Chelsea vs Manchester United: Prediction, kick-off time, TV, live stream, team news, h2h results, odds

In partnership with

Evening Standard

·13. Mai 2025

Chelsea vs Manchester United: Prediction, kick-off time, TV, live stream, team news, h2h results, odds

Blues aim to reignite Champions League qualification bid against Europa League finalists in wretched domestic form

Chelsea host fellow European finalists Manchester United in their final home fixture of the season on Friday night.

OneFootball Videos

The Blues are embroiled in a fierce fight for a top-five finish during a thrilling finale to the Premier League campaign, seeing their Champions League qualification chances hit by a listless 2-0 defeat by rivals Newcastle last weekend.

Enzo Maresca’s side played more than an hour with 10 men at St James’ Park after Nicolas Jackson’s red card for a forearm to the face of Sven Botman, already trailing to Sandro Tonali’s 112-second goal before Bruno Guimaraes wrapped up the result in stoppage time.

It was a hugely disappointing afternoon that halted Chelsea’s momentum after a run of five consecutive wins across all competitions that included both legs of their Conference League semi-final tie against Djurgarden, keeping them fifth and above Aston Villa on goal difference only as Newcastle leapfrogged Manchester City into third.

Chelsea and Villa are both in action on Friday night in rearranged fixtures as the latter host Tottenham, with the Premier League having granted Spurs’ request to bring the game forward to give them the exact same preparation time as Manchester United for next week’s Europa League final in Bilbao.

The match at Stamford Bridge was originally scheduled for Sunday, only to be moved at the request of both clubs with Chelsea and Manchester United’s women’s teams meeting in the FA Cup final at Wembley this weekend.

United’s utterly wretched domestic campaign continued with a 2-0 loss at home to fellow strugglers West Ham last time out, a 17th league defeat of the season that left them 16th and prompted a furious and frustrated response from Ruben Amorim, who cast doubt on his future at Old Trafford if their woeful form is not reversed next term.

They have now gone seven top-flight games without a victory since beating relegated Leicester on March 16, equalling their worst-ever run in the Premier League.

Date, kick-off time and venue

Chelsea vs Manchester United is scheduled for an 8:15pm BST kick-off on Friday May 16, 2025.

The match will take place at Stamford Bridge in west London.

How to watch Chelsea vs Manchester United

TV channel: Friday night’s game will be televised live in the UK on Sky Sports. Coverage begins at 7pm BST on Sky Sports Main Event.

Live stream: Sky Sports subscribers can also watch the match live online via the Sky Go app.

Live blog: Standard Sport’s live blog will keep you fully up to speed on matchday, with expert analysis from Chelsea correspondent Malik Ouzia at the Bridge.

Chelsea vs Manchester United team news

Jackson’s dismissal on Tyneside and automatic three-game ban means he will miss both the visit of United and the trip to Nottingham Forest on the final day, as well as the first game of next season. He is, however, available for the Conference League final against Real Betis in Wroclaw on May 28.

It leaves Maresca without any senior strikers, with Christopher Nkunku and Marc Guiu still yet to return. Wesley Fofana, Aaron Anselmino and Omari Kellyman are also injured, while it was reported by Sky Sports that captain Reece James missed training on Tuesday.

Banned: Nicolas Jackson will miss Chelsea’s Premier League run-in after his sending off at Newcastle

AFP via Getty Images

Manchester United loanee Jadon Sancho is ineligible to face his parent club, while Mykhailo Mudryk remains provisionally suspended.

For the visitors, Leny Yoro is being assessed after being forced off injured against West Ham. Matthijs de Ligt has been sidelined with a knee problem, with Ayden Heaven and Toby Collyer still out along with long-term absentees Lisandro Martinez, Joshua Zirkzee and Diogo Dalot.

Chelsea vs Manchester United prediction

The defeat at Newcastle and Jackson’s moment of madness will no doubt have wounded Chelsea, who had won three league games on the bounce to gather some real momentum alongside their progress to the Conference League final.

But they could hardly ask for better opponents for a crucially swift bounce-back than the domestic version of Manchester United, who have been a totally different proposition to the one that has advanced to the Europa League showpiece.

Losers of five of their last seven, they have been truly dire in the league of late and a trip to face a team with something big still to play for is unlikely to improve Amorim’s increasingly exasperated mood.

Chelsea to win, 3-1.

Head to head (h2h) history and results

Chelsea hadn’t beaten Manchester United in any competition since 2020 before last season’s remarkable game at the Bridge in which hat-trick hero Cole Palmer scored twice late in stoppage time to seal a memorable 4-3 victory.

The two teams played out a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford in early November, with Moises Caicedo’s volley quickly cancelling out a Bruno Fernandes penalty awarded for Robert Sanchez’s foul on Rasmus Hojlund. United were then under the temporary stewardship of Ruud van Nistelrooy after sacking Erik ten Hag.

Chelsea wins: 56

Manchester United wins: 83

Draws: 57