Chelsea and Manchester United will both look to bounce back from defeats when meeting at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
While the Blues have been inconsistent in the Premier League, they have shown plenty of promise, with their visitors desperately struggling having failed to win any of their last eight games in all competitions.
Michael Carrick appears on the brink of the sack, and defeat at Stamford Bridge might be what does for the former United midfielder, but speaking on the Football Betting Club podcast, Mark Stinchcombe is happy to oppose Xabi Alonso's side.
Chelsea v Manchester United Prediction & Tips
Best Bet: Manchester United or Draw @ 19/20
Mark said: "Two average Premier League teams right now, would we say? I think that's probably fair. We'd have Arsenal, City, Brighton, and Liverpool above these two at least, and then maybe you start to chuck in your Bournemouth, Brentford, Leeds, etc. So yes, two average Premier League teams right now. I don't think United are as bad as all the headlines or the league table says. It's similar to last season under Carrick when they weren't as good as the league table said—they're just average, bang average.
"After Carrick took over in January, United got the most points in the league across, 39 points in 17 games, three more than champions Arsenal, but based on expected points, they overachieved by 10 points—but that wasn't really being spoken about. Now, this season they only have seven points from eight games, but based on expected points, they're underachieving by four points, which would actually have them seventh rather than 16th. If that were the case, I don't think you'd have the headlines and the fact that Carrick was seemingly almost out the door. Are they the seventh-best team in the league? Roughly, maybe yes.
"So whilst last season we weren't hearing that United were overachieving, because of that I think we're getting this overreaction instead of an understanding that this is essentially regression to the mean. It's so drastic because they've gone from the best team in the league to 16th because football is such a low-scoring sport. You look at them this season: they've actually only lost three of eight games, yet there's all this drama, and it's so early in the season that they're only four points off sixth. I don't think it's the end of the world that it's being painted as.
"For me, it's the same world since Sir Alex Ferguson left in 2013: essentially, they are an average, top-half Premier League team. In the last 13 years, the rest of the Premier League has become an awful lot more competitive, which is probably making United look worse than they actually are.
"As for fifth-place Chelsea, they've got the third-worst defence in the league, and expected points rank them lower than United—down in 12th. Do Chelsea deserve to be 4/5? Not for me. And that's before you factor in no João Pedro, Reece James, and Martínez, Penders in goal with an own goal last week. We have to wait and see whether Bruno Fernandes will make his return to United's lineup. If these teams are fairly similar in terms of ability right now, then Chelsea have to be odds-against at least. Therefore, Chelsea at 4/5 are easily opposable in my opinion, making the Manchester United double chance at 19/20 the play."
Key Match Stats
Manchester United haven't kept a clean sheet in the Premier League this season
Chelsea have scored three or more goals in three Premier League games
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