Ronaldo will not be part of the Manchester United squad for this Saturday’s Premier League game against Chelsea.”

Ten Hag also said Anthony Martial remains out through injury, while Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Harry Maguire and Brandon Williams are back in training but unlikely to be involved. Meanwhile, Donny van de Beek is still on the sidelines through injury.

As for Chelsea, they’ll be without Reece James and N’Golo Kante with both expected to miss the World Cup due to recent injuries they’ve picked up, while Wesley Fofana is also out with a long-term problem. Conor Gallagher is another potential absentee after he was replaced against Brentford after just 15 minutes due to illness. Potter also rested Thiago Silva for the midweek draw, although he should be available to start at the weekend.

Prediction

Both sides head into the game relatively high on confidence. United should still be flying high after the win over Tottenham, while Chelsea had won five on the bounce prior to the draw against Brentford. United do have a decent record at Stamford Bridge of late and haven’t lost any of the last six visits there. But it’s a fixture that has resulted in a draw during all of the last four encounters, and we’re predicting that record to extend to five after the weekend action.

Our prediction: Chelsea 2-2 United