As a new era looms at Old Trafford, all eyes are on Stamford Bridge as Michael Carrick takes Manchester United to challenge the league leaders Chelsea in an intriguing clash this Sunday. 

Discussing the developments on bettingexpert’s The Big Stage, host Joe Ryan and commentators Rory Jennings and Ben Dinnery shared their views on former United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and their predictions for Saturday’s clash.

“I think Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has really been sackable for a very long time,” Jennings remarked. 

“That seemed to be the watershed moment for the Manchester United board, but why was it then (Saturday’s defeat to Watford) and not when they got humiliated and couldn’t get the ball of City in the Manchester derby, or the 5-0 when Liverpool trounced them, or go back at a year when they conceded a goal against Istanbul Başakşehir without having a player in their own half?”

Discussing the favourites for the next permanent Manchester United manager, the team observed that Mauricio Pochettino is the clear favourite – a view shared by odds comparison site Oddschecker – whilst current interim choice Rangnick is third favourite.

Looking ahead to this weekend’s fixture, Jennings maintained he was ‘convinced that Chelsea could win the game’, but added that there is an ‘unknown quality’ to Manchester United, noting the side’s 2-0 victory against Valencia earlier this week – suggesting the potential of a draw or possible upset win, which would likely deal a blow to the bookies.

Providing his own insights into player injuries and the impact this could have on the outcome of the match, Dinnery discussed Chelsea’s injury problems – such as the possibility of Ben Chilwell being unable to play due to a knee injury.

“The big news was the Ben Chilwell incident. It didn’t look great, and Thomas TUchell has admitted that he was seriously worried and concerned about the ramifications of what happened.

“The mechanism of the injury suggested that there may have been ligament involvement. When that knee buckles inwards, that’s indicative of an ACL. Early reports and scans confirmed that here was ACL involvement, however I’m led to believe that they will go with non-surgical treatment initially.”

He observed that the injury ‘certainly’ put Chilwell out for the remainder of the year, and possibly longer, which could have a significant impact on Chelsea’s defensive ability and subsequent scorelines  – and the betting markets associated with these.